The new Smart #5 is both bigger and smarter

If your mental image is a Intelligent The car is a tiny two-seater crammed into an impossibly small parking space, be prepared for a reset. The new Smart #5 is the brand’s biggest and boldest yet, a 4.7 meter long family SUV that completes Smart’s transformation from a microcar maker to a serious premium EV competitor.

A joint effort of designers from Mercedes-Benz and manufacturing giant Geely, the Smart #5 takes advantage of its large size – you could park an original Fortwo within its wheelbase – to provide a gorgeously spacious, flat-floor cabin for five people. It’s a far cry from the brand’s quirky roots, but with cutting-edge 800V charging, a high-tech interior and impressive practicality, the #5 proves Smart’s new, broader direction has the makings.

How we tested

We drove the Smart #5 Brabus through Porto and its surrounding countryside, assessing its performance, handling, interior technology and practicality on a variety of challenging roads.

Independent Rating: 7/10

Smart #5 Specifications

Battery, range, charging, performance and drive

The Smart #5 comes with two battery sizes. There’s an entry-level Pro with a 76kWh battery and 288 miles of range that will likely cost around £32,000. Move up to Pro+ and above and you’ll get a 100kWh battery, providing 366 miles in the RWD rear-drive configuration and 335 miles in the 4×4 AWD car.

Those higher trims include an over-the-top BRABUS version that can cost around £55,000. It delivers 637bhp with some comfort and efficiency and takes the 0-62mph time to 3.8s – just in case that’s something anyone would ever want to do in a Smart car. That’s silly performance for an SUV this heavy (and few customers will choose it) but thankfully the Smart #5 is quick in those ways too.

Charging speed is where the Smart #5 excels. The largest battery will charge at speeds of up to 400kW under optimal conditions, taking the Smart #5 from 10 to 80 percent in less than 18 minutes. That’s faster than the Porsche Taycan and the new Tesla Model Y, but you’re unlikely to get those optimal conditions any time soon in the UK – where typical motorway fast chargers are currently available at 350kW. The entry-level Pro version won’t be a concern for our existing charging infrastructure, with a charging speed of 150 kW capable of reaching 10 to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes.

We tested the smart #5 Brabus, which, even on its 21-inch alloy wheels, feels composed and comfortable, whether you’re crawling over cobbled roads or cruising at motorway speeds. The top-spec Brabus is inconsistently powerful for an otherwise sensible family SUV, but switch to a less sporty driving mode and you’ll get something closer to the performance of the lower trim models. Things become more business-like with nicely weighted steering and smoother, more predictable power delivery.

Ironically, city driving is not the Smart #5’s strong suit. The 2.4-tonne SUV is more comfortable in start-stop traffic, and the boxy body shape gives you excellent road visibility, but the car’s size and fairly normal turning circle make it naturally unsuitable for tight turns and exiting tricky spots.

Interior, practicality and boot space

The Smart #5 is surprisingly cavernous. A flat floor and long wheelbase, combined with the overall boxiness of the shape, creates copious amounts of headroom and legroom for even the tallest front and rear passengers. Boot space measures 630 litres, which expands to 1,530 liters with the seats folded. There’s also 74 liters of space in the trunk if you need it.

The Smart #5 comes with some nice kit as standard. Even the basic Pro gets a panoramic roof, plus a heated driver’s seat, a 360-degree parking camera, and climate control for rear passengers. Move up to higher trims and you’ll get features like dual wireless charging pads for your phone, a touchscreen display for your passenger, a heat pump for better battery efficiency, and an augmented reality head-up display.

Technology, Stereo and Infotainment

Smart has gone all-in on display with #5. The dashboard is dominated by a bright and responsive 13in OLED central touchscreen – it’s an impressive, pill-shaped panel that extends to the passenger side in Pro+ models and above. Somewhat worryingly, if your passenger is bored enough with your company he can watch movies from his side in the car – although Smart says the passenger’s display will be disabled if the driver tries to glance at whatever’s going on in the car.

The OLED display is vibrant, sharp, not too cluttered, and intuitive to navigate. Although you don’t get physical buttons on the display, you do get a few buttons on the steering wheel and the most essential controls are always within reach on the screen. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integrate neatly with Smart’s built-in interface to work wirelessly and seamlessly.

You’ve got your usual list of driver assistance systems, including some highly discreet safety warnings like many modern cars. For example, when overtaking a truck on a motorway with ample space, we got a clear message that the car was “taking evasive action”. Just yawn once and you’ll be asked to take a break and have a coffee. The car’s lane keeping can also be a bit funny with adaptive cruise control, sometimes wandering into lanes as if it’s looking for something.

Premium models and above get an impressive 20-speaker Sennheiser system with Dolby Atmos support, all 1,190 watts of which sound great in the Smart #5’s arena-sized cockpit.

Prices and operating costs

The Smart #5 will be available in the UK later this year, with pricing yet to be announced. The entry-level Pro is estimated to cost around £32,000, which, if Smart can manage it, will offer good value in the competitive mid-size SUV market given the size of the #5, the amount of standard kit and that impressive charging tech. The top-spec BRABUS model could cross the £55,000 mark when prices are announced.

Efficiency is nothing special, but still good at around 3.8 miles per kWh, meaning running costs will be normal for a larger EV. This means it’s cheaper to charge at home on off-peak tariffs, but potentially expensive if you want to regularly use the Smart #5’s impressive charging speeds at a public charger.

Smart #5 Rival

questions to ask

How long does it take to charge?

Models with a 100kWh battery and 800V system can theoretically charge from 10 to 80 percent in less than 18 minutes on a 400kW+ charger. The 76kWh Pro model takes less than 30 minutes on a 150kW charger.

How much does it cost – is it worth it?

Estimated at £32k to over £50k. Mid-range models offer a strong mix of space, tech and range for the money, making it an attractive premium EV option if you can live with the screen-heavy interface.

Does Smart replace batteries for free?

Like most EV manufacturers, Smart will offer an 8-year/100,000-mile warranty on the high-voltage battery, covering significant degradation or failure.

Why trust us?

Our team of motoring experts has decades of experience driving, reviewing and reporting on the latest EV cars, and our verdicts are tailored with every type of driver in mind. We thoroughly test every car we rate, so you can be sure our judgments are honest, fair and authentic.

Verdict: Smart #5

Big enough to swallow the old Smart Fortwo whole, the Smart #5 is about as far from the brand’s quirky heritage as you can get. Impressively large, packed with technology and with plenty of screens in the cockpit, the family SUV offers a premium driving experience, abundant interior space, plenty of kit and enough character to avoid feeling generic. The BRABUS is very fast, but it would be better to buy the standard version.