Smart #1 Review 2024

Intro, Price, Options and Verdict

Introduction

Smart used to be synonymous with tiny city cars. The EQ fortwo is one of the best urban EVs around, albeit with extremely limited range. But as the company electrifies, Smart is broadening the focus of its vehicles, with the first example being the #1 (pronounced “hashtag one”). It’s larger than previous Smart cars, even the forfour, and has features and technology that take it into a new market. The question is, has the brand lost its identity or is this a welcome evolution?

Price and Options

There are four main trim levels for the Smart #1, with the entry-level Pro joining the range since the launch. The levels that existed before are Pro+, Premium and Brabus versions. There is a Launch edition, too, but that's supposed limited to 1,000 units, with only 100 in the UK, although it was still listed as available at the time of writing.

Battery sizes include 47kWh for the Pro and 66kWh for all other models. Apart from the Brabus, the #1 is a rear-wheel drive car with 272hp. The Brabus has 428hp and is all-wheel drive. In case you didn't realise, Smart became a joint venture between Mercedes and Geely in 2019, so these drivetrain choices come from Geely and are also found in the ZEEKR X.

Beyond the trims, Smart has chosen to reduce the options list to just a few choices, though. One of these is colour, with nine different paint selections, or eight with the Pro and Pro+ trims, the majority of which are two-tone with a black roof. We were given an incredibly garish colour called Lumen Yellow, which is definitely the brightest of the colours available. None of the paint choices appear to cost extra, though, apart from the matte grey option.

Although Smart was originally an urban brand, it has never been a cheap one, and the #1 carries on that tradition. Smart is a Mercedes brand after all. That said, you don’t pay full Mercedes money for the #1. The Pro car starts at £31,950, and the Pro+ is £35,950 with its bigger battery. The Premium car is just under £38,950, and the Brabus a hefty £43,450. The latter is entering Model 3 territory.

As we’ll see when we get into more details, the Smart #1 has plenty of quality and features, but the MG4 can give you more range for less, and the same performance as the Brabus for less too. This car competes quite well with Volkswagen Group options on price, however. Overall, you may be willing to pay the extra for the Smart brand and quality.

Design, Comfort and Storage

Exterior Design

Although Smart was making a four-door car before, the #1 is in a different league to the forfour. It’s much more in the crossover class, similar in size to the popular Hyundai Kona or Kia Niro EV. We're not entirely sure about the roofline, although there are echoes of Mini Clubman about it. It looks somehow detached from the rest of the vehicle, particularly with two-tone paintjobs. But the triangular front lights make the #1 seem like it means business.

The overall curviness feels organic, but more conventional than previous Smarts. The plastic wheel arches lend a rugged feel and will be more resilient to urban knocks and scrapes. The door handles are flush with the panels and present themselves when the vehicle unlocks, a system that we know is prone to failure in other vehicles. They then retract flush when you start moving. The Brabus trim has a slightly more pronounced rear spoiler, but otherwise isn’t obviously different other than having some unique paint choices compared to the other trim levels.

Interior Comfort

Although this is a Chinese-built car, the interior is another example of how much China has moved on in quality in the last few years. The Pro and Pro+ have black “After Dark” and white “Lightning” theme options, while Premium offers black “Dark Matter” and white “Touch”. The Brabus car only has a dark upholstery and interior choice. As with most of the paint choices, none of these options appear to cost extra. The basic upholstery is “man-made leather” with the Pro and Pro+, but the Premium version gets duo leather and the Brabus microsuede. Heated seats are standard across the range. They're electrically adjustable with the settings saved via the screen rather than buttons.

The interior design doesn't have any resemblance to a Mercedes, but it does have a strong sense of solid construction, with a modern twist. There’s a high central console, but it has a big space underneath where you could put a bag. There’s a cubby under the armrest at the back, which appears to have its own cooling system, and another at the front, which includes a wireless phone charger pad with the Premium and Brabus trims. There are also two USB C ports and a 12V car power adapter in this space as well. A sliding door in the middle hides a couple of cupholders.

The rear seats have plenty of headroom and kneeroom, much more than the forfour, and there’s a panoramic sunroof across all trims further accentuating the sense of space. The sunroof can be covered with a powered material blind. This is a comfortable car for four adults, although the fifth seat in the middle of the rear is narrower, as always. If you don’t have a middle passenger, this seat back can be pulled down to provide an armrest and a couple of cupholders. The two outer seats also integrate ISOfix points for child car chairs.

Rear seat passengers benefit from a couple of air vents but no direct control over air conditioning. There are USB C and A ports under these vents. Overall, the #1 is a much more competent vehicle for more than two people than any Smart that has gone before.

Storage and Load Carrying

Boot space is more hatchback than SUV with the Smart #1. There is kick release for the boot with the Premium and Brabus. But it’s still powered in all versions. With the rear seats up, capacity is decent, with 421 litres in the Pro and Pro+, but 411 litres with the Premium and Brabus. Both are good for a hatchback, but behind for an SUV. There’s a 12V car power adapter in the rear too.

Drop the rear seats down and you get 986 litres, or 976 litres with the Premium and Brabus. That's quite a bit less than some hatchbacks such as the Volkswagen ID.3 or even the Nissan Leaf, and nothing like what you get with larger SUVs. The rear seats have a 60/40 split but there is a hatch in the middle should you need to load long items and still have two rear passengers. So the #1 isn't number one for rear storage, but it can also tow 1,600kg braked.

