Yahoo Autos Smart #1 2024 long-term test
Why we’re running it: To see if a bright future lies ahead for the Smart brand reinvented under Geely
Month 1 - Month 2 - Month 3 - Specs
Life with a Smart #1: Month 3
We ask Smart’s top salesperson who’s buying this EV – and her answer is a surprise - 3 April
For those in the market for an electric executive car, the Mercedes-Benz EQE is one of the most luxurious options currently out there.
The £68k-up E-Class EV might be just the thing for that environmentally conscious decision maker who's after some business wheels to impress - especially once the vast Hyperscreen has been bunged in.
So when Neave Corr, a 'Smart expert' based at Mercedes-Benz World in Brooklands, Surrey, told me prospective EQE customers are ditching that idea and instead taking a #1 home, it was a bit of a shock.
"They were coming in for an EQE but walked past those cars to see what that quirky-looking thing was at the back of the showroom, she said. "I'd tell them 'it's a Smart', to which they were shocked by how much it's changed'. As soon as they had seen the standard spec sheet, they would want a drive."
Yes, both aspiring and stalwart Mercedes customers are jumping into something that looks more like a first-generation Nissan Juke than a classy limousine. Amazing.
Central to this is the value the #1 offers. Even the £36k Pro+ version brings a similar level of standard equipment as an £85k EQE, with heated, electrically adjustable and leather-wrapped seats, ambient lighting, enhanced adaptive control, a heat pump and even a fridge. Only the Mercedes' massage function is missing.
Ultimately, though, Corr believes it's down to how the car looks ("They love how quirky it is") coupled with its five-star Euro NCAP safety score. "A lot of people who come in see the specs, see the safety score, think 'that looks cool', decide to go for a drive, then just fall in love," she said.
This was a surprise, given my own grumblings about the Smart's heavy regenerative braking and overzealous driver awareness tech, which were echoed by other Autocar testers during last week's sub-£40k EV mega-test - a key reason for it finishing 12th out of 12.
I asked Corr whether any customers had reported similar issues. "There have been a few, but most people really like how the car drives compared with other cars they have test driven or owned," she replied, giving a special mention to the Volkswagen ID 3.
This corresponds with an email I received from a #1 owner, who politely observed that "I don't recognise your driving experience. I have only found the drive to be smooth and easy to modulate." In any case, confirmed Corr, much to my delight, these niggles would be addressed in an over-the-air software update in July.
Since the #1's launch in September last year, Corr has been Smarts' top salesperson in the UK, managing to sell 50. At the time of our conversation, she was having her biggest month so far, with 12 sold midway through March. "They just sell themselves,
Of those 50 sales, the range-topping Premium version was most popular (55%, followed by the high-performance Brabus (40%). Another thing in the #1's favour is the buying process. Being under the Mercedes umbrella, Smart also uses the agency model, whereby the price is the price and haggling isn't an option.
"Once people understand the sales method, there aren't really any issues. It means you can either afford it or you can't," said Corr.
Smart makes this method even simpler by reducing the buying process to three steps: choose one of the four model variants, choose one of nine paint colours (which is matched to either one or two interior choices) and choose your payment method.
"The streamlined process of buying a Smart makes it easier to sell," said Corr. Next up for the brand is the #3, ultimately a stretched version of the bulbous #1 - and there's already an "unofficial" waiting list for it, said Corr, mainly comprising those who liked the #1 but found it too small.
Smart, then, is quietly advancing in the UK. Admittedly it's so quiet that I've seen only one other #1 on the road. But clearly there's a market for this car - and one that I imagine will continue to grow as the brand's line-up expands.
Love it
Flexible rear
I can slide the back seats forward a tad to get more stuff in the boot, and no gaps appear, as there’s an extra bit of carpet that pulls out.
Loathe it
Too much to handle
The right stalk just selects drive, leaving the left stalk to do the rest. The result is much twisting of the left stalk to control the front wipers, there’s only one rear wiper setting and the foglights are relegated to the touchscreen.
Mileage: 6328
Life with a Smart #1: Month 2
For all drivers to go electric, EVs need to feel more familiar than this - 13 March
There has been a tirade of negative stories about EVs in the mainstream media recently, about how they're damaging the British economy, now they're actually not economical at all and how they're causing 'petrol cars to be banned'.
These stories, which have been dubbed a vocal anti-EV campaign' by a House of Lords report, have been harming public confidence as we move towards the end of new ICE car sales in 2035 - and manufacturers, politicians and environmentalists have been fighting back with facts.
