The smart #1: lots to like about this funky and stylish car

The car brand with the unusual logo, smart (that’s with a small ’s’), may have celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, but the brand only arrived here in Ireland in February. The brand is distributed by Motor Distributors Limited.

The first car to arrive was the smart #1, the first such model in a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Chinese automotive giant Geely. Mercedes-Benz provided the design while Geely handled engineering and production. This first car was followed a few months later by the smart #3. Both have the body styling of a crossover SUV.

In size, smart #1 measures 4,270mm long, 1,822mm wide and 1,636mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,750mm.

This battery-electric 5-seater comes with quite a unique exterior design that warrants a second look, an open interior with a living room look to it, premium-class connectivity features and powerful EV technology. While a relatively small car, it certainly has a big car feeling and is spacious enough to fit five adults.

My car was in a nice shade of red complemented with a contrasting black roof, silver roof rails and dark privacy glass, colours which made the car really stand out in a parking lot. It looks quirky and appealing from all sides and I expect will appeal mostly to young professionals. My car was fitted with 19-inch alloy wheels.

Everything is of good quality and very well laid out giving the cabin a decidedly upmarket appeal. Designers have done a very good job in making this an attractive proposition for those looking to buy their first electric car, but the price may be a factor in them looking elsewhere, or not if they can afford it. Doors are big and solid and the handles pop out to greet you.

Duo leather seats look the part and are comfy and supportive. Front seats have six-way power adjustments with lumbar support, seat heating and memory settings on the driver’s seat. The ambient lighting system has 64 different colours options to choose from.

But it’s the big 12.8-inch central touchscreen that grabs your attention with its quirky graphics, including navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connection. The high-resolution screen enables you work through most of the car’s functions and there are some short-cut controls. The quirky graphics include a digital assistant in the shape of an animated fox that sits, stretches and stands up, and follows you around the screen menus. Kids will love watching it. These graphics also appear on the driver’s instrument panel. The screen is user-friendly when you get the hang of it but that can take time. A 10-inch head-up display meant me not having to take my eyes off the road ahead.

I’m not a fan of many of the safety alerts in cars nowadays which are really annoying. An infrared centre in the smart #1 monitors how you drive while a system on the driver’s A-Pillar alerts you with a flashing orange light if it thinks you are changing lanes (without indicating).

The dash sweeps down to form a high division between both front seats with below storage. Other storage spaces include an area below the central console, huge door bins in front, but not a great glovebox. There's a chilled storage area under the front armrest to keep drinks cool. Rear seats split 60:40 and you can move either side of the rear bench to make for more boot space which is 323 litres with all seats in use so it is really quite small. There’s an area below for the charging cables or you can use the 15-litre ‘frunk’ storage area below the bonnet for them. Three Isofix fastening points keep little ones safe and there’s a flat floor. The tailgate opens with a foot-kick gesture.

Four rear-wheel versions are Pro, Pro+ and Premium. An exclusive AWD Brabus edition adds more power to the drive experience propelling it from 0-100km/h in just 3.9 secs.

The entry-level Pro spec includes seven airbags, fixed panoramic halo sunroof with shade, 360-degree camera, keyless entry, four USB ports, and heated steering wheel. My Premium car added Matrix headlights with adaptive high beam, a heat pump that helps with efficiency and range, a Beats Sound System with 13 speakers, wireless phone charger, Parking assistant with 12 sensors with Automatic Parking Assist, and safety features such as Adaptive Cruise Control.

Drive modes are Eco, Comfy and Sport. As with all electric cars, you get instant torque for a quick take-off. My car was matched to an automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive The powertrain delivers 272hp electric motor performance driving the rear wheels from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds. Max torque is 343Nm and top speed is 180km/h.

The range for the entry Pro is 310km with the smaller 47kWh battery; 420km for the Pro+ and 440km for the Premium version which all use the 66kWh battery. You can charge the car from 10 to 80% with a DC fast charger in under 30 minutes and AC charging in under three hours. Road tax is €120 (7% VRT). It can tow 1,600kg/75kg.

smart #1 was awarded a maximum five points in Euro NCAP safety tests.

PRICE: from €37,479 for Pro trim; my Premium trim car was €48,332, subsidised retail price.