New Smart #1 2023 review

Smart's bold new crossover is competitively priced, but there's plenty of room for improvement

Verdict

The family-sized electric crossover is a bold new world for the Smart brand and, though it’s priced competitively, the Smart #1 has plenty of areas that can be improved. It’s not a fundamentally bad car, but areas like the chassis tuning, electric motor calibration and the acquired taste infotainment system all feel a little bit rushed. Few EVs at this price point are without their drawbacks, though, so it’s still worth a look.

This is the Smart #1, which at 4,270mm long takes up roughly the same space in a parking bay as two of the old Smart ForTwo city cars – if one is parked regularly and the other sits perpendicular to the kerb.

This is a new car, then, that very much lives up to the idea that new cars keep on getting larger. In more significant terms, however, the #1, driven here for the first time on UK roads following our first encounter abroad, shows a massive change of tactics for the brand.

The first all-new model to be released since Smart became a joint venture between Mercedes and Chinese carmaker Geely turns its back on the dinky but cleverly designed city cars of old. Instead, the brand is looking to take a posh-ish interpretation of the mainstream EV segment populated by the likes of the Renault Megane, BYD Atto 3 and Kia Niro EV.

It may be a giant compared to the ForTwo, but everything was. Its length is a few millimetres shorter than a Volkswagen Golf, so it’s hardly enormous in the context of the mid-size family car market as a whole. Within that modest footprint is a car designed to be an EV from the outset, with some promising on-paper stats crammed inside.

Energy is supplied by a 62kWh battery which translates into a WLTP range of 273 miles, putting the Smart very much on a par with those three rivals mentioned previously. Thanks to 150kW charging and a rear-mounted motor with 268bhp, however, it pulls well clear of any of them. That’s not bad when you consider that, starting from £35,950, its base trim sneaks a few hundred pounds under the starting price of all three.

Standard kit is plentiful for the money, with all Smart #1 versions coming loaded with LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, heated seats, a 360-degree parking camera, a powered tailgate and a range of driver assist tech.

Step inside, and first impressions don’t include anything to foster doubt that this is a premium product. You’re presented with a minimalist yet modern dashboard arrangement, which is dominated by a vast 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment display.

There’s a colourful planet-type arrangement in the middle of the homescreen, which spins around and changes colour based on whether you select Eco, Comfort or Sport from the driving modes. It loads reasonably quickly, too, though the mapping graphics look a little plain.

An on-screen assistant takes the form of a cute little fox, though this clunks from one animation to the next like a hastily uploaded .gif file. Combined with the various shortcuts scattered about the main page, this typifies a user experience struggling to tread a fine line between looking fun and just a little bit childish. The fact that climate controls, and even the door mirror adjustment, are on-screen only, contribute to the feeling that the interface could have been thought out a little better.

That’s not the only issue with the setup, either. We found it most comfortable to steady our hand by resting an elbow on the flimsy cover for the cupholders while using the screen, so you either press down on something that might not take the pressure, or dip your elbow in some coffee.

There’s a feeling of cheapness in some of the Smart’s personality traits out on the road, too. The brake regen feels like it needs more work to be calibrated properly. As it stands, there’s quite a long delay between the driver lifting their foot off the accelerator and any regen happening. This makes it very tricky to coast smoothly; you think you’ve got it right and then all of a sudden you’re pulled back more than you expect. Even in its weakest setting (there are two regen options, plus a full-on e-pedal mode), it’s quite strong, too. At low speeds, switching between Drive and Reverse on the column stalk can’t be rushed, otherwise a gear isn’t selected at all.

The suspension is the clearest area where the #1 betrays its competitive, price, though. At low speeds, a mix of soft suspension and harsh damping causes the car to fidget around over urban roads. At higher speeds, and over longer frequency bumps, it tends to settle down into a fairly comfy cruise, but that chassis tuning has an adverse effect in the corners, too.

Initially, things feel promising along a twisty road. The rear-mounted motor means the #1 is nicely balanced, gently pushing from the rear to help to resist understeer. However, when the the springs are loaded up through a corner, the body begins to bounce, which feels quite disconcerting.

Particularly so as this is a Smart with quite an impressive turn of speed. Officially, it’ll crack 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds, and though the torque is pegged back in the initial pedal travel so progress isn’t too jumpy, it feels every bit as quick as the figures suggest. It comfortably beats the Megane, a car which itself comfortably sees off the Niro and ATTO 3 in a sprint.

There are other strong points, too. The tall roof line means that head room is very generous in the back, while a sliding, reclining bench plus a flat floor means that it’s easy for occupants to get comfy. At 411 litres, the boot is only okay but a small compartment up front can be used for the charge cables.

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