14/06/2024 Smart is back on sale in Ireland with some interesting EVs. The brand has changed significantly and is now a German/Chinese venture. Smart (Mercedes-Benz & Zhejiang Geely owned) is targeting the premium EV end of the electric car market with a value-for-money proposition at its core. Its Irish importer MDL is best known for importing Mercededs-Benz and more recently Chinese EV giant BYD – so where does Smart fit in?
Starting from €37,479 for the entry model called #1 is described as a crossover SUV – to our eyes it looks like a tall hatchback – so lets call it just that. Mercedes-Benz has started culling its smaller less profitable cars and this leaves space for Smart to fill the gap.
The Smart, much like the GWM (Chinese) Ora 3 (funky Cat) while having a compact hatchback shape has a fairly large footprint. The Smart is built on a Geely platform that underpins the Volvo EX-30 and other Geely owned car brands. The ‘1’ has a friendly face and is curvy too. There are some nice design touches like its flush door handles and interesting bonnet lines. The roof gets the floating treatment with blackened pillars. The doors’ windows are frameless – like coupes of old. Aerodynamic wheels add a touch of greenness to the EV.
Inside the cabin, you are bombarded with connectivity and left in no doubt that this is a software-led car. The driver gets a modest digital display and there is a large centre touch screen that houses close to all controls – including the side mirror adjustment – which is a little stupid (though Smart is not alone in this regard). Smooth surfacing and cubbies abound. Seating is comfy. Is there an app? Of course. are the controls logical and easy to use? Not really but a little study will get most buyers up to speed on what their car can do. The boot holds 313 litres or 976 with the rear seats down. There is a modest frunk under the bonnet.
We’re testing the Smart #1 in its sportiest ‘Brabus’ guise, and yes you are meant to call it the ‘hashtag one’ (yeah right, Irish buyers love a pretentious name, so that won’t happen). Smart’s tie-in with Mercedes-Benz remains strong – especially with the involvement of top Germanic tuner Brabus. Brabus is a legendary modifier/tuner of premium German machines. All Smarts are electrically powered with all bar the entry grade getting a 62kWh (net) battery. The Premium model has the best range – of 440km from a full battery and its single electric motor pushes out 272hp.
The 428hp Smart Brabus (from €54,170) gets an outrageous amount of performance for what is a cute and unassuming-looking compact hatchback. Okay, so the use of red painted highlights and nice alloys give onlookers a clue to this all-wheel drive, dual motor version’s potential. When you’re not enjoying its 0-100km/h time of 3.9 seconds you can hear some quality sound from its Beats Audio sound system. (The slowest 1 in the range does 0-100 in 6.7s). The Brabus can do up to 400km from a full charge. On the road the car is not a sports car, it is however a very rapid hatchback. Cornering is spirited but not overly sporty. The Brabus is more a drag strip star than a “I’ll take the twisty route home” type of machine. Drive it like a saint and you can get low energy consumption circa 15/16kW per 100km.
Grades on sale in Ireland: Launch Edition (from €50,915), Pro (310km max range from its smaller 49kWh battery), Pro+ (from €41,894 and gets a 22kW AC charger), Premium (from €48,332) and Brabus are the grades. Standard equipment is comprehensive and impressive. Vegan leather and manmade suede feature in the Premium grade.
Will Smart’s return be a triumph? When the original two-seater (before it was even called the ForTwo) came to our shores I drove it for a TV show and was amazed at its innovation and silliness in equal measure. Ultimately it was popular in European cities but here it flopped for a multitude of reasons. Smart’s return is welcomed but it is entering a fiercely contested market. The #1 offers little to the class bar it is a new offering in the class and in turn it will force other car makers to up their game to keep customers happy. Michael Sheridan