In-Car Entertainment and Controls

The Smart #1 is very screen centric, although it does have dashboard instrumentation as well. There's a head up display in the Premium and Brabus, which will probably mean you don't look at the dashboard very often. There's a conventional steering wheel with buttons on the left for cruise control and on the right for media. Both indicators and wipers are controlled by the left-hand stalk, with the right-hand one operating drive modes in typical Mercedes fashion (and like Teslas until the Model S Plaid and 3 Highland).

Everything else is controlled via the central 12.8in infotainment screen. The media display layout looks attractive but can be a bit confusing. It’s very busy. There's climate control onscreen at the bottom and a few buttons to call up functions below the panel. The Driving Mode button calls up motor power levels, including Eco, Normal and Sport. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported, but when we used CarPlay for navigation it froze, which wasn't very inspiring.

What makes the Smart #1’s interface less easy to use than it could be is that it has an inconsistent array of menu systems for different functions. Some are accessed through buttons beneath the screen, some via buttons at the top of the screen, and some through touching appropriate areas within the home screen. However, there are a lot of capabilities here. We particularly like that the satnav’s charger listing showed whether devices are free or in use. There’s also a fun, albeit somewhat distracting, animated fox on the bottom left-hand corner, although the animation doesn’t loop seamlessly – it skips back to the beginning every so often.

There’s also a connected app enabling you to control key aspects of the car, including charging, locking and route planning.

Performance, Running Costs, Range, and Safety

Performance and Driving

All versions of the #1 are quick, even the basic Pro. With 272hp, the rear-wheel-drive Pro, Pro+ and Premium can hit 62mph in just 6.7 seconds. The Brabus's 428hp gives it a 62mph sprint in a mind-boggling 3.9 seconds. That’s not as fast as a Tesla Model 3 Performance, but it’s more than quick enough for urban use. In fact, the single-motor models are too, considering how low the speed limits are in cities these days.

The rear-wheel drive on the single-motor cars means the steering is quite light, and the vehicle feels reasonably nimble, despite its 1,863kg weight. The Brabus version is an absolute brute. It’s more than fast enough to send you on your way to plenty of points on your driving license, although having a motor on the front wheels means the steering is heavier. Most people will consider the rest of the range adequately quick for what is essentially a family hatchback.

The #1 sits comfortably on motorways and feels well within its capabilities at 70mph. The handling errs more on the side of comfort than involvement on A roads, though. Not surprisingly, the emphasis is on hassle-free driving around urban environments. This is a Smart, after all.

Range and Charging

Not only is the #1 larger than previous Smarts, it also has a bigger battery. Even the Pro's 47kWh unit is enough for 193 WLTP miles – much more than the EQ fortwo. The 66kWh battery in all other cars provides up to 273 WLTP miles in the Premium, or 248 miles in the Brabus. The Pro+ doesn't have a heatpump, however, so only manages 260 miles. Either way, while that’s not up with the 300+ miles available from a lot of cars now, it's still a decent range and certainly adequate for long journeys.

We only managed 2.9 miles per kWh in Normal mode, although that was primarily in cold and rainy conditions. This would equate to more like 190 miles on a full charge. It's a competitive figure, but a little under par when Korean cars go further as does the MG4 Extended Range. In Eco mode in sunnier conditions but still most motorways and A roads, the figure rose to almost 3.9 miles per kWh, which would give you 257 miles of range on a full charge.

The Pro and Pro+ have 7.4kW AC charging, but the Premium and Brabus offer 22kW. So the Pro, with its smaller battery, can go from 0 to 100% in 5.5 hours on a regular 7kWh home charger, while the others take 7.5 hours, or 3 hours on three-phase 22kW AC. There's DC charging at 150kW, or 130kW with the Pro. This means 20 to 80% charging in under 30 minutes with all cars – fine for a long trip. In other words, the Smart #1 is not a first-choice car for long distances, but it can manage them when required.

Running Costs

The efficiency of 2.9 miles per kWh is behind, for example, the MG4. If you have a 7.5p per kWh overnight tariff, that will equate to 2.6p per mile, although the WLTP rating is 4.1 miles per kWh. Eco mode would drop energy costs (with that same 7.5p per kWh supply) to under 2p per mile.

The basic warranty is only for three years, which is low for a Chinese-built car, but it is for unlimited miles. However, the battery warranty is for eight years and 70% capacity, extending over a competitive 125,000 miles. There’s an integrated service package for three years or 30,000 miles. This includes free roadside assistance, which can be extended up to eight years or 100,000 miles – but only if you maintain the car at a Smart service partner.

Insurance groups are high, however. Even the basic Pro is in group 30, with the Pro+ in 31, the Premium in 32, and the Brabus in 38. This won’t be the cheapest car to insure.

Safety

The basic safety equipment level is high, and there's a five-star Euro NCAP rating as well. The smart Pilot Assist system provides Adaptive Cruise Control on all trim levels. This includes traffic stop and go, which is a godsend in heavy jams.

There's Lane Change Assist, and warning when you stray across the lines – which is just intrusive enough to improve safety. Blind spot detection is in the form of amber lights on the wing mirrors. Overall, the safety tech has all the modern necessities.

Key Specifications