Smart#1 review: Streets ahead of the competition in small SUV segment

We have been advising in these columns for many months now that “the Chinese are coming” with waves of cheap electric cars which are causing something of a panic across the European motor industry.

Despite the ongoing rows over quotas and market accessibility and all that stuff, we have seen an increasing number of Chinese brands filtering into Ireland, from BYD, to MG, to Ora and we have tested many models from each of them in recent months.

And now we have another one — Smart.

If you know the Smart brand, it’s because it has been around for quite some time and has had quite a chequered history. 

Originally conceived by the Swatch watch-making concern, the nameplate had its origins in the late ’70s and early ’80s as something of a Mercedes sub-brand.

It then morphed into a concern which had Volkswagen backing, but the Wolfsburg giant went cold on the project and in 1994 it properly came into being as a joint venture between Swatch and Mercedes and the brand came about by mashing up the names and throwing in a touch of sophistication — Swatch+Mercedes+Art = Smart.

The first car from the concern was the Smart ‘Fortwo’ two-seater city car, which had a petrol engine. 

The Smart Roadster coupe was next up and then came a Smart ‘Forfour’ which, as you might have guessed, was a four-seater.

By 1998 the Swatch/Mercedes connection had diluted, largely because the operation was haemorrhaging cash — it lost somewhere between €3bn and €4bn o in the 2003-6 period and from then on it became a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz.

But then in 2019, the Chinese automaker Geely (which by now also owned Volvo) formed a joint-venture operation with Mercedes to start production of a new generation of Smart-branded cars and, as recently as 2022, this new entity started making the Smart#1, which is the car we’re testing this week.

The idea was that the new Smart models would benefit from European design expertise and Chinese battery technology and that the products would all be EVs.

I’d have to say that the combination is an intriguing one and, in many ways, benefits greatly from the combination of the two motoring spheres.

Essentially, the ethos of the Smart brand was one to make small, city cars which were easy to get around in and — crucially for European customers — easy to park. 

That credo still applies to the brand, but how they set themselves apart from the growing Chinese automotive presence in Europe is by matching European sophistication (everything from interior materials and finish to suspension and ride quality) with established Chinese EV expertise.

It is, dare I say, a smart-looking car and one which would grace any driveway with aplomb and it is no exaggeration to say that the cars it has in its crosshairs — and especially the Mini Countryman and the Volvo EX30 (with which it shares Geely’s scalable architecture) — will find a serious competitor on their hands.

Rear-sited motor drives rear wheels

All Smart#1 models are equipped with a 66kWh battery and the motor is sited at the rear, driving the rear wheels. 

There is a maximum of 272bhp on offer and the 0-100km/h dash is achieved in just 6.2 seconds, while the top speed is 180km/h.

The battery has a claimed range of 440km and, like most EVs the claims and the reality are a little different, but you can reasonably expect to extract a bit more than 370km on one charge.

On a rapid charger you will get a sub-30 minute 10% to 80% charging time, but on a regular 7.4kW wallbox a full charge will take some seven-and-a-half hours. 

All that means you will not be making a trip to Donegal from Cork without some necessary pre-planning for charging purposes, but it will take on mid-range journeys without frying your noodles.

Like most small electrics the Smart#1 is at its best in an urban environment and the excellent single pedal mode of driving, once you get used to it, requires little brake usage. 

The motor is nearly silent and the steering is light but precise.

Out in the country, things are a little less well-judged, but you see and feel the work the Mercedes people have done on the suspension and this car is clearly better than any of its small Chinese EV rivals in terms of handling and ride.

It copes with the vicissitudes of the Irish road network with ease and soaks up the worst of the bumps and potholes without transmitting them into the cabin and from a passenger point of view there is little unnecessary jolting around. 

On motorways it is decorum personified and helped greatly by stuff such as the standard adaptive cruise control.

The interior is also considerably more sophisticated than its main Chinese rivals — at least the ones we’ve tried thus far. 

There are plenty of soft-touch plastics and the solid built is well up to the standard of either the Countryman or the EX30, something which again leaves the other beasts from the east standing.

On the downside the boot is very small and not everyone will love the perchy driving position, but then as a second car — which this will almost certainly be for a lot of punters — these are not killer faults.

The 12.8in infotainment screen does take a little getting used to, what with typically Chinese graphics and it is recommended that you do your familiarisation while at a standstill because if you try and do it on the move, you’re going to be severely distracted.

Indeed, whatever spec you choose, the Smart#1 has bundles of kit with most getting electrically adjustable heated front seats, LED lights and a powered tailgate. 

The Premium specification we tried, wanted for little.

On balance then, the Smart#1, while not an automotive high-water mark, is still streets ahead of what we have seen in the same small SUV segment than any of its Chinese rivals and will give many of its European competitors a decent run for their money.

It is well equipped, drives really well, is relatively cheap for what you’re getting and is roomy and spacious for passengers, even if the boot is not the most practical.

Admittedly we did test the top-of-the-range model, the ‘Premium’ and that might have coloured our positivity a little, but it seems this Sino-German effort has addressed most of the issues that have come with a majority of the Chinese-built cars we have thus far experienced — build quality, range and driving dynamics.