Written by Curtis Moldrich Published: 23 May 2025

Overview

Smart has come a long way from the dinky ForTwo city car. Under the guidance of Geely and Mercedes-Benz, the reborn brand has already revealed the #1 SUV and #3 CUV – and now it’s set its sights outside the city limits.

Designed to go ‘beyond urban,’ the #5 is a huge, luxurious electric SUV with more than a whiff of Land Rover about it. At 4.7 metres long and nearly 2 metres wide, it’s the biggest Smart yet – and likely will be for a while

Despite its vast dimensions, Smart insists the #5 delivers on its core philosophy of ‘small footprint, maximum space.’ With its handsome styling and upmarket cabin, the #5 hopes to lure drivers away from traditional family crossovers and into a more premium, sporty EV space. But is it a stretch too far? We’ve driven the #5 in its top-spec Brabus trim to find out.

What’s it like inside?

The #5 blends Smart’s space-age design with Mercedes build quality. You get a dinky digital gauge cluster behind the wheel and two 13.0-inch OLED displays on the dashboard – one for the central infotainment screen and one ahead of the passenger to keep them entertained on long journeys.

We like the UX. The interface feels well thought-out and Smart had the common sense to retain a row of persistent menu shortcut icons for the climate controls and sat-nav at the bottom of the central screen. It’s a good halfway house between endless menus and physical buttons – and there are still some separate haptic controls for items like the drive mode selector and demisters.

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Material quality is good for the Brabus model, at least. The seats are comfortable and supportive – and they’re adjusted using a switch on the door, just like a Mercedes. We like the ambient lighting, too. It makes the cabin feel that little bit more upmarket.

We’re less impressed by Smart’s ‘Smart Assistant.’ It was far too eager to listen to our conversations and we found it often interrupted us with unhelpful insights. It was frustrating from an editorial perspective, too, as it ruined numerous video takes.

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Smart was also very keen to promote its 20-speaker Sennheiser stereo with built-in Dolby Atmos sound. Annoyingly, though, the Atmos effect is only compatible with Amazon Music, which feels like an oversight for a streaming market that’s dominated by Spotify. Still, it’s loud, crisp and feels a step above the other car stereos in this price bracket.

Space is generous both front and rear, with rear passengers well-catered for. Boot capacity is strong at 630 litres, but the frunk on AWD versions is disappointing as the extra motor up front means it barely has enough space for a rucksack. The single motor RWD versions are much more practical.

Smart #5 electric motors and batteries

The range-topping Smart #5 Brabus we drove has two electric motors that deliver a staggering 646hp and 710Nm of torque. That’s enough for a rather silly 0–62mph time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. It’s a seriously quick car.

If you don’t fancy wrestling with that much power every day, there are cheaper, less powerful versions of the #5. The entry point to the range is the Pro, which uses a smaller 76kWh battery and single, more sensible 340hp electric motor on the rear axle that slows the car’s 0–62mph time down to 6.9 seconds.

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The Pro+ and Premium models are probably the sweet spot in the #5 range as they have the same 100kWh battery pack as the Brabus, but a slightly more powerful electric motor at the rear with 363hp. That should give them the best real-world range.

Range and charging

The Brabus model features a 100kWh battery pack that promises a maximum WLTP driving range of 335 miles. However, our early impressions of the Brabus model suggest it’ll struggle to achieve that official range figure. Our test car chewed through electricity at a rate of 2.4 miles per kWh, meaning it’d be out of juice in around 240 miles.

We’re yet to drive the lesser versions of the Smart #5 but, because they only have one electric motor, we’re expecting them to be a lot more efficient. The Pro model has an official range of 288 miles, while the Pro+ and Premium variants can travel 366 miles.

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Charge times are pretty good, though. Pro+ models and above support ultra-fast 400kW DC rapid charging, which can thrash the battery from 10 to 80% capacity in less than 18 minutes. Even the cheapest Pro model isn’t bad, though. Smart says an 80% charge takes around 30 minutes when connected to a 150kW charger.

What’s it like to drive?

Despite its size and weight, the Smart #5 drives with genuine polish. Its steering is accurate and well-weighted, and switching through Comfort, Sport and Brabus modes subtly alters the weight of the wheel – but it’s intuitive and accurate enough in Comfort.

The chassis is relatively composed in corners despite its 2378kg kerb weight, and although there’s some tyre squeal if pushed hard, it lends itself to point-and-squirt driving.

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The brakes are another highlight. They’re predictable and free of the vague regenerative top-end found in many other EVs. Combined with intuitive steering, the #5 lets you brake late into bends, boot the accelerator on the way out and generally have fun.

The performance of the top-spec Smart #5, particularly in Brabus mode, is obscene. It’s linear and addictive, easily giving the fastest Teslas a run for their money both off the line and from a roll. The chassis does a reasonable job of handling the immense grunt, too – although it can get caught out.

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In some modes, the Brabus will feed the power in at the rear axle first before balancing it out with the front motor. If you’re not expecting it, that waywardness can be a little scary.

Before you buy (trims and rivals)

Pricing for the Smart #5 start from just over £40,000, rising to the mid-£50ks for the fully loaded Brabus. Rivals include the Skoda Enyaq, which offers a 359-mile range and more sensible pricing under £40k – although it lacks the Smart’s style and performance.

What’s more, the Brabus #5 doesn’t really have a direct competitor. The Volkswagen ID.4 GTX isn’t fast enough to keep up – and Smart’s pricing shunts the car into the no-man’s land between a premium family SUV and a performance EV. It’s a statement car – and priced accordingly.