A clean slate of the past.
We clear it all and start again.
Mercedes has decided to stop the adventure of the smallest car on the market.
Not content with having sold half of Smart to the Chinese Geely, he sold the Hambach factory to the English Ineos which will produce the 4 x 4 Grenadier.
On our roads at the end of 2022, the next Smart will be produced in China.
It no longer has anything to do with either the fortwo that forged the brand's history, or with the forfour developed on the basis of a Renault Twingo.
The manufacturer is doing the splits with the development of a compact electric SUV.
Targeting Mini customers, the Smart#1 (pronounced hashtag 1) is almost as long as a Countryman (4.27m) and 60mm higher than a Renault Captur (1.63m).
Smart
The main originality of its very clean lines comes from the floating roof, treated like that of the Opel Adam and adopting a distinctive color from that of the bodywork.
The retractable door handles contribute to the reduction of the aerodynamic
Cx
and therefore to efficiency.
272 horsepower on the rear wheels
Smart took advantage of the change in strategy to go electric and race in the lead.
Installed on the rear axle, the engine thus displays the impressive power of 272 horsepower and a torque of 343 Nm. It will be powered by a 66 kWh battery allowing it to claim a range of around 420 km.
It will allow a charging power of 150 kW in direct current, which would allow to go from 10 to 80% of capacity in just under 30 minutes.
Smart
The electrical architecture combined with a generous wheelbase (2.75 m) allows this new compact model to display the habitability of a higher segment.
The engineers have also taken care of the functionality.
The 40/60 rear bench seat slides over an amplitude of 130 mm depending on whether space for passengers or boot volume is preferred.
The latter varies from 323 to 411 liters depending on the layout of the bench seat.
We can add the 15 liters of storage, under the front hood.
Smart
As refined as the silhouette, the dashboard incorporates certain codes of the latest electric Mercedes, namely the raised and floating center console which provides storage on the lower deck.
The instrumentation is digital and in the center of the dashboard sits a large 12.8-inch touch pad.
The Smart#1 equipment includes a head-up display and a customizable mood light program, including 64 colors and 20 intensity levels.
The new Smart is developed on a new platform shared by different brands of the Geely group.
It should thus be taken up by future Volvo models.
Black point of the Smart#1: its mass.
Like all electric vehicles, the new compact from the Sino-German brand does not shine with its lightness.
The manufacturer announces a weight of 1,820 kilos.
