Battery-electric rival for BMW iX3 due to go on sale in China this year ahead of global rollout in 2024
The all-new 2024 Smart #3 will make its public debut at the Shanghai motor show on April 18 ahead of Chinese sales kicking off before Christmas and European deliveries commencing next year.
Created to rival battery-electric premium small SUVs like the Audi Q4 e-tron, BMW iX3 and Volkswagen ID.4, the incoming Smart #3 will ride on the latest SEA architecture from Chinese car-maker Geely, which has a 50 per cent stake in the Mercedes-Benz-owned brand.
After a leak by the Chinese government’s homologation department late last year, we’ve already seen how the Smart #3 will differentiate itself from the smaller Smart #1 with more of a rakish, sportier coupe-style SUV body.
The headlights, tail-lights, door mirrors and pop-out door handles all look to have carried over from the Smart #1.
Measuring 4400mm long, 1844mm wide and standing 1556mm tall, the Smart #3 is 130mm longer, 22mm wider and 80mm lower than the #1, occupying a similar footprint to the Mercedes-Benz GLA.
The earlier leaked pics didn’t give us a look inside, but the skateboard-style EV platform should enable more interior space compared to combustion-powered rivals.
Geely SEA Platform
Like the #1, we expect the swoopier Smart #3 to come with a huge 12.8-inch infotainment screen that is both customisable and includes a 3D avatar that acts as an on-board assistant.
Ahead of the driver is a smaller 9.8-inch digital instrument cluster.
Set to weigh in at 1740-1890kg, the entry-level Smart #3 is expected to use a single 200kW motor driving the rear wheels, while the most powerful version will get two electric motors that pump out 315kW/543Nm combined.
The most powerful Smart #3 is tipped to carry the Brabus badge and should return a 0-100km/h sprint of just 3.7 seconds.
It’s still not been confirmed what battery will feed current to the electric motors, but it’s a safe bet that the 66kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery from the Smart #1 will be employed. If so, expect the bigger Smart #3 to have a driving range from 420-440km.
Right-hand drive variants of the Smart #1 are set to go on sale by the middle of 2023 in markets like the UK, followed by the bigger Smart #3 just months later, however it’s still not known if there’s any plans set in motion to launch both EVs Down Under.
Interestingly, in the UK both Smart cars will be sold via the Mercedes-Benz dealer network which could be replicated in Australia, marking a return of the premium brand that left our shores in 2015.
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Keyword: 2024 Smart #3 SUV set for April debut