smart #1 Premium review: Best all-rounder in 2023?

With the smart #1 Premium, the former small car brand is delivering a truly significant breakthrough to the market—and not just metaphorically. The new model has nothing in common with a classic smart ForTwo or ForFour. We spent a week taking a closer look at the #1 Premium.

Above all is the clever #1 An electric car from the close cooperation between smart (Mercedes-Benz) and the Chinese automotive giant "Geely." Mercedes (Daimler) launched a joint venture with Geely in 2019. Called "smart Automobile," the #1 is not only the first car entirely developed by smart, but also designed by the Geely x Mercedes joint venture.

With its in-house SEA platform, Geely has a suitable platform for all kinds of new electric vehicles. Because together with the #1, two more compact SUVs / compact cars will follow under Geely's mantle on the German market in 2024, namely the Volvo EX30 and the ZEEKR X.

Of course, there will also be YouTube videos and reports on the models mentioned in the future TechnikNews But now it's back to the smart #1 Premium.

tl; dr:

The smart #1 is available in five different trims. We tested the highest trim with rear-wheel drive, called "Premium," for you, and it boasts very good technical specifications. It is powered by a 200 kW / 272 hp rear-mounted motor, drawing power from a 66 kWh NCM high-voltage battery installed in the underbody. Of this, 62 kWh is available for driving. The rear-wheel drive offers 330 Nm of torque, allowing for a quick acceleration from traffic lights.

The smart #1 Premium can be charged with 22 kW AC three-phase and up to 150 kW CCS fast charging. With a 22 kW AC charge, it's ready to drive again in just over 3 hours 30 minutes, and with 150 kW at a fast charging station, it's ready to go in just over 27 minutes. These are very good values for this vehicle class.

Smart states the WLTP range as 440 km, but as always, this is somewhat different in everyday use. You can easily manage 330 to 350 km with the #1, and this can be recharged quite quickly. We frequently used charging power of 155 kW during our charging sessions, which is even higher than smart itself claims.

The charging curve looks like this, with 20% plugged in the #1 jumps straight up to 130 kW, then when the battery is well warmed it increases to the mentioned 155 kW at the peak. Therefore the 27 minutes from 20 to 80% are quite realistic. The #1 also scores points in many respects when driving; the chassis, among other things, is very well tuned and it corners extremely well. Manual and automatic battery preconditioning for quick charging is already integrated. This doesn't happen with the ID.3, for example, where you charge for much longer in winter without a warm battery.

Design: Mercedes EQ design language

The design of the smart #1 is definitely related to that of Mercedes' EQ models. This is because Mercedes designers will be on board for the #1 and future new models. We really liked the design; it looks modern and quite chic. The very steep rear end, on the other hand, wasn't our cup of tea; the next-largest smart #3, on the other hand, also shows off its best side in the rear area.

Externally, the #1 definitely makes a statement. And yes, you're literally sucked in by the looks this vehicle is currently attracting. Whether it's out of curiosity or wonder why a "big car" with the smart logo is driving around here? We can't say, but regardless, if you want an eye-catcher, the smart #1 is definitely not the wrong choice. The exterior design is rounded off by the optional two-tone metallic paint, consisting of a black roof and, in our case, a light lime green (not exactly the color I'd personally choose). Fortunately, the configurator offers several color combinations to soften the gray on gray on German roads.

Interior: Unconventional but familiar

The interior of the smart #1 Premium, as the name suggests, offers a great deal of premium quality. But how does that make sense? How about this! Good choice of materials, no rattling, hardly any piano lacquer, and finally, a smooth infotainment system with three displays. The smart #1 Premium offers all this and a little more, even in the more affordable Pro and Pro+ versions. Standard features include a 12,8-inch (approx. 33 cm) infotainment display and a narrow, but at least clearly visible, driver display behind the steering wheel. The head-up display, which is integrated into the windshield, is also available as an option. prois projected and is very easy to read.

Also available in our test car is a wireless cell phone holder for charging in the top compartment of the “center tunnel,” which extends as an armrest through the entire middle of the front passenger compartment. Two USB Type-C ports at the front and back round off the connectivity package for end devices. The displays offer good resolution, although we would have liked to see OLED displays here. The front two seats in the Premium are fully electrically adjustable and offer very good support and comfort even on longer journeys. In addition, there is at least a pleasant seat heating at the front, but unfortunately there is no seat cooling. Likewise for a steering wheel heating. The latter is now in the configurator and will probably be installed in newer models.

