Smart #5 review

After producing the Fortwo and Forfour for years, it seems that Smart now has an issue with even numbers. First up for the all-electric rebirth was the #1 – not a teeny city car that can be parked nose on to a kerb, but a fairly generic small electric crossover. Then came the #3, which was essentially a slightly larger and coupe-ified version of the #1.

And now, as you might have guessed, it’s the turn of the #5. And yes, you are supposed to call it the ‘Hashtag Five’. Ick, right?

Surely that can’t be a Smart? It’s massive.

Get those cutesy clever two-seaters out of your brain, because Smart is no-longer a maker of small cars. In fact, the #5 is the biggest car it has ever built at almost 4.7m long, 1.9m wide and 1.7m tall. To put that into context, it’s ever so slightly larger in every direction than the Skoda Enyaq.

So yes, Smart wants you to think of this as a proper SUV, which is precisely why it has been styled to look like a slightly smoothed and shrunken G-Wagen. More than a hint of Mercedes GLB (or EQB if you’re talking electric) in the looks too, although Smart knows this segment is teaming with competition so wanted the #5 to “really stand out”. The newly split front lightbar is apparently supposed to give it a tough face.

Wait, so is it basically a Mercedes underneath?

Ah, well the short answer to that question is no. Smart is still linked with Merc, but it’s actually now established as a joint venture between Mercedes and the Chinese megazoid Geely. Yep, that’s the overlord that now looks after Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Zeekr etc etc. 

So, the #5 is actually based on Geely underpinnings. As with all new Smarts it’s only available as a full EV, but there's a key decision you’ll need to make early on if you’re considering parting with your hard-earned cash to buy one. That's the choice between the smaller 74.4kWh lithium iron phosphate battery and a 400-volt architecture, or the larger 94kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery and proper 800-volt architecture. 

What does that mean for range and charging times?

Great question, but there’s more info you need first. The entry level Pro trim is the only one that gets the smaller battery, and that can only be combined with a single 335bhp motor for rear-wheel drive. As a result, that’ll take 6.9 seconds to get from 0-62mph and claims a WLTP range of 288 miles. And because it’s only got that 400-volt architecture the DC rapid charging maxes out at 150kW, meaning it’ll take just under 30 minutes to top up from 10 to 80 per cent.

Here’s where things start to get more complicated though, because step up to Pro+ and Premium trims and you’ll get the larger battery with a slightly more powerful 358bhp rear-mounted motor. These are the rangiest versions of the #5 and claim 366 miles on a single charge. Plus, because you’re now on an 800-volt architecture your charging speeds could reach a maximum of 400kW if you can find the right plug, meaning a 10 to 80 per cent top-up would take less than 18 minutes.

Step up to Pulse trim or the Summit Edition and you’re now into twin-motor, all-wheel drive territory. Your charging times are the same here, but you get 579bhp and 474lb ft of torque. WLTP range drops to 335 miles though.

You might think that’s where the range ends, but no, because you can also get the Smart #5 in Brabus form.

Hang on, is that the Brabus I’m thinking of?

Yep, Smart is using the name of the Bottrop-based tuner for all of its top-of-the-line versions across its range. The #1 and #3 both get 422bhp in Brabus form, but for the #5 things have stepped up a notch and there’s a total of 637bhp on tap from the twin-motor setup. The range is also claimed to be 335 miles, but you’ll have to put up with the lightly embarrassing Brabus styling and those special 21in wheels.

What does the #5 look like on the inside?

The main talking point here is the screens. All Fives get a 13in OLED central infotainment screen and a 10.25in digital dial display, but the more expensive versions add a second 13in OLED touchscreen for the front seat passenger and a monster 25.6in augmented reality head-up display.

Away from the pixels it’s much more standard, with five seats, lots of legroom in the rear and very few physical buttons. Plenty of nice soft-touch materials too. You’ll find more detail over on the Interior tab of this review.

How much will it cost me?

The #5 will go on sale in the UK towards the end of 2025 and prices haven’t been officially confirmed just yet. However, we do know that the most basic Pro version will cost around £40,000, with the top spec Brabus somewhere around £52,000.

Smart wants the #5 to be ‘Beyond Urban’, and we reckon the best version will probably be the one that can get as far away from the city on a single charge. Yep, it’s yet another occasion where we’re urging you to avoid the fastest version of an EV.

The Brabus is mighty quick and even controls its weight well through corners, but it’s hardly that fun to drive, it’s not that efficient (although it will charge back up quickly) and you’ll tire of a throttle pedal that acts like an on-off switch for warp speed. Plenty will ignore us of course – apparently around 20 per cent of all the #1 and #3s sold in the UK so far have been Brabus spec.

Obviously, we’ve not driven a 366-mile single motor #5 yet, but we have experienced the Brabus version as it disconnects its front motor for maximum range, and there’s absolutely no doubt that it’s still swift enough for a family EV.

Elsewhere the #5 seems to be well-refined, full of decent materials and competitively priced given the kit that comes as standard. We’ll know more when we try the other versions later this year, but the #5 should give Smart a proper place at the medium-sized electric SUV table. How badly do you not want to go to that dinner party?