While such stories are dubious, they do highlight how much of an adjustment going electric requires. Certainly in my experience, EVs need to get better - or should I say friendlier - to win over much of the wider public. And a classic case of why is the car I'm currently driving: the Smart #1.
If I were a member of the public thinking about going electric after years with ICE cars, the experience of the #1 would cause me some real concern, even if I had done my research before committing. No, the #1 isn't a terrible car to drive, but it does require a lot of adaptation before you can get the best out of it.
You see, its regenerative braking is stern enough to give a one-pedal driving experience, even in its weakest mode, and it can't be switched off, plus there's a delay of around a second to the regen kicking in when you start to release the pedal and likewise to acceleration when you depress it.
This can take you completely out of your comfort zone and make you overthink at junctions. Early on in my time with the #1, I found that it was making me speed in certain situations, due to the delicate and delayed nature of the accelerator pedal and the regen taking up about the first third of its mapping.
It feels more like a clutch on the brink than an intuitive single pedal because it's difficult to judge your power input based on feel alone.
As I mentioned earlier, this isn't a characteristic that's exclusive to the #1. Similar traits can be found in, for example, the closely related Volvo EX30 and the GWM Ora 03 (née Ora Funky Cat).
Significantly, those EVs were both also engineered in China, whereas European and Japanese EVs have generally in my experience felt better calibrated. The best of the breed feel more like their familiar ICE counterparts, not being overly complicated and offering more adjustability.
For example, the likes of the Lexus RZ and Audi E-tron GT allow you to turn regen off or at least way down, enabling you to coast, which will be important for those nervously transitioning from an ICE car to an EV.
A car that has been engineered perfectly for transitional drivers is the Vauxhall Corsa Electric - for the time being, the UK's cheapest EV.
Vauxhall has hit every note that all EV makers should be aiming for basically, the EV feels like a petrol-engined Corsa, just without the gearshifts, yet not to the detriment of its energy efficiency.
What a lack of straightforward drivability also does in the case of the #1 is take away from how great an all-round package it could be.
It offers a decent real-world range for an EV (I've found it's about 210 miles in motorway use or 230 miles in mixed-use), it supports AC charging speeds of up to 22kw, and in Sport driving mode it can hit 62mph from rest in a mere 3.8sec.
Its Mercedes-designed interior is also fantastic, with a look that screams premium, impressive technology and comfort that's meticulously adjustable.
To say that I'm not enjoying the #1 would be unfair, because there are a lot of aspects I do like, especially after a bit of bedding-in time, but this truly does feel the furthest from a conventional car that I've driven in this new electric age, which will surely hinder its ability to win over first-time EV buyers.
Love it
No wires needed
Wireless Android Auto is really handy, especially as my phone’s USB port is a bit dodgy. It looks great on the 12.8in screen, too
Loathe it
Coming in hot
A recent over-the-air software update brought heated steering as a ‘winter gift’. Great – but will it get taken away come spring?
Mileage: 5154
Life with a Smart #1: Month 1
A trip to the tip shows this Smart car is a practical #1 - 28 February
What’s the first thing you do with a new car to test its usability? Take it to the tip, of course. With the rear seats (easily) folded down and 411 litres to play with (the VW T-Roc has 445), I slid in an old desk, a mediumsized wooden box and two bags of clothes, all around a set of golf clubs (not to be dumped; user’s own). No fuss. Thumbs up from me.
Mileage: 4104
Welcoming the #1 to the fleet - 14 February
Here's something I bet you never expected in Autocar: a magic trick. I'm going to say a word and then tell you what you saw in your mind's eye. Ready? Smart. Now, if you say you didn't see a quirky two-seater, I know you're lying.
The point I'm trying to make isn't that I should have reinvented myself as The Wondrous Wilberforce but that the public perception of the Smart brand is set in stone.
So when it unveiled the bulbous Concept #1 (pronounced hashtag one', regrettably) at the Munich motor show in 2021, it took us all a bit by surprise.
Yes, it had gone off-piste before - creating a roadster and modifying a Mitsubishi Colt to create a four-seat supermini-but never to such an extent.
With a stylish look that showed its Mercedes-Benz design studio origins, this electric crossover was certainly eye-catching. The question was whether Smart could keep it that way for production. Well, the car you see here is the result: welcome to Smart 2.0.
