We like
Punchy off the mark, playful handling, quirky German design, premium interior, affordable base models

Room for improvement
Traffic sign recognition hiccups, larger than Smart brand should have gone for #1, brake feel is so-so, big price jump to Brabus models

Overview

 

SMART has re-entered the Australian car market with two electric SUVs, each with three trim grades including hot Brabus-fettled models for those wanting a little more thrill from their sensible city car.

 

The #1 and #3 went on sale last week in Australia, through well-established Mercedes-Benz distributor LSH Auto, marking an exciting reinvigoration of the Smart brand locally. For the foreseeable future though, they will only be sold out of the firm’s Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne dealerships.

 

Smart’s new German-designed, Chinese-built models are the result of a Geely and Mercedes-Benz partnership that is clearly working, with around 100,000 models sold since the range launched in China, Europe and other overseas markets back in 2022.

 

LSH Auto managing director, John Good, told GoAuto he has high hopes for Australia and is “very confident in the brand.”

 

The #1 range is available in base Pro+ ($54,900), mid-spec Premium ($58,900) and performance Brabus ($67,900) trim grades, but what do you get for the rather expensive price-tag?

 

The #1 is built on Geely’s SEA electric platform and features a 2750mm wheelbase and total length of 4270mm (the Brabus is 30mm longer again), which means it isn’t quite the pint-sized city car its ForTwo forefather was.

 

However, with the increased dimensions comes a spacious interior designed for inner-city families that want a small footprint without feeling cramped. It also offers up to 986 litres of storage with the second row folded down, which is impressive.

 

The Pro+ and Premium models are powered by a 200kW/343Nm electric motor, driving the rear wheels. A 66kWh battery provides juice, for a WLTP range of 420km for the Pro+ and 440km for the Premium.

 

Single-motor models will take 6.7 seconds to reach triple digits, which isn’t lazy. It’s the hotter Brabus model that turns the wick up though, for buyers wanting a car that is equal parts smart and sinister.

 

Brabus tweaked the top-spec dual-motor model to punch out 315kW/543Nm, good for a 0-100km/h time of just 3.9 seconds. Power is supplied by the same 66kWh battery, which Smart claims is still good for 400km of range despite the increased output.

 

The Brabus model has more aggressive styling, tweaked suspension (confirmed to be stiffer based on bum-feel), and is hard to miss with red trim inside and out and plenty of badges.

 

Smart’s sleeker #3 is a similar affair, albeit in a sportier suit, with the same three models available. The Pro+ is priced at $57,900, the premium at $61,900 and Brabus at $70,900.

 

For the extra money, they’re a little bit faster too. The single-motor models, which produce identical power to the #1 variants, will get to 100km/h in 5.8 seconds and the Brabus will knock the sprint over in 3.7 seconds.

 

They’re a little bit longer and heavier too, making the performance bump a bit of a surprise. The wheelbase is a longer 2785mm and they’re 4400mm long, allowing Smart to retain a spacious interior despite the sloping roofline.

 

All models are 150kW DC fast-charge compatible, for sub-30-minute top ups and LSH confirmed that a Smart-branded wall charger is available for those who wish to trickle charge at home.

 

Inside, a 12.0-inch infotainment screen is shared across models and it sits nicely within the moulded dash, while offering all of the smartphone connectivity and system controls we have come to expect in modern EVs.

 

A full ADAS system is also featured, which Smart executives told GoAuto was designed independently of the Mercedes-Benz system. The range has a European NCAP five-star rating, but LSH assured us ANCAP testing is coming.

 

Driving Impressions

 

Worth noting is that our one-day drive experience was…disjointed.

 

We stopped more times than we kept count of and much of the driving was in nose-to-tail traffic with international journalists that struggled to grasp the concept of indicator use. It wasn’t great, but it did give us a reasonable idea of how the range performs.

 

Both models are Smart, beyond just the brand name, but in a very sensible and dependable way. This is what an urban EV needs to be – but they aren’t boring.

 

My brief foray into the world of Smart, when an old friend owned one sometime in the mid-2000s, was a similar affair. I recall it being quirky, but somehow very sensible too. But at its core, it was fun.

 

That applies to the new models, as it did for the originals, in terms of both style and driving experience.

 

Though, the dimensions of the new models are more typical and less comical, which is probably a good thing in Australia, where our taste in cars seems to be leaning towards the ‘bigger is better’ end of the scale.

