The smart car brand developed by brand owner Mercedes-Benz in joint venture with Chinese auto maker, Geely, entered the Irish car market in February of this year, writes Trish Whelan.
First to arrive was the smart #1 (pronounced hashtag) followed in May by the smart #3 SUV Coupe.
The larger #3 model has lots of personality with its sporty low-slung body (it’s a good bit lower than the #1), strong athletic curves that improve aerodynamics, reduce drag, and increase range; slim LED headlights, rear spoiler, ‘smart’ looking 19-inch alloys (pun intended), sporty frameless doors, and a lower roofline. My car looked smart with its white exterior, and contrasting black and red accents.
Five versions are offered; an entry-level Pro, Pro+, Premium, the 25th Anniversary limited edition model, and the powerful Brabus.
My review car was the Anniversary edition limited to a total of 500 units for Europe. Just a few were allocated to Ireland. This model gets special body styling treatment including 25th Anniversary badging, perforated leather steering wheel, and Galaxy Panoramic roof. The cabin is beautifully designed with very good fit and finish. I had that feel-good factor when I sat into the cabin with its black and white upholstery with bright red stitching and fancy red seatbelts. The interior is much roomier than I had expected with good space for five occupants. Comfy leather seats held me in snugly. Front seats can be heated, and had integrated headrests. The panoramic roof allows lots of light into the cabin and lights up at night with a myriad of small rectangular shaped lights giving a stunning effect.
There’s no Start/Stop button and gears are located on a stalk off the steering column.
It is quite confusing to navigate through menus on the big 12.3-inch central touchscreen with its weird graphics. An animated cheetah in the bottom left corner is distracting but kids will love it. On the bottom of the screen are dual zone temperature controls, and front seat heaters but you have to scroll through the screen for some simple things like side mirror adjustments. Cost cutting by car makers as the screen is the cheaper option. I was glad that the small driver’s instrument cluster allowed me view my speed and range clearly.
Blind spot monitors on side mirrors light up when a vehicle is coming up from behind. These alerts also show on the Head Up display.
Beeps and lane-keeping alerts fitted in the name of safety features in many new cars distract the driver.
Front storage areas include good door bins, areas on the divide of the central console, an excellent open area near the floor that fitted my bag, and a decent area beneath the front arm rest; the glovebox contained a high viz vest.
The sloping coupe roofline doesn’t interfere with rear head space and there's good rear knee room even behind a tall person up front. The middle seat back lowers to reveal two cupholders and a hatch to the boot and there’s no tunnel to intrude on foot space. Boot space is 370 litres but you can move the adjustable floor to make for a deeper space. An area below the boot floor is for the charging cables. A ‘frunk’ storage space under the bonnet will hold just some small items.
Standard features on my car included a 360deg camera that you can switch to show more views of your car, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, four USB ports, wireless phone charger, smart Pilot Assist, Front Collision Mitigation/Front Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Keep Assist.
Battery capacities are 49kWh for the entry level (with 325km range), or the 62kWh on the other grades with ranges from 435kms-455kms for my car and 415km for the AWD Brabus. I averaged a return of 16.2kWh/100kms over 167kms.
You can charge using 22kW AC or up to 150kW DC (CCS Type 2) units. All versions have a 10-80pc charge time of around 30 minutes.
RWD versions use a 272hp electric motor with peak torque of 343Nm and have a 0-100km/h time of 5.8 secs which is more than sufficient for most driver’s everyday needs, while the Brabus with its two motors that develop a total of 428hp and its peak torque of a crazy 543Nm takes just 3.7 secs - the equivalent of super car acceleration.
Drive modes are Eco, Comfort and Sport.
I found the steering to be quite heavy, which I prefer, but had little feedback from the steering wheel. The ride proved to be quite firm. The car was also very quiet on the road. The rear view mirror and cameras protrude down deep into the windscreen and this arrangement slightly impeded my view of traffic lights when driving in urban traffic.
The entry model is priced from €38,714; my review car from €51,765 (after state subsidies for private customers). Prices exclude dealer/delivery related charges.
