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The smart #5 is a mid-size electric SUV offering characterful design, lots of space and a comfortable driving experience, with a driving range of up to 365 miles and an ultra-rapid charging rate of 400 kW.
Smart is still probably best known for its fortwo city car, which was just a two-seater, and in electric form it had a very short range of around 60-80 miles, which meant that it had a limited audience. Things have changed, because aside from smart now being owned by a 50/50 joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, with production based in China, in addition to the smart #1 and smart #3 we now have the smart #5, a five-seater mid-size SUV with lots of space, and a driving range of up to 365 miles.
Whereas the smart fortwo was 2,695 mm long, the smart #5 measures 4,695 mm in length – exactly 2 metres longer than the fortwo. Combined with an all-electric platform shared with other Geely products such as the smart #1 and #3, Volvo EX30, Polestar 4, and Zeekr X, and a long wheelbase and short overhangs, this results in lots of space inside the #5. As well as generous rear legroom, there’s a 630-litre boot with a large space underneath the false floor for storing charging cables, although these could also be stored in the 72-litre front trunk. If you fold the rear seats down you get 1,530 litres of space, which can also be used as a bed. The rear seats also feature electrically-reclining backrests, and are heated on the Premium and higher trims. Watch out for the hidden exterior tailgate button (and the semi-hidden interior buttons to open the doors).
Creative design has been applied to the smart #5’s interior, which is evident in details such as the air vents bathed in ambient lighting, and overall it has a premium feel. There’s a 13-inch OLED screen in the centre of the car (featuring a selection of inspiring landscape images), a 10.25-inch full HD digital instrument cluster in front of the driver (as well as an Augmented Reality head-up display in Premium and Summit trims), and front seat passengers even get their own 13-inch OLED screen, primarily intended for viewing media. A large storage space is available underneath the floating centre console.
Like the interior, the #5’s exterior has some character, helping to differentiate it from a number of cars in the same segment that look quite similar to each other, and we think the car looks good in the matte gold colour.
A 100 kWh (94 kWh usable capacity) lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides battery provides energy to a 358 bhp electric motor delivering rear-wheel drive (although all-wheel drive is also available in other trim levels).
The smart #5 delivers an extremely comfortable driving experience which smooths out most imperfections in the road, although it can get a bit bouncy on some undulating surfaces. The rear-wheel drive chassis of our Premium trim test car delivered rewarding handling, free from the wheelspin and torque steer that often comes with front-wheel drive EVs.
And then you add the performance to the mix; 358 bhp and a 0-62 mph time of 6.5 seconds means rapid progress, although the responses from standstill feel as though they have been dialled down. The all-wheel drive Brabus trim has a 0-62 mph time of 3.8 seconds – which is supercar territory. At motorway speeds the #5 is as quiet and refined as you would expect from a premium EV.
You certainly can’t complain about lack of display screens in the #5, with the large centre touchscreen featuring shortcut buttons for items such as climate controls along the bottom and down the right-hand side, with some quick controls for drive modes, offering the options of Eco, Comfort and Sport. Brake regeneration levels can also be adjusted, but you have to delve into the touchscreen to change these basic car controls.
And it’s the same story to switch off the many driver assistance warnings, most of which require a lot of searching and scrolling in different menus and sub-menus to find them. Once you’ve done this, yet more button-pressing is then needed to get back to Apple CarPlay.
If you want to adjust the mirrors, there are no physical controls, so this also has to be done via the touchscreen, and the car wants to control lots of features itself, such as the lights, rather than letting the driver do this.
The smart #5 has an official WLTP combined electric driving range of 365 miles. During a week on test the real-world range averaged 320 miles. Consumption (WLTP) is 3.37 miles/kWh.
Thanks to its 800-volt Geely SEA platform the smart #5 has a maximum ultra-rapid charging rate of 400 kW, which is one of the fastest rates of any EV on sale. This should allow a 10% to 80% DC charge in as little as 18 minutes. The #5 also has 22kW AC charging.
One item for improvement is the opening of the charge flap; you can’t open it from the outside of the car (or via the key), you have to go into the car and push the button for the charge flap on the touchscreen, which is tedious. It’s a similar story if you want to take out the charging cable during a charge – you have to delve into the touchscreen to find the button to allow the release of the cable.
The Smart #5 features a heat pump.
The smart #5 is available in the following trim levels: Pro, from £39,800; Pro+, from £43,800; Premium, from £47,300; Pulse (with all-wheel drive), from £47,300; Summit (with all-wheel drive), from £48,800; and BRABUS (with all-wheel drive and 646 hp), from £51,800.
The mid-size electric SUV sector is a crowded place with a number of products which are quite similar. The smart #5 stands out for offering some exterior visual character, a creatively designed and premium-feel interior, a WLTP range of 365 miles, and an ultra-rapid charging rate of 400 kW. It also has comfortable ride quality and impressive performance. One of the main reasons that people buy cars in this sector is for space, and this is something that the #5’s bespoke EV platform delivers, with lots of rear legroom, a large boot and a useful frunk. You also have the choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, as well as the high performance BRABUS. The smart #5 is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 9 out of 10.
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