Smart’s #5 EV Challenges Tesla With 400 KW Charging
Smart's biggest EV has two huge screens and an impressive charging rate.
Dubbed the Smart #5, it's a mid-size crossover.
It can charge at up to 400 kW and offers vehicle-to-load.
This is the new Smart #5. No, it’s not the fifth model in the Chinese automaker’s portfolio, which makes things rather confusing. But it is the largest, so there’s that.
Smart has come a long way from the good old days of the tiny ForTwo city hatchback. Now, the company is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, and it only makes EVs.
Enter the #5, a mid-size crossover that just debuted in Europe with an AMD processor, gigantic screens on the dash and an impressive charging rate, among other things. The base model is called the Smart #5 Pro and it’s powered by a rear-mounted electric motor that draws juice from a 76-kilowatt-hour (74.4-kWh usable) lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.
The company didn’t say, but the base LFP pack is likely rated at 400V. It can accept up to 150 kilowatts of power when connected to a DC fast charger, meaning it can go from 10% to 80% state of charge in less than 30 minutes. The entry-level version of the EV has a WLTP-rated combined driving range of 289 miles (465 kilometers) and can sprint from zero to 62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) in 6.9 seconds, courtesy of a 335-horsepower (225 kW) electric motor.
Things get much more interesting as we move up the Smart #5 lineup. That’s because everything starting with the Pro+ version gets a 100 kWh (94 kWh usable) 800V lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) battery. When paired with the single rear motor—which makes 358 hp (267 kW) with the bigger battery—the Smart #5 has a WLTP range rating of 366 miles (590 km) on a full charge.
Going for the dual-motor all-wheel drive combo ups the power figure to 579 hp (432 kW) but the range goes down to 335 miles (540 km). That said, the acceleration is also quicker with just 4.9 seconds needed to get to 62 mph from a standstill.
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The most impressive bit about the larger 100 kWh battery is its ability to accept up to 400 kW from a DC fast charger. That’s almost double the input that Hyundai’s E-GMP-based EVs like the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 can accept. It also beats the 250 kW capability of the Tesla Model Y, at least on paper. Smart claims the #5 with the big battery can go from 10% to 80% SoC in under 18 minutes, which is faster than Hyundai’s 20-minute claim for the Ioniq 5 despite having a smaller battery.
There’s also vehicle-to-load functionality which can export power from the main battery to a 230V outlet via an adapter.
The #5 seats five and the rear seats can fold flat. However, the biggest party piece is up front where the electric crossover gets no fewer than three screens—a 10.25-inch display for the gauge cluster and two 13-inch OLED, TV-like screens. There’s also a 25.6-inch Augmented Reality heads-up display. If using a smartphone while driving is dangerous, what is this?
For what it’s worth, Smart claims its AI-supported voice control can make the whole user experience worry-free, but we’ll have to check that out for ourselves. Speaking of the software and hardware, the #5’s infotainment is powered by an AMD V2000 chipset running the Smart OS 2.0. It offers optimized EV routing and a video center that integrates video streaming services.
Photo by: smart
There’s a 20-speaker Sennheiser Signature Sound system on offer which puts out 1,190 Watts and has a fancy lifting speaker on the dashboard. A pretty long list of active and passive safety equipment is also available, including V-shaped curtain airbags, seat-integrated seatbelts, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, and Highway Assist.
The top trim is called Summit Edition and comes with an electric trailer hitch, a roof platform and a side ladder. Somehow, these accessories are considered “off-road enhancements” by Smart. We have doubts.
The Smart #5 is not coming to the United States. In Europe, however, it starts from roughly $49,620 (€45,900) for the Pro models and goes up to $61,500 (€56,900) for the Summit Edition with all the bells and whistles.
