DRIVEN: smart #1. Has smart built the small electric car we’ve ALL been waiting for? / Electrifying

What smart insists we call it so thats. What were going to do also were about to have a smart hashtag Drive of it here in Portugal, which has nothing to do with the car other than its hot and pretty now. I am very much looking forward to this because I was really impressed with this car when I had a passenger ride in it earlier in the year and now Im actually going to get to drive it. So, first of all, let us know what you think in the comments and no more arguing about the name. So lets start with the basics. Now smart is now a co production between Mercedes Benz and Chinese Uber Mega Corporation geely and the smart hashtag one is based on a small chassis from geely called the sea platform, its the same set of Bones thats, going to form the basics of cars that are Coming from companies like Volvo, so it should be a good little basic skeleton and the basic car comes with rear, wheel, drive 271 brake horsepower and a decent 0 to 62 time of about 6.9 seconds, which all sounds perfectly sensible. Now the hashtag one is obviously another kind of jacked up hatchback small SUV type thing. But the reason for that is because batteries are quite tall and they live underneath the car so its easier for a manufacturer to just raise the car up a little bit rather than engineer around it, so thats what were going to have to get used to.

So what we get is a car thats got quite a raised up stance for a five seat hatchback, but its a little bit deceiving because this car is actually shorter than something like a Nissan Leaf, but wider and taller so its a bit more Square. Its also much more rounded its, not very aggressive. So if you look at the way this car is set up its got this full width light bar at the front thats mirrored by a very similar shape at the back. So its got a kind of push me pull you Vibe, it looks very similar, theyre, definitely related and theres no harsh surfacing. This is not an aggressive car. Also when you walk around it, you notice that all the models get 19 inch wheels. So they all look decently proportioned in terms of the shapes when youre following it around. Then, if you come around here, you just notice that everything has these rounded forms this isnt a car that is angry, its a bit more subtle than that, and then you get to one of the most striking points about the car, which is the roof. Now its got a black pillar here, which makes it look like this roof is floating and then its got this big blocky bit at the back, which I happen to think, makes it look like the smart is wearing someone elses hat or that the roof went a Bit droopy in the sunshine that makes it sound like I dont like it, but I actually do.

I think the Smart looks like a proper piece of product design. It might be a bit conservative now, but I also think that it wont date badly and thats a good thing now. Some of you may have noticed that this car is a little bit different. Its got these little badges scattered around it that say Brabus. Now we arrived on the launch not expecting this car, but this is a very special version where the standard, smart, hashtag one – has rear wheel, drive and 271 brake horsepower. This Brabus version has four wheel: drive two Motors and 420 brake horsepower. It gets from zero to 62 miles an hour in 3.9 seconds, and the only way you can tell its a Brabus is the fact that its got those badges its got slightly different Wheels, albeit the same size at 19 inches and a very subtle body kit. With this kind of red line that goes all around the bottom of the car, it is quite fast hashtag crikey, its also got some vents in the bonnet, which are fake. As for the inside, the same sort of curvy rounded thing continues. So youve got this big sort of t shaped center, console that flares into this big oblong looks quite swoopy and nice, its actually quite High, compared to some of the electric cars that Ive been driving but manages to feel cozy rather than cramped. And there is absolutely tons of storage, so youve got this big shape down here, which is good for bigger objects, which is Handy and then under here youve got a wireless charging tray, which is always useful its standard on most of the versions.

A couple of USB Cs and a 12 volt charger theres a little glove box, which is good for hiding things away. And then here we have a little slot for your mobile phone, always handy couple of cup holders and then here in this bin is actually a cooled space. So you can keep your chocolate unmelted theres. Also some nice little details like the mood lighting. You can have one of 64 colors, which actually means you can match it to your mood Im in a very red frame of mind. I have to say so. This does feel more upscale than some of the cars that Ive been driving lately now. Some of that is subjective, but when I really touch and feel the car, the quality is really good, and the attention to detail is on point. It makes it feel like a premium product, unsurprisingly theres a decent chunk of Kit, especially on the more expensive versions, including all the greatest hits. You might expect from Advanced Driver resistance systems to aircon pseudo leather and heated bits and bobs theres. An optional beats stereo, which is standard on this one, a glass roof and the ability to generate a digital key from your smartphone, so that you can give the key to other people its packed with some nice features. The range runs from Pro Plus through premium and launch edition, which all have the same battery and rear wheel drive with 271 brake horsepower. All get 19 inch wheels and things like heat pumps, apart from the Bass Pro Plus the Brabus on the top end, gets the same battery but another motor up front to give all wheel drive and 420 brake horsepower, but more on that one in a bit.

