2024 Smart #1 review: Australian first drive

In a world of largely derivative automotive design, it is always great to see something that carves its own path and makes a statement, even if it’s a small one. When it first landed some 25 years ago, the original two-door, two-seat Smart microcar was something of a revelation. Stylish, functional, fun, and like nothing else on the road.

A joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch (yes, the watch company), the little Smart car embraced the idea that modern urban transportation could appeal to buyers of any demographic by offering easy customisation and providing a unique personality of sorts for those who drove them. Even the name is an acronym (well, technically an apronym) formed by blending Swatch, Mercedes and ART.

Smart was sold in Australia through select Mercedes-Benz dealers between 2003 and 2014, and now, ten-years later, the brand is back, albeit with a bit of a twist.

Mercedes-Benz is still in the picture, but the brand is now part owned by Chinese giant Geely and has switched from tiny microcars to not-so-tiny (but still compact) electric ones.

Is a fresher, larger Smart still smart enough to create a stir on Australia’s urban streets? We take a look at the first runner out of the blocks, the Smart #1 compact SUV.

The Smart #1 (pronounced as it is written, Hashtag-One) is a fully electric compact SUV available in three trim grades. It was designed by Mercedes-Benz in Germany and is built by Geely in China.

Priced from $54,900 before options and on-road costs, the Smart #1 Pro+ features a 66kWh battery and 200kW output through the rear wheels. An extra $4000 will see you in the Smart #1 Premium ($58,900 before on-roads) which adds to the already generous equipment list in the Pro+ but maintains the same driveline.

Standard equipment on the Pro+ includes 19-inch wheels, a panoramic sunroof, 12.8-inch LCD touch-screen display, power tailgate, LED head and tail lamps, and a full suite of driver-assistance technology. The Premium adds a Beats Audio sound system, faster AC charging (22kW), matrix headlamps, a 10-inch head-up display and a few other trim and lighting upgrades.

For some extra zip, you can jump up to the all-wheel-drive, dual-motor Smart #1 Brabus which, for $67,900 (before on-roads) delivers a maximum of 315kW and a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.9-seconds. Which while fun, isn’t quite as ‘smart’.

Essentially, this car works best with its more simplistic driveline, and is just as likeable with or without the extra fruit afforded by the $4K step between the Pro+ and Premium models.

On the Pro+, there are a choice of seven colours (black, red, grey, yellow, blue, white and green) which all feature a contrasting black roof and trim elements, or you flip it around and chose a black car with yellow accents. The Premium grade adds the option of an all-white and matte-grey car.

Optional colours vary in price depending on the paint, with something like red-with-black asking $670 extra and the matte finish $2060 over the list. There are a couple of different interior trim choices too, as a no-cost selection. Note that the images in this review predominantly feature a Smart #1 Brabus (grey with red roof).

This places the #1 in the same budget block as the Hyundai Kona Electric (from $54,000), Renault Megane E-Tech (from $54,990), Tesla Model Y (from $55,900) and forthcoming Mini Aceman Classic (from $55,990). The Smart outclasses all bar the Tesla in terms of battery size and power, and gives up a little bit of range to the lightweight (1788kg vs 1642kg Renault), making it feel like a well-priced proposition for urban EV buyers.

Fair to note that the Smart #1 undercuts its Swedish cousin, the $59,990 Volvo EX30, with which it shares its underpinnings (albeit with a different 66kWh battery to the Volvo’s 69kWh unit). It’s the same ‘skateboard’ under the forthcoming Zeekr X too, which will also play in the sub-$60K ‘spoilt for choice’ EV sandpit.

The high-roof, five-seat Smart #1 offers a pleasant and useable interior with plenty of headroom for both front and rear occupants, as well as a 323-litre boot that can expand to 986-litres when the seats are folded. There’s 15-litres under the bonnet too; handy for storing charging cables.

Fabric and material choices feel high quality and the car feels nicely put together. There are powered and heated synthetic leather seats in the Pro+ and real-cow ones in the Premium that also score ventilation.

Rear passengers have adjustable recline backrests plus an armrest with cup holders, central air vents and USB ports, and there is decent toe and head room even for taller adults.

