Say hello to the smart #1. Or to use the name smart would prefer us to mention, the ‘hashtag’ one. Marketing departments, eh? Anyway, daft name aside, this is a car that we’ve been looking forward to driving for some time. We took a passenger ride in a prototype earlier this year and came away very impressed with the design, feel and quality.
And now, we’ve just driven it on the road in Portugal ahead of its launch in the UK early next year. Let’s start with some basics. Smart as a company is now a team effort by Mercedes Benz and Chinese überMegaCorp Geely, and the One is based on Geely’s underpinnings called the SEA platform.
That’s the same kit which should also form the bones of models from companies like Volvo, so it’s a solid skeleton, and the basic model comes equipped with a decent 66kWh battery, a single motor and a possible 273 miles of rear-wheel drive range.
Which all sounds perfectly sensible.
Obviously it’s yet another little SUV-type thing, but we’ll just have to get used to that, because batteries are kind of chunky, live under the floors of electric cars, and it’s just easier for electric car makers to jack the car up a bit and call it an SUV than try to engineer around it.
But should you have the #1 on your shortlist? Or is it just another compact SUV that offers the same fare as its competitors? Check out Tom’s first drive and, as always, let us know what you think in the comments.
#smart #1 #smart1 #brabus #brabussmart
Smart #1 66kWh
£tba
270bhp, 253lb ft of torque
Rear wheel drive, 1-spd
6.7seconds 0-62mph, 112mph top speed
66.0kWh battery (useable), 273 miles range WLTP
150kw DC, 22kw AC, 29 min fast DC, 65min 50kW, 10hr 30 mins on home wallbox
Weight: 1,895kg
Boot: 273-litres (411? seats folded)
Frunk: 15-litres
Tow: n/a
• FIRST RIDE: New smart ...
00:00 Intro
00:38 What is it?
01:32 Styling
02:52 It's a Brabus !
03:42 Interior and practicality
04:58 Kit and specs
05:44 Infotainment system & the Fox
07:57 Passengers space and boot
08:35 Driving impressions
11:37 The Brabus mode
13:42 Versions and range
15:25 Price and verdict
16:16 A friendly reminder by Dr. Tilo
14 июл 2024
