After #1 and #3 comes #5, naturally – smart’s largest model yet will finally be fully revealed in two weeks’ time on August 28, four months after the concept version made its debut at Auto China in Beijing. The boxy electric SUV will be a far cry from its jellybean-like siblings, both in terms of design and size.
The #5 is being billed as a “Contemporary Adventurer”; as such, the Geely-Daimler joint venture has selected Australia as the location of its world premiere, thanks to the strong road trip culture Down Under. This is despite the #1 and #3 having yet to even be launched there – these cars are only set to go on sale next month.
In any case, the #5’s looks, again created by Mercedes-Benz, is said to be a continuation of smart’s “Sensual Producty” design language, even though it’s much more angular than prior models. Despite the camouflage on the teased prototypes, the resemblance to the Concept #5 is clear and includes squarish head- and taillights joined together by a transparent strip, pill-shaped front and rear light modules, prominent haunches, an upright glasshouse and a window line kink leading to the vertical D-pillars.
It also appears that the #5 can be optioned with the concept’s chunky front and rear skid plates, although the production version obviously loses out on the show car’s suicide doors. Of course, the car’s exterior design has already been revealed in a filing with China’s ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT), showing flat-faced aero alloy wheels on the regular model and four-spoke turbine-style items on the Brabus.
Expect the interior to largely mirror the concept’s, incorporating an oblong dashboard and a massive bank of screens – including 13-inch OLED infotainment touchscreens in the centre and ahead of the front passenger. Also previewed are Nissan-style “zero gravity” seats with an “industry-first” cushion airbag and a built-in ottoman on the passenger side.
Whereas the #1 and #3 are B-segment-sized SUVs, the #5 is firmly in the C-segment. The aforementioned MIIT filing lists a length of 4,705 mm, a width of 1,920 mm, a height of 1,705 mm and a wheelbase of 2,900 mm, meaning that the car is actually larger than even the Honda CR-V. A fortwo this thing most certainly isn’t, yet despite this, the #5 will only be offered as a five-seater – at least, for now.
Also listed in the filing are four powertrain options, starting with a single-motor rear-wheel-drive model with outputs of either 340 PS (250 kW) or 363 PS (267 kW) – likely depending on the motor – and a regular dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant making 587 PS (432 kW). Sitting at the top of the range is the hot Brabus with a whopping 646 PS (475 kW).
As for the battery, the #5 is set to have 76 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and 100 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) packs that smart claims deliver up to 550 km of WLTP-rated range. An 800-volt electrical architecture also enables fast DC charging, topping up the battery from 10 to 80% in as little as 15 minutes.
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