As promised in a recent teaser, the all-new Smart #5 has been unveiled at a global event in Byron Bay, Australia, and becomes the company's largest model to date, rivalling the likes of the BMW X3 and the like.
The all-electric car brand Smart (also known as Smart Automobile), a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz AG and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group founded in 2019, has launched the latest vehicle to sit above the No. 1 and No. 3 smart: the No. 5 premium crossover. Off-roadWe have some questions: Why is Smart so stubborn about these “#” name plates and why have they only used odd numbers so far?
In any case, the third fully electric vehicle in the brand’s portfolio follows the smart #1 subcompact CUV introduced in 2022 and is related to the Zeekr X and Volvo EX30 thanks to its Sustainable Experience Architecture (SAE) platform. It also follows in the footsteps of the 2023 launch of the slightly larger smart #3 model, but the smart #5 is by far the largest of them all.
The styling is by Mercedes-Benz and incorporates several “smart” touches such as a panoramic roof, frameless doors, floating hubcaps, more “oblong” headlights at the front and rear, plus short front and rear overhangs. The wheelbase reaches 2,900 mm and the overall length is 4,705 mm, so it is dubbed “the most versatile vehicle in the Smart product range to date”.
The company introduced the #5 with the all-new Summit Edition and Premium+ trims, and the former is getting an exclusive Adventurers Collection that includes an electric tow hook and underbody protection, a roof rack, side steps, a side bag, and a side ladder, among other things. Inside the #5 smart, there are zero-gravity leather front seats with 121 degrees of recline, V-curtain airbags, pillow airbags, and seat-integrated seat belts.
Rear passengers are also pampered: the leather seats are heated and have adjustable seatbacks, a power sunshade, and airline-style LED reading lights with a “First Class” setting. There’s also a one-button comfort mode that offers more legroom for passengers, ambient lighting with 256 colors, a seating configuration that converts to a king-size, queen-size, or single bed, and the infotainment system has a built-in projector and a Sennheiser Signature Sound System with 21 speakers, including one portable speaker.
There are also 34 storage spaces throughout the cabin, a 72-litre trunk, and rear storage space can reach up to 1,530 litres. Technology is the focus for the driver and passengers, however: a newly developed and advanced AMD V2000 high-power computer chip underpins the “Intelligent Cockpit Experience”, which includes a 25.6-inch Augmented Reality Head-up Display, a 10.3-inch Ultra HD colour LCD instrument cluster, plus two 13-inch 2.5K AMOLED displays.
Generative AI is also in action, and there's even a new lion avatar called Leo, all thanks to the vehicle's low-poly smart OS user interface, powered by Unreal Engine. Moving on to the powertrain, the smart #5 has an 800-volt architecture for the 100-kWh battery pack, which incorporates a super-charge (4C) function to take the SoC (state of charge) from 10% to 80% in just 15 minutes. Additionally, smart promises a range of 740 km or 460 miles on a single charge, but that’s based on China’s CLTC testing regime. Smart hasn’t said anything about power or performance yet, but says the #5 will be capable of both on- and off-road driving, and has Adaptive, Sand, Snow, Mud and Rock driving modes lined up.
