Big, but Not so Smart ... ; As the Mercedes Family Presents Its Bouncing New Baby, Don't Be Misled by Those Familiar Looks, Motoring, Financial Mail

Summary

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Mercedes, renowned maker of luxury large cars, shocked the motoring world when it launched its 'Baby Benz' the cute Six years on, one of the Stuttgart company's offshoots is reversing the larger- to-small format by producing a four-door version of the trendy Smart two-seater.

Perhaps someone should have warned them of the perils of upsizing classic small cars. In Britain, the Morris Minor and the Mini, from half a century back and more, are still loved but their big ugly sisters, the Oxford and the Maxi, are remembered, if at all, with a shudder.

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Big, but Not so Smart ... ; As the Mercedes Family Presents Its Bouncing New Baby, Don't Be Misled by Those Familiar Looks, Motoring, Financial Mail

There's another problem with the Smart ForFour as it's called it's not quite what the label suggests. For what are logical business reasons, the pedigree of the ForFour is as much Mitsubishi Colt as original Smart.

Let me explain. The Smart's heritage goes back to a conception by the Swiss makers of the Swa...

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