But the things Ive been really playing with are the screens. Now you get this usual 10 inch info display in front of the driver, but this 12.8 inch touchscreen in the middle of the car. Now this is interesting because its a completely new way of dealing with all the functions of this vehicle now smart says that its come up with a completely new way of doing things and its more like a tablet computer than a touchscreen on a car. It immediately looks quite confusing, but the graphics are crisp everything sort of touches really quickly. Everything moves really nicely. It is a bit confusing at first theres, a lot of widgets theres, a lot of menus theres, a lot of things to touch and play with, and some of it does seem to be a little bit laggy, especially in these early cars. But its got this little fox Avatar here, which is supposed to help. You do things. So if I say hello, smart, what would you like to do next? The fox answers me: could you open the drivers window please Music? Now, sometimes it understands you perfectly. To be honest, opening the window wasnt something I ever struggled with, but other times it struggles a little bit finding out what you want. This whole thing by the way is over the air updatable, and so it should remain fresh over the course of the Smarts life. It is not at the moment perfect it doesnt support Apple, carplay or Android auto and because its a little bit complicated, you have to sit with it for quite a long time to figure out where things are.

One of the interesting things is that smarts actually used a lot of inspiration and the chipsets from gaming computers to make this thing look slick, and actually, I think its really worked – is its fast and got loads of detail in the screen. The trouble with that is, I think, theyve also put in all of the detail that they could, some of them more often use functions. I could do with being just more obvious and I think, having all of this stuff this globe with all these different things on. It looks really busy, especially when youre driving down the road. You want it clear and you want it more precise, Im sure 14 year olds will get this instantly, but me being old and a bit daft Ive struggled with it. If Im honest on a more practical note, space is good but youre not going to be setting any records, theres, really very decent leg, room for the front seats and its very agreeable in the back with these sliding seats, its more like a big saloon car than A relatively small hatchback. The boot, though, is definitely nothing to write home about at 273 liters its a bit down on a regular hatchback. But if you fold or Slide the seats, its better and theres a false floor for things like cables, but its not one big volume, suffice to say the smart isnt winning any kind of van race got little kids. A decent pram would fill this, and the frunk is only 15 liters, so only useful for storing, really small things like Chihuahuas.

You dont, like the good news, is that the smart hashtag one is actually very nice to drive. Now this isnt the kind of out of the box wild thinking that made smart what it was back in the day, but as a tidy nice handling little electric car, its got loads of appeal. The less powerful version at the moment has 271 brake horsepower, which is plenty for a car of this size, and it makes it quick if not outright fast fast, so it gets from zero to 62 miles an hour in 6.7 seconds, so thats plenty to be getting On with its probably the most kind of conservative of the bunch at the moment, but there are more modest versions that will arrive later. To be honest, Im not sure you need even all of that 271 brake horsepower and its rear wheel drive. So it does feel naturally quite sporty. I am happy, though, because in this car all of the little things seem to have been taken into account. The steering is nicely weighted and super accurate and though the damping feels actually quite soft, its got really good body control through corners and even though it leans ever such a little bit. It kind of tells you what the cars doing so it feels quite natural, and it also rides a lot better than I thought it would. When I first had a passenger ride in this car, I thought it would be quite hard and actually its not its still firm enough to get you around a roundabout but its not crashy or strange.

There is brake regeneration as well, but unfortunately you can only access it through the screen and its only got two settings and if you put it on maximum its kind of okay, its not particularly strong, so I dont I dont, feel like this is a particularly aggressive One pedal car its enough to work for you, though so thats all fine. The one thing I have been thinking, though, on all of the versions of this smart hashtag, one that Ive driven so far, they do still feel quite heavy now 271 brake horsepower is quite a lot in a car of this size, but it still weighs 1800 kilos. So you notice that again, when youre braking when youre accelerating and when youre going around the corner Im not saying this is bad, but you are always a little bit aware that its quite Porky, you also get Drive modes. So you access those through this button. Just under the touch screen and you get ecosport normal as with most of the cars, and they just change things like the steering weight and the aggression of the throttle, pedal um, the rear, wheel, drive car feels quite well balanced. It even sometimes feels like it wants to kick the rear end out, which is quite good fun. Its got a good turning Circle and everything about its really Pleasant, its kind of like theres, a lot of know how in this car thats been applied, and it feels pretty good.

