Tuesday 25th April 2023

Spec and prices revealed for Smart #1

A Brabus Smart isn't anything new - one that'll hit 62mph in 3.9 seconds is, though...

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Bringing together the Smart and Brabus badges is usually a guarantee of a lofty price tag. Remember the little Roadster of the mid-2000s? The Brabus version had a £16,995 price tag in 2004, or almost £29k in today’s money. For a 100hp car! It would only be reasonable, therefore, to expect the latest Brabus Smart, the #1, to cost a pretty penny, what with its 428hp potential.

Alas, it’s not the case. In the UK, the top-of-the-range #1, complete with 19-inch wheels, a Brabus body kit and Alcantara upholstery, will cost £43,450. With dual-motor all-wheel drive and 430lb ft alongside the headline horsepower output, Brabus claims a 0-62mph of 3.9 seconds. So it’s silly fast in best Brabus tradition. If the first reviews are to be believed, the #1 is also quite like an old Bottrop bruiser in having way more power than you’ll ever need - or the car really manage. But when an ID.3 Style kicks off at £42,560 with less than half the horsepower (204hp), the Smart does become quite hard to ignore. The WLTP range is 248 miles, and the 62kWh battery can accept 150kW, so half an hour at a super duper charger should get you from 10-80 per cent. One to try in the UK ASAP, for sure.

There are two more models offered to UK customers, both single-motor, rear-wheel drive variants. The Smart #1 Pro + costs £35,950 and comes heated seats, intelligent voice assistance and LED lights; the £38,950 Premium builds on that with upgraded Beats audio, a head-up display and automatic parking assist. It even adds a little to the 260-mile range of the Pro +, at 273 miles. Both produce 272hp, enough for a 6.7-second sprint to 62mph. There will also be a Premium-based Launch Edition, which costs £39,450 and combines ‘unique design traits and exclusive aesthetics’ - 100 will be available.

“For us at Brabus, partnering with smart feels completely natural, as we both keep on challenging the status quo to improve our brands and products further,” said Constantin Buschmann, CEO. “For the #1 we keep on pushing the envelope of our partnership to integrate the essence of Brabus into a very capable car and future-oriented mobility concept, that is accessible for a wide variety of people. We are very happy with the result and see the #1 as a more than worthy starting point for a new era of our great relationship with smart going forward.” Expect the cars on UK roads later this summer.

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[Dombilano]

A bit 'blobby' but hell, it's gonna be fast and the range isn't too bad

[loveice]

It’s an electric car. Why does it need such along bonnet proportionally speaking? I understand for some types of cars eg. performance GTs or three-box saloons, even electric cars would need fake long bonnets to satisfy consumers’ demands. But this is a compact family car (hatchback/city SUV). Sure, a shorter bonnet would make make more sense (more actual internal space and better proportion from outside). For a compact car surely a third of the total car length being dedicated to the bonnet is way too much and look out of proportion…

[MountainsofSussex]

In case anyone was wondering, no these aren't made in France anymore, but are made by Geely (yep, them again) in China, if that's triggering for you

[Baldchap]

loveice said:

It’s an electric car. Why does it need such along bonnet proportionally speaking? I understand for some types of cars eg. performance GTs or three-box saloons, even electric cars would need fake long bonnets to satisfy consumers’ demands. But this is a compact family car (hatchback/city SUV). Sure, a shorter bonnet would make make more sense (more actual internal space and better proportion from outside). For a compact car surely a third of the total car length being dedicated to the bonnet is way too much and look out of proportion…

Good aerodynamics are utterly essential for EVs as high speed driving kills batteries fast so reducing drag is a must.

[Terminator X]

MountainsofSussex said:

In case anyone was wondering, no these aren't made in France anymore, but are made by Geely (yep, them again) in China, if that's triggering for you

The joys of Chinese car ownership.



TX.

[Twinair]

Now then. Not a fan of EV here. Not at all. However - +400 Bhp with many many electromobobbery torques on tap… could be a right laugh?!

[greggy50]

This seems very well priced to me, it deserves to do well.

[paulrockliffe]

Are they going to make one a bit more.....er......Smart car sized?

[mabosh]

272bhp but takes 6.7 seconds to hit 60?

How much does the thing weigh?

[Bahnstormer]

Looks a bit like the old Vauxhall Adam !!!

[Vee12V]

greggy50 said:

This seems very well priced to me, it deserves to do well.

Sure, a Chinese car sold cheap due to price dumping techniques. What's not to like.

[WCZ]

Decent performance for the money

[UncleGoat]

Too big to be a Smart, i'm out.

[vikingaero]

A mini Mercedes EQ then!

[Fetchez la vache]

In my eyes this looks better / less awful than the next mini, which this is presumably aimed at.

[rewild]

I like that. I've had Smart Roadsters in the past, to the brand appeals.
Performance looks ok on the cheaper ones. Range looks handy....

First viable i3s replacement?

[zorba_the_greek]

At first glance thought that was a new KIA.....

[Gecko1978]

Good range, fast looks no worse than most EVs. Does it have r seats as it looks like perfect school run car

[RenesisEvo]

zorba_the_greek said:

At first glance thought that was a new KIA.....

I thought exactly the same. And then at the back I thought it looked identical to a Merc SUV (couldn't tell you which one mind as none of them interest me).
Another one that will be lost in the crowd.

[Daniel-89u1d]

Chinese eh. i'll expect to see these smouldering at the side of the road up and down the country after their first traffic light drag race then.