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Smart #5

Friday, May 23, 2025 12:00 AM

One-time microcar maker goes after the Tesla Model Y with a tech-heavy family SUV packing up to 637bhp Let’s get the obvious bits out of the way, then: 2165mm, 1720kg and 576bhp. Those aren’t the headline specs of the new Smart #5 but the differences in maximum length, weight and power between this new five-up family SUV and the diddy Fortwo city car that first bore the Smart badge in 1998.With the third generation of that car – which could fit inside this latest model’s wheelbase with nearly 400mm to spare – now retired and the #5 on its way to dealerships to join the #1 and #3, Smart has completed its transition from a maker of frugal and fun-sized urban runarounds to a purveyor of premium electric SUVs, with a price bracket that spans from £32,000 to a mic-drop £50,000-plus at the top end. We’re not in Hambach any more, Toto.But in this era of Capri crossovers and luxury Lotuses, convention is clearly but a byword for stagnation, and Smart – under the joint stewardship of mother company Mercedes-Benz and Chinese step-parent Geely – is diversifying and expanding its line-up in a bid to carve itself a larger (and vastly more profitable) slice of the pie. This is a company simply adapting its line-up to cater to prevailing market trends, and if that’s not ‘smart’, then what is?

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