The biggest compliment I can give it is that this immediately feels like a really well engineered piece of Kit, theres, no massive Dynamic holes to poke at so I think this is a really good job, great work, smart people and yes, I pronounced that with a capital S there is one thing, though, this car, that Im driving is the Brabus version. Now that gives you the same motor as the 270 horsepower car in the back, but also an extra motor in the front, giving you all wheel, drive and 420 brake horsepower. What it also gives you is an extra mode in the driving mode that just says: Brabus Ive just engaged it whatever will we do Music? So the car raises up like a speedboat, the nose points towards the sky and it starts to make a noise like its got, an engine its really loud as well. Now this car gets from zero to 62 miles an hour in under four seconds 3.9. Now that is fast in anyones book and actually its really easy. I know that a lot of electric cars are fast, but as soon as you just stop it and if youre at the traffic lights, all you have to do is this Music Laughter? The weird thing is, the Brabus still feels quite heavy, so even though its really quick and quite controlled, it does lean over now. Some people would think that would be a really bad thing, but given the performance and given the weight actually its quite good, it gives you a sense of what the tires are doing and how much grip youve got.

It feels like a sports car, albeit a really big fat electric one. The Brabus is really quite a funny car. I think its quite pointless, but whoevers made this has got a proper sense of humor. Even the noise, the noise is completely silly, its really loud its actually not that Pleasant, but it you know it adds something to the experience it makes. You go. Okay, its a Brabus. The Brabus will show a sports car the way home at least away from the lights. I know thats a petty trick, but its one that I havent got bored of yet. However, I will say that the premium spec rear wheel drive is probably the most sensible choice but um back to more General smart news, so there are more versions of the one coming, but at the start, all versions get a 66 kilowatt hour battery. The Pro Plus has a slightly different and less efficient motor, so that gets 260 miles of range on the wltp cycle, but still has 271 brake horsepower. The premium and launch editions get a little more at 273 miles of range, but the same power and the Brabus has lots more power, but only 248 miles of possible range all get the same. Charging ability. So, apart from the Pro Plus, which gets 7.3 kilowatt, AC, were talking 22 kilowatt ability for AC charging, so youll be able to make the most of any AC charging post. You happen to come across and its 150 kilowatt DC charging as standard across the range which is at the upper end of what you might expect from a car of this type.

That means youll only be spending half an hour for a 10 to 80 charge on a big public rapid charger on a more common 50 kilowatt charger, youre, looking at just over an hour and about 10 and a half hours on a home wall box thatll be Enough for most a means that longer Journey shouldnt be too much hassle, decent range and fast charging means less time spent doing the boring bit. The Brabus gets the same charging Hardware, but a little less range like we mentioned, but you do get a lot more power to play with. Incidentally, I did wonder why the charge flap had to be here rather than back up under the badge, which would be cooler. Well, it turns out that bending the thick high voltage cables up into this position, wasnt possible, so the flap stayed lower geek points. For that knowledge, I have to say that on First Impressions, Im really quite taken with the smart hashtag one which, despite what everybody says, I still just want to call the smart one. I think it looks interesting without being weird for the sake of it and I think its got some really outstanding Tech features. Although these pre production versions do need a little bit of work, but better than that, I think it rides and handles and goes really well. Prices for the UK havent been released as yet so my best guess is going to appear at the bottom of the screen.

Now so no not exactly cheap, but I do happen to think its actually quite good value for money. Given the equipment you get. This feels like a brand thats really hit the ground running. Yes, there are some bugs to work out, but this is a really good start for smart. It turns out that smart isnt what it used to be, but in this case Revolution really is better than evolution, so tilo um. Just for the avoidance of doubt, I wanted to check exactly what is this car called smart hashtag one.