Storage is good, with a chilled central cubby, under-console storage (which was large enough to fit a camera while on the drive loop) as well as cup holders, phone tray (with charge pad) and a glasses holder in the roof. The reality of reaching and accessing everything while driving isn’t a masterclass in ergonomics, but it’s useable enough. Plus, the phone tray and cup holders can be closed when not in use which is nice for both a tidy aesthetic as well as security.

There’s fun LED lighting embedded around the cabin (even in the speaker vents) which can all be adjusted to a near-infinite degree. The sunroof blind can be opened and closed, either manually or to ‘quarterly’ presets through the infotainment screen.

For a small car, from a ‘fun’ brand, the #1 answers the brief well.

Are we trying to be ‘clever’ rather than ‘smart’ with our infotainment systems these days?

First impressions? The 12.8-inch floating LCD touchscreen and 9.2-inch colour instrument display look really cool. There’s a LittleBigPlanet style globe that changes on the instrument display to reflect your drive mode, there’s a stack of immediate information at hand on the main screen, plus there’s an animated Fox in the corner because… well, because.

The user interface is again, fun and modern and helps the Smart #1 feel like a more premium product. Great. Tick.

There’s support for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a cool 360-degree camera that is intelligent enough to activate a top-down view in non-parking low-speed environments, handy data readouts, a staggering amount of configuration and personalisation options. Again. Cool. Tick.

But, in our short time with the car, it wasn’t all that easy to use, especially on the go.

What do you tap? How long for? Does a double-tap do something different? Where did that screen go? Did you know simply pressing the drive mode button would switch you to the next setting? Where is the aircon again? How do I change my mirrors? Explain to me the fox?

These are all things learned and solved over time, or programmed into shortcut jumps or other personalisation settings, but for the uninitiate, there is a LOT going on and not all of it makes sense.

This wasn’t helped by a bit of flaky performance.

Sure, these were early-delivery cars that arguably may have needed a few tweaks to the setup before heading out to customers but one presented the live weather from where it thought it was in China. One wouldn’t show any roads or directions because it thought it was in Europe, and none would allow the voice assistant – via its foxy avatar – offer anything beyond a digital shrug akin to a Kubrickian “I’m sorry James, but I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

There’s promise here, no question, but we’ll need to spend more time with a properly set up car to really offer you a guide that properly explains ‘what the fox' that?’.

The Smart #1 has not been tested by ANCAP but did receive a five-star rating when tested by EuroNCAP in 2022.

The Smart#1 features an extensive list of driver assistance technology including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking (with pedestrian and cyclist support), lane-keeping assistant, blind spot detection and door-open alert. While we were able to test the adaptive cruise control function on our drive, it was more of a simple 'yes it works' scenario and we weren't able to really understand how the system operates in a more detailed, real-world environment.

The same can be said for the lane-keeping and pre-collision warning systems.

To that end, we'll ensure a Smart #1 is re-driven by the Drive team soon, so as to understand how the various assistance functions work in a more regular driving situation.

The Smart #1 is offered with a five-year, 150,000km warranty on the car and an eight-year warranty on the battery. Considering may other brands offer unlimited distance, or six, seven and now even ten years, this feels a little underdone. Even the similar Volvo EX30 has the support of unlimited distance.

Servicing too is a bit left field, with 12-month or 20,000km intervals (compared to 24-months for the Volvo) and service packages that vary by vehicle spec, despite the 'mechanicals' being the same. Currently, the new Smart range is only sold select Mercedes-Benz dealers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane run by the brand's importer from the LSH Auto, but owners can take their car to any of the 11 LSH Auto sites around the country.

In terms of insurance though, the Smart has an estimated cost of $1418 per year (based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male, living in Chatswood, NSW) which is lower than a recent quote for the Volvo EX30 ($1906) and Renault Megane E-Tech ($1866). Please note that insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

The Geely SEA platform that the Smart #1 is built upon uses a 66kWh NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) battery and offers an 800V electric infrastructure that supports DC fast-charging up to 150kW and (on the Premium and Brabus models) up to 22kW AC charging.

Smart claims efficiency of 17kWh/100km for the Pro+ and 16.7kWh/100km for the Premium thanks to a slightly more efficient motor. This means a the #1 has a range of up to 420km or 440km respectively.

