clever #1 Pro+ review: preliminary first impression of the speedster with smart technology
A TEST REPORT from David Wurm 
on October 17, 2023, 18:00 p.m. | Write a comment
The smart #1 will officially be launched in Austria at the end of this year. We were able to accompany the inconspicuous speedster on a daily basis for two weeks. Here comes the one TechnikNews First impression of smart #1 Pro+.
In a nutshell: The smart #1 is fun. Admittedly, the smart doesn't necessarily look like the sportiest or fastest car from the outside - but the all-electric accelerates faster than most others. In the interior, the smart #1 boasts a Mercedes-Benz feeling: ventilation slots, center console, steering wheel and more. You can clearly see the togetherness here, even if it no longer exists as it once did under Geely's Chinese leadership. The devil is in the details - for example these design elements, which, in contrast to Mercedes-Benz, are not quite as high quality, sometimes creak and, upon closer inspection, seem a bit cheap for this price. A positive ray of hope: All passengers during the test did not notice that these parts were made of plastic, but were dazzled by the metal-like surface.
Picture: TechnikNews
At the same time, the “Hashtag One” no longer has anything to do with the compact smart of the past – the two-seater is history. Compared to the average amount of space in the interior, it appears very bulky and “bulgy” – both at the front and at the back. It's a shame about the compact SUV, which in my opinion could have been a perfect, compact city car. The steering angle or turning circle of 11 meters is anything but perfect and it is not maneuverable. On top of that, the smart has done a lot of things right with the entertainment system, but still has some catching up to do. In addition, a cruise control that is limited to 130 km/h will be annoying for countries like Germany.
The Austrian starting price of 43.400 euros (including 20% VAT, 0% NoVA) is bold and it will be difficult to reach the desired young target group with a tight budget. The most expensive model, the smart #1 BRABUS (performance model) starts at 49.900 euros.
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Preliminary first impression
Many thanks to smart, who gave us the smart #1 Pro+ made available for an initial test before the official market launch. Some things were not yet fully available during testing, which is why we will focus on things that are already working and will not change after the introduction. For example, due to the lack of app availability in Austria, the smart #1 could only be operated in guest mode - meaning additional apps could not be installed. A compulsory app to set up a car: open to criticism.
Picture: TechnikNews
Exterior: The smart is getting big
Already anticipated in the conclusion above - the “Hashtag One” is no longer comparable to the compact two-seater smart from before. The width (including exterior mirrors) is 2,03 meters, the length is 4,27 meters and the height is 1,64 meters. As usual, the design is a matter of taste, it doesn't suit my personal style. The shape of the compact SUV is too rounded for me personally. But it definitely stands out, the smart #1 is definitely not a “standard car”. The taillights were again inspired by Mercedes-Benz.
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The extendable door buckles are a nice gimmick that make the smart look a little more modern. Otherwise worth mentioning: the trunk lid opens quite low. A person taller than 1,80 meters hits their head in the middle - not quite ideal.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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Interior: Mercedes-Benz feeling
The interior is impressive – not just for me, but also for my passengers. Most people immediately notice the similarity to Mercedes-Benz - die-hard car fans in particular will immediately recognize the ventilation slots and center console. Although all elements are made of plastic, they are not noticeable as such due to the metal-like surface. When you press it, it creaks here and there - the smart #1 is simply not a premium vehicle. Otherwise, a few things are standard equipment, such as the electric sunroof or heated seats for the driver and front passenger. The charging ports for occupants are also modern – front and rear – with USB-C and USB-A.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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There is space for a total of five people in the vehicle, and it won't be tight for average-sized passengers in the back seats either. But the smart #1 is not a car for family vacations with a lot of luggage, and there simply isn't enough room for it in the trunk.
Infotainment: Convolutedly playful
At first impression, the infotainment on the screen in the middle of the vehicle looks very tidy. The app overview is very modern and there is also an app store. However, we have not been able to test this yet due to the lack of app availability in Austria. Spotify was installed as an external app, which worked very well. Otherwise there is the navigation system, which still needs a few tweaks, the media app for radio and Bluetooth and the energy app to display consumption and set the charging limit.
Picture: TechnikNews
However, upon further consideration, a few points of criticism emerge. The settings are so intricate, there are numerous submenus and various settings menus. This could be made much simpler and clearer. For example, the e-pedal cannot be adjusted in the usual settings menu, but in a separate menu - but only there after the 10 second countdown has been waited for. The voice assistant, shown as a fox, is also nice, but distracting. He drinks from a water bowl while driving, plays with his ball or looks at you when you look at him. Really? Yes, really. The space for the home page could also be used much more sensibly than displaying a large globe in the middle.
