Four months after it was first teased as a concept, the smart #5 has finally been given its world premiere in Australia. The brand’s third production SUV is by far its largest model yet, dwarfing its iconic fortwo city cars.
Even next to the #3, the #5 is huge – at 4,705 mm long, the car is a whopping 265 mm longer than the next biggest smart. In fact, it’s longer than rivals like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (4,635 mm), the Honda CR-V (4,691 mm) and even the China-only long-wheelbase BMW iX1 (4,616 mm). Speaking of wheelbase, the #5’s is especially long at 2,900 mm, although it is shaded by the Ioniq 5’s by 100 mm.
As big as it is, the #5 appears to be a five-seater only. This is despite the boxy design sharing more than a few cues with the seven-seater Mercedes-Benz GLB, such as the bluff front end and upright glasshouse – both cars were designed by Mercedes, after all.
The front and rear are characterised by the squarish head- and taillights joined by a transparent strip, housing oblong light clusters – including along the aforementioned strip. Lower down, the centre section of the bumpers protrude outward, giving the appearance of a bull bar and adding to the #5’s rugged look.
Along the side, you’ll find subtly blown fenders and a window line kink that leads into the thick vertical D-pillars that house the smart badge. Rectangular two-tone door mirrors and a triangular front fender appliqué add some visual intrigue, while the typical premium smart features, such as the flush pop-out door handles and frameless windows, have been joined by Rolls-Royce-style “floating” centre caps that stay upright when the car is moving.
That’s not all – buyers can opt for the #5 Summit Edition, which comes with the Adventurers’ Collection package filled with off-road accessories. These include a roof carrier, side steps, a carrier and ladder on either side and some underbody protection. You also get a roof-mounted light bar and a power-retractable tow hook (the car has a towing capacity of 1,600 kg).
Inside, smart has maximised the space inside the #5 with a distinctive oblong dashboard housing no less than three massive displays – a 10.3-inch instrument display and twin 13-inch AMOLED centre and front passenger touchscreens with a resolution of 2.5K.
The screens utilise a redesigned “Crystal Prism” interface with a new lion avatar (called Leo, replacing the fox and cheetah avatars in the #1 and #3 respectively) and dynamic 3D graphics built on the Unreal Engine. These run on a new AMD V2000 chip that is said to offer nearly double the computing power of Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8295. There’s also a voice control system that incorporates generative AI, although smart hasn’t provided any details about which AI model it uses.
Also fitted is a 25.6-inch augmented reality head-up display, ambient lighting that pulsates with the music being played and a 20-speaker Sennheiser Signature Sound System. The latter comes with a centre speaker that rises up from the dashboard, as well as a portable speaker that can be used together with a built-in 1080p projector.
Elsewhere in the cabin, you’ll find optional oak wood trim and Nissan-style “zero-gravity” seats that can be reclined up to 121 degrees, upholstered in leather with a distinctive V-shaped pattern. The rear pews get reclining seat backs and a “one-button comfort mode” that affords more legroom, presumably by pushing the front passenger seat forwards. The boot measures up to 1,530 litres and comes with an additional 110 litres of underfloor storage, plus a 72-litre front boot.
smart has kept mum about the #5’s technical specifications, only saying that the car will come with a 100 kWh battery that delivers up to 740 km of range on China’s incredibly generous CLTC cycle. Expect the WLTP figure to be much lower – smart claimed a WLTP range of over 550 km with the Concept #5.
An 800-volt architecture (a first for smart) delivers “4C ultra-fast charging technology.” This is a China-specific term that denotes a charging input four times the battery capacity, so the #5 should to support up to 400 kW of DC fast charging. smart claims this will charge the battery from 10 to 80% in just 15 minutes.
Power outputs have yet to be divulged, but a filing on China’s ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT) website earlier this year listed 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). The amount of power likely corresponds to the battery sizes, which also allegedly includes a 76 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) option.
Also set to be offered a regular dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant making 587 PS (432 kW), while a Brabus model will continue to sit at the top of the range with a whopping 646 PS (475 kW).