 

The interior is premium, but it didn't blow our minds. The recently revealed #5 takes the cabin experience to another level entirely, but the #1 and #3 are a little more bare bones. It’s a fairly logical interior, with a mix of buttons and touch-screen controls and all the functionality one could expect in this price range.

 

The digital menu system takes a little time to get used to, as does every new system, but it’s clearly intuitive. It also didn’t glitch once, which is likely because Smart opted for a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chipset.

 

Fit and finish is European in feel, but it isn’t quite as luxurious as its distant Mercedes-Benz EQA relative. An array of materials is used across models though, clearly differentiating between trim grades and offering plenty of visual and tactile variety.

 

We really can’t fault comfort, with loads of headroom and rear seat space. Smart has always focused on maximising cabin space, utilising every millimetre of the car’s footprint, and it shows in these models.

 

The early stages of the drive program were spent in both the Brabus #3 and Brabus #1, which both felt equally rapid but were still tame and tractable. They do, however, get off the mark with more ferocity than similarly powerful EVs, appearing to rely less on torque shaping and more on the tyres.

 

This is a good thing, making the Smart models zippy off the mark, and just a little bit more analogue as the foot-to-brain connection is retained. You don’t have to be in ‘Brabus’ mode to have fun either, with all drive modes affecting a grin. Of course, Sport and Brabus modes are the punchiest.

 

Alongside the driving modes, which noticeably affect power and response, the noise options are actually…fun.

 

The growly faux engine notes, tweaked across a few options, are audible without dominating. Partial throttle input spits out acoustics to match, while steady on-highway throttle applications settle into a realistic drone.

 

All are fantastic, aside from the cosmic ‘interstellar’ option, which produced a frustrating mishmash of notes akin to a child unleashed on an electric keyboard.

 

Driving both rear-wheel drive models next, the pickup from a standstill was even more noticeable. They will actually chirp a tyre in sport mode, but they’re a well-behaved EV unless provoked.

 

The playful side of the Smart models is a big perk, and they offer a similar dynamic fun factor to praised hot-hatch-y models like the MG4 – but in a more premium package.

 

In saying that, the Smart range is not a true driver’s car.

 

The Brabus models aren’t far off, but like most dual-motor EVs they do feel heavy and aren’t as sharp across the front-end as a true hot hatch or performance car. In a straight line though, they’ll out-smart, or out-pull just about anything that costs a cent less than their $70k sticker price.

 

As far as inputs are concerned, the steering is good, but not great, and the brake feel is a little dead at the beginning of its stroke. This is more of an issue during light applications of the anchors, and not an uncommon experience in EVs as they attempt to balance regenerative braking with hydraulic systems.

 

Interestingly, even dialed right up the regenerative braking is fairly gentle. The one-pedal option dials the rubber band effect to 11, as it always does, but standard regen isn’t overbearing. We liked that.

 

There was one ‘cut-off-by-a-Prado’ moment of panic that required a heavy mash of the stop-pedal, but the #3 came to a halt with poise. The safety systems may have helped, but it felt driver initiated. We had been playing with different settings though, because the lane departure warning was overbearing, particularly on B-roads, and the speed sign recognition seemed to pick up the reduced speed limits posted on nearby highway exits.

 

On the whole though, it’s a relatively predictable and easy to live with system of autonomous driver aids, easily switched off if you so please. Our gripes with the ADAS functions aside, it’s a new system and will likely receive tweaks over time.

 

Average energy use ranged from 14kWh/100km in the single-motor models to 20kWh/100km in the Brabus hotties, but we wouldn’t say the drive loop was indicative of true day-to-day use. The range ratings seem believable, but we’d have to test them across a full charge to be sure.

 

So, the Smart models stop, turn and ride well, which makes them hard to fault but difficult to get all that excited about. Again, though, we doubt a typical Smart buyer wants their urban EV to light their loins on fire.

 

These models are supposed to be moderately fun, mostly practical and, of course, smart in nature. Given so many buyers will either own a Mercedes-Benz or at least appreciate the luxury brand, Smart fits the premium EV brief without encroaching on its big sister’s turf.

 

The Smart models aren’t priced competitively enough to be a sure thing but given their east-meets-west appeal – akin to Polestar but in a far more youthful and fun package – they’re likely to be a hit.

 

Our pick? The base Pro+, because it offers 80 per cent of the fun for $15k less than the Brabus model. After all, it’s likely to be your second car, so make the first one a firecracker and the second a Smart choice.