Our experience with the car was in line with this, and where the regenerative braking system was more able to assist, sat even lower than the claim – 14.3kWh/100km – on sustained touring sections. Given our drive loop took in some highway and higher speed sections, we would expect the urban consumption (where EVs typically perform better thanks to the regenerative braking functions) to be in line with some of the more efficient electric cars available.

There is no vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality available on the Smart #1.

The original two-door Smart micro car was always a bit of a hoot to drive. Revvy and nimble, it made urban commuting a fun task, and helped align the Smart brand with a sense of spirit that few larger cars could match.

Does the larger footprint and electric power take some of this away? Maybe, but as a new generation Smart the #1 still offers plenty of enjoyment behind the wheel, just perhaps at a less irreverent level.

We'll cover the 315kW Brabus driveline in our coverage of the #1's swoopier #3 sibling, but even a quick sample of the all-wheel-drive variant was enough to tell you that you don't need it. Sure, it's fun in a straight line, but in the tall-sided #1 all that performance just feels a bit unnecessary. Dial it back to the rear-drive options, with either level of kit, and you've got a far more enjoyable car.

The Geely SEA platform is a great base. The car feels sharp and responsive enough, even in its default drive mode. There is ample power should you need to quickly gap traffic or overtake someone, but for the usual stop-start city running where most Smarts will find their home, it feels very useable and manageable in terms of both power and delivery.

The car's 182mm ride height affords a comfortable and easy ride, even over poor surfaces and even with the 19-inch wheels. Our test drive didn't include much high-speed dynamic driving, so the jury is still out as to the #1's corner-carving prowess, but for urban streets and highway touring the Smart is compliant and impressively quiet, even for an EV.

You can adjust the amount of regenerative force and even opt for a one-pedal mode, but again we'll need more time to test these to really understand how much they can help in terms of efficiency and overall driving feel.

As noted above, some of the switchgear and infotainment-managed vehicle functions can be a bit fiddly – for example a tap on the Drive Mode button won't simply bring up the screen, but will change your mode to the next in the menu whether you like it (or meant it), or not. This then forces prolonged focus on the button and screen, rather than the road.

Vision from the tall body is good, but the mirrors do need to be adjusted from within the screen rather than through a physical button. We saw this with the Volvo as well, and arguably, once you have your mirrors set you don't often need to move them... but that's not to say you don't ever need to move them, and the times you do, you want it to be easy and fast. Having to remember where on the screen menu you need to access this setting while halfway through a three-point turn for example, isn't a scenario I look forward too.

General first impressions of the Smart #1 are good though, and we look forward to spending a bit more time with the car to really see how it fits the role as a just-as-funky, but perhaps more serious, urban runabout than the Smart's of old were.

The Smart #1 has a braked tow rating of 1600kg and an unbraked rating of 750kg. As with all electric vehicles, towing will impact your range depending on the weight and aerodynamic profile of your trailer.

The 2024 Smart #1 is another strong play from the Geely-owned group of companies, showing again the downstream benefits of a 'develop once, use many' vehicle platform.

The price point, premium feel, range of standard equipment and colourful paint choices all work in Smart's favour. It ticks all the key boxes that compact EV buyers want, in being efficient, practical and fast to charge, and throws in impressive ride quality and comfort to boot.

Yes, the infotainment system has plenty of promise, but it does need some of the kinks ironed out. Yes, the platform may be shared but due to the way the Smart brand is managed by a third-party dealership group, your warranty and servicing options aren't as broad as some other brands.

If you live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane though (which is where the LSH-Auto Smart showrooms are), are happy to deal with a few technical teething problems on the screen, then despite its silly name, a Smart #1 could just very well be... a smart choice.

The Smart brand is sold and managed through the LHS-Auto Mercedes-Benz flagship dealerships in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, with the river-city offering a state-of-the-art showroom and concept store experience in the four-story Mercedes-Benz Brisbane lifestyle precinct.

You can see and test drive the cars at these three locations, or configure and order a new Smart online, with a $500 deposit needed to secure your order. For our money, the Smart #1 Pro+ gives you everything you need (although the Beats sound system alone makes the $4k step to the Premium trim worth the journey), with our choice being the Meta Black / Lumen Yellow paint over the lighter Lightning Dash trim for a no-added-cost specification that has plenty of character and keeps you at the affordable end of the buying spectrum.

If you want to stay updated with everything that's happened to this car since our review, you'll find all the latest news here.