The sound system works great compared to the competition in this area and really packs a punch after adjusting the bass in the equalizer. But the volume should not exceed 80%, then the sound sounds very strange. By the way, there is no head-up display in this model, but there is in the smart #1 BRABUS. Wireless charging of the smartphone is reserved for the smart #1 Premium and upwards. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are generally not available yet, but will be delivered with an update.
Driving impression: Unremarkably sporty
Admittedly, the smart #1 looks anything but sporty. Nevertheless, it has an output of 200 kW (or 272 hp at 384 Nm) and pulls well thanks to its comparatively low weight of 1,8 tons. It sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 6,7 seconds and has a top speed of 180 km/h. This can be further adjusted by selecting the driving modes “Comfort”, “Sport” and “ECO” - in Sport the response to the accelerator pedal is immediate and more sensitive, while in the other two modes it takes a little more time.
Picture: TechnikNews
When accelerating hard in tighter corners in comfort mode, the rear can sometimes slip on dry asphalt - that shouldn't happen. I also didn’t like the one-pedal drive, or strangely called “e-pedal”. This always recuperates to different degrees and not in the way that we know from other electric vehicles. For example, the vehicle continues to roll at 5 km/h and does not brake to 0. So it's more like half half than fully functioning. At the same time, the “Auto Hold” is a bit too sensitive, so that the brake is repeatedly applied when driving back and forth.
Above I also mentioned the large turning circle of 11 meters, which is really striking for a compact car. The smart #1 should be significantly more maneuverable and have a better steering angle - otherwise it looks like a large SUV.
assistance systems
- The Steering assistant At the same time, it comes with a driver monitoring camera, which means that the smart #1 can detect whether the driver is keeping his eyes on the road even without touching the steering wheel. This allows the driver to drive autonomously for a comparatively long time without having to intervene again in the steering wheel. Of course, the driver must be ready to intervene at any time, because this steering assistant does not always work perfectly - and only on motorways and expressways.
- The Lane keeping assist is active even without the cruise control switched on and keeps the vehicle in the lane quite well - manual "steering", for example in construction sites, is very strong and the jerky steering maneuver is also noticed by passengers. Here the system should leave the steering to the driver much more easily.
- The adaptive cruise control keeps the distance to the vehicle in front very well, and the surroundings are displayed on the cockpit - as is known from Tesla. The so-called “smart pilot assist” can maintain the distance between 1 and 4 seconds, up to a maximum speed of 130 km/h. Speeds beyond this cannot be set on the cruise control. Okay, the systems should no longer be approved - but at least a normal cruise control without assistants should be able to be controlled up to the maximum speed. There is also criticism when it comes to braking: Here the cruise control could definitely make more use of recuperation, currently it actually physically “presses” the brake pedal down, which takes some getting used to.
- The Highbeam automatically fades up and down depending on oncoming traffic. There is no matrix LED light here, which only masks oncoming traffic. This is available from the smart #1 Premium and upwards. But this doesn't work completely, sometimes the dimming doesn't work correctly, sometimes it's a bit too sensitive, even when cars are parked. It could have shined a little further into the side of the road, but it was okay. It is also strange that the automatic high beam has to be activated using extra buttons a little further down, to the left of the steering wheel. If a headlight flasher is required or the high beam has to be switched on manually, the automatic high beam is also deactivated and must be activated again separately by pressing a button. This is disturbing.
- The Sign recognition It's currently working rather poorly than well. Sometimes 80 km/h is displayed on motorways where there was no such sign anywhere. What can be annoying: Adjusting the cruise control speed to the traffic sign can be activated in the settings. Then the speed suddenly changes from 130 km/h to 80 km/h.
Picture: TechnikNews
Range & consumption: economical
- The Reach According to WLTP it is 420 km, the realistic achievable value in our test is around 330 - 360 km.
- The Consumption is an average value of 19,4 kWh/100 km (motorway ~23 kWh/100 km, city ~15 kWh/100 km) in our test mix on motorways, country roads and urban areas. According to WLTP, this value is 17,4 kWh/100 km. The usable one battery capacity is 62 kW net (66 kW gross).
- Loaded AC on the wallbox is 3-phase with up to a maximum of 22 kW (0 to 100 Procent in around 3 hours), at the fast charging station on the go DC with up to 150 kW. It maintains the latter maximum value up to a charge level of around 30 Procent and actually makes it from 0 to 80 Procent in around 40 minutes or 10 to 80 Procent in 30 minutes. Very practical when traveling. Hats off.
Prices and models
The smart #1 will officially come to Austria at the end of this year, probably in November/December 2023. It will then be available in three models: the smart #1 Pro+ at a price of from 43.400 euros, the smart #1 Premium for from 45.900 euros and the smart #1 BRABUS from 49.900 euros. Finally there is the smart #1 Launch Edition. There are only 1000 of these available across Europe - for a particularly exclusive driving experience at a price starting at 47.200 euros. Each including 20% VAT and 0% NoVA.
