Running costs
Smart Forfour running costs
What a Smart Forfour costs to keep on the road: vehicle tax, the MOT and its official economy figures, at 5,080 miles a year. That is the mileage Smart Forfours really cover, from their MOT odometer readings, against 6,727 miles for the average car.
- Vehicle tax a year £200 registered from April 2017
- MOT £54.85 maximum fee, once a year
What it costs to charge
Every version of the Smart Forfour is electric, and what it costs depends on where it charges: a home tariff overnight and a public rapid are different prices. We publish forecourt prices, not electricity prices, so the table shows the energy one uses in a year rather than a bill. Figures are WLTP for versions listed between 2020 and 2021.
| Version | Efficiency | CO2 | Energy a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric 2 versions, 2020–2021 | 3.0 mi/kWh | 0 g/km | 1,270–1,693 kWh a year, at your own tariff |
Vehicle tax
What a car pays depends on when it was first registered, not on when you buy it.
- Registered on or after 1 April 2017 £200 a year, whatever it emits
- List price over £40,000 when new +£440 a year for 5 years
DVLA rates as published on GOV.UK, checked 19 September 2026. Rates change in the Budget. Paying monthly or every six months costs more than a single yearly payment.
MOT and what it tends to find
The test itself is capped at £54.85 for a car, and a Smart Forfour needs one every year once it is three. 28.3% of Smart Forfours fail first time, so on roughly one test in 4 the fee is the small part of the bill.
What actually fails one, and what it means: Smart Forfour common problems.
Smart Forfour running costs: common questions
How much does a Smart Forfour cost to run a year?
We can show its vehicle tax at £200 a year and the MOT at up to £54.85, but not a fuel cost: the figures we hold for this model do not include an official economy figure we can price.
How many miles a year does a Smart Forfour do?
5,080 on average, worked out from the odometer readings DVSA records at consecutive MOT tests. The average car covers 6,727 miles, so Smart Forfours do less than average. It is the reason these costs are the model's own rather than a figure for a notional 10,000 miles.
How much is the road tax on a Smart Forfour?
£200 a year for one registered on or after 1 April 2017, whatever it emits. Cars with a list price over £40,000 when new pay £440 a year on top for 5 years.
Are the official mpg figures realistic?
The WLTP figures used here are closer to real driving than the older NEDC ones, but they are still laboratory tests. Most drivers see a little less, and short journeys, cold weather and a roof box all cost more than the figure suggests.
What is not in these figures?
Insurance, servicing, tyres, brakes, repairs, parking and depreciation, which is usually the biggest cost of all. We publish figures we can source: fuel from official economy tests and live pump prices, tax from DVLA rates, the MOT from its maximum fee. We do not estimate the rest.
Data stories to read next
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official economy and CO2 | Car fuel and emissions information Vehicle Certification Agency | July 2000 to 15 September 2026 | 89 VCA records | 15 September 2026 |
| Average annual mileage | Anonymised MOT tests and results Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2025 | 23,220 MOT tests | 15 September 2026 |
| Pump prices | Fuel Finder open data Fuel Finder statutory scheme ONS Postcode Directory Office for National Statistics | Prices at 19:32 on 31 October 2026 | 8,148 filling stations | 31 October 2026 |
- Fuel cost is miles ÷ mpg × the price of a gallon, using the model's own average annual mileage and the current UK average pump price. A gallon is 4.546 litres.
- Official economy figures come from the laboratory test in force when each version was sold: WLTP from 2018, NEDC before it. NEDC figures are optimistic against real driving.
- Plug-in hybrid figures assume a charged battery at the start of every journey, so no yearly cost is shown for them. Electric cars are priced per kWh, which depends on where they charge, and we do not publish a charging price.
- Vehicle tax rates are DVLA's, published on GOV.UK and checked on 19 September 2026. The MOT fee is the maximum a test station may charge, from GOV.UK.
- Insurance, servicing, tyres, repairs, parking and depreciation are not included.
Source: Vehicle Certification Agency car fuel data. Crown copyright.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Source: Fuel Finder, the UK government’s statutory fuel price scheme.
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026.