When the #1 arrived on our shores last summer, Smart Europe CEO Dirk Adelmann hailed it as "the nucleus of all things to come". Without wanting to lose any momentum, and before the #1 had even made it onto UK roads, Smart quickly revealed the #3.
Basically a stretched #1 in a similar vein to how the Volkswagen ID 4 grows on the ID 3, this SUV cemented Smart's new, reinvented look - and, more importantly, challenged how as a brand it would be perceived by the public: no longer a maker of quirky two-seaters.
Anyway, what we have here is Smart's electric reawakening. This is the brand's first new model since Geely - the Chinese giant that sold 1.7 million cars last year - took a 50% stake back in 2019. In fact, it is the first new model to wear a Smart badge in a whole decade.
Given that its unrelated to the old EQ Fortwo and EQ Forfour, it is a chance for the brand to break into the EV mainstream and become more than a creator of upmarket city cars.
The #1 is not quite a conventional hatchback and not quite a typically SUV-like crossover (very much like the now-renamed Ora Funky Cat we ran on our fleet previously) - a weird straddling of segments that IS becoming increasingly popular.
It is positioned as a premium crossover rivalling the Renault Mégane E-Tech and Kia Niro EV, with an emphasis on maximising interior space. In terms of design, this is a car of two halves: designed by Mercedes as is quite clear from the E-Class-esque, metal-plated interior) and engineered by Geely.
That last part is important: the #1 is the hrst Europe-bound EV to use Geely's new SEA architecture (heralded by the Chinese-market Zeekr 001 shooting brake). This will also underpin the EX30, Volvo's entry-level, £33,000 EV that is expected to do very well when it arrives later this year.
So well, indeed, that Smart recently announced a new entry-level #1 Pro model with a smaller (49kWh) battery and fewer features. Our car is the Premium, the top trim available before you hit the speed-crazed Brabus, which adds a second motor for 422bhp, 400lb ft of torque and 0-62mph in just 3.9sec.
For £38,950, the 268bhp Premium gives you 273 miles of range (thanks to efficiency of 3.7mpkWh) from a 66kWh battery, 150kW fast charging, a 12.8in touchscreen, a heat pump (of huge importance given the British climate), a plush interior and a host of safety features and other (hopefully) helpful technology. It really does feel very Mercedes.
On face value alone, and with the current costs of EVs considered, it seems pretty good value to me. But it will be behind the wheel, over the coming months, where the all-important questions will be answered. One of those key ones: could this car replace a combustion-engined Mercedes A-Class?
First driving impressions are, well, mixed. The #1 is a hoot in the corners, it's great around town and it just feels all-round composed. However, the strength of its regenerative braking (even in its lowest setting; it can't be turned off) gives the car a one-pedal driving feel, which will take some getting used to.
Like its Swedish sibling, the #1 relies heavily on its touchscreen, so much so that it is even needed to adjust the door mirrors, and that means traversing three menus. Those of you who have seen Matt Prior's YouTube review of the EX30 will understand my frustrations.
And I haven't even spoken about the quirky indicator sounds yet. More on that to come.
In sum, then: this 1s a good-looking, handily sized EV that's well suited to a small, modern-thinking, tech-savvy family, with enough range for a week of city living and school runs, plus a few longer commutes.
So it's rather unfortunate that I am at the other end of the spectrum, with a 130-mile run to the office and back. I'm not expecting to go two days without charging it, given how range-killing motorways can be.
How the #1 handles that and how much range it sheds will be something to note closely. It will be especially interesting to see how much using the heat pump preserves the miles. I have heard good things already.
So, watch this space, reader. Putting my few initial concerns aside, it seems that the #1 is a car with a lot to offer, and I have high hopes that it can deliver. Everyday usability will be the key. Like, I suppose, the Smart of old.
Second Opinion
It has taken me a while to figure out why I’m a bit lukewarm on the #1. After all, there is a lot to recommend it: price, range, space, equipment and more. It’s just a bit bland across the board – a bit appliancey. That’s fine, but it does mean that the handful of annoyances and drivability issues grate all the more.
Illya Verpraet
Smart #1 Premium specification
Specs: Price New £38,950 Price as tested £38,950 Options None
Test Data: Engine Permanent-magnet synchronous motor Power 268bhp Torque 253lb ft Kerb weight 1725kg Top speed 112mph 0-62mph 6.7sec Efficiency 3.7mpkWh CO2 0g/km Faults None Expenses None
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