Starting with the premium trim level of the smart #1, there's also a Beats sound system with 13 speakers plus a subwoofer in the trunk (which takes up some space). There's also plenty of room in the rear of the #1, with plenty of legroom between the front seats. They've truly created an excellent seating area for rear passengers. Thanks to the slightly higher design of the #1, there's also plenty of headroom.

Infotainment: Android Automotive, but with strong peculiarities.

It's immediately obvious if you know Geely that, like with them Volvo or Zeekr models, the smart #1 also uses an Android Automotive infotainment system. Unlike Volvo, however, smart has developed many things on its own, and at first glance, it doesn't look like a Google system.

If that's more your style, you should check out the Volvo EX30. Incidentally, we also have some content planned for it in spring 2024. Back to the smart infotainment system: this isn't being developed by Mercedes, but rather a collaboration between Geely and Mercedes. As already mentioned, it's based on an Android system, which will become apparent if you're used to using an Android smartphone.

The system looks rather gimmicky at first, but is very easy to use and has a logical structure. Functions can be accessed quickly and there is hardly any lag. There's even a dedicated Spotify app, designed in the style of the rest of the infotainment system. Very nice! The 360-degree all-round camera has a good resolution and offers convenient features such as a 3D model of the car with turn signal animations and blind spot warnings. So where is the Google Play Store? Yes, smart doesn't have it, at least not yet. Smart does have its own app store, but there isn't much there at the moment apart from a few games and the TuneIn radio app.

Polyfox causes mixed feelings.

On the home screen of the smart #1, you're greeted by a Polyfox. This is the #1's personal avatar and assistant. In China, at least, they love that kind of thing. Here in Germany, it's a bit difficult. But at least we didn't find it annoying. The voice assistant understood us well and can also open windows, etc. Everything a modern voice assistant in a car should be able to do. Although there is still room for improvement here. The system already runs really smoothly, and we're looking forward to more OTA updates that will be introduced over the course of the lifespan of the #1 and other models. Yes, you heard right, all functions and even bugs in the smart #1 can be easily updated at home via over-the-air update. Fun fact: the Polyfox, or rather the idea, doesn't come from China, but from the German Mercedes developers.

E-route planning: Still very expandable.

The so-called e-route planning in the smart #1 is at least available. But it doesn't really work well. In a regular navigation system without a running route, you can display charging stations and get all the important information, such as how many spaces are occupied/free, or how many kW of charging power it can handle, or whether the station is defective, etc. That's also really well done. But if you let charging stations be added to the route automatically, the good stuff suddenly stops. Because then you can only view the charging stations on the route without any information.

Smart itself is already aware of this bug. In a conversation with smart Germany CEO Wolfgang Ufer, I learned that they plan to roll out a new e-route planning feature to their vehicles at the beginning of next year. We're excited to see how it works and whether it's effective. We'll keep you updated, of course.

Further infotainment details: image gallery

We don’t want to withhold the technical specifications of the smart #1 infotainment from you. The smart #1 infotainment system features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 smart cockpit chip, This is supported by 128 GB of internal storage. That's quite a lot of storage space for a car infotainment system. We naturally hope that smart will soon offer streaming services for charging; the platform at least has enough power to support all of this.

Here you can adjust the quick controls, ambient lighting, and a wide variety of charging options, among other things. In terms of operation, smart's #1 definitely impresses; we found the system very responsive and had no issues during our week-long test drive. However, the points mentioned above definitely need to be addressed.

Where is Android Auto & Apple CarPlay?

A legitimate question, to which there is now finally an answer. Until now, there was no sign of either screen mirroring provider on the smart #1. But starting with the OTA update 1.3.0, you will be provided with wireless Android Auto as well as wireless CarPlay. Both can, of course, also be used via cable. How well and, above all, how stable this works, we will test for you in a later test of the top model "smart #1 Brabus."probeer

By the way, you can at least activate “seat ventilation” and the steering wheel heating via OTA in China. It is not yet known whether this will be installed in the European models. At least in the infotainment there is evidence of seat ventilation.

Who is the smart #1 actually for?

This can be summarized simply for those who were already considering a VW ID.3 or comparable models, but want to have more headroom and use extra space in the rear, but can get by with a slightly smaller trunk. Because the #1 only holds 313 liters in the Premium trim, 976 liters with the rear seat folded down. By the way, this can also be moved slightly so that you get a little more trunk space without having to fold down the seats. I didn't really find the trunk to be "too small", I would classify it as usable, but you can fold down the seats for larger errands.

Range & consumption

Let's get back to the technical facts. In terms of consumption, the #1 Premium has 18-19 kWh / 100 km. These are normal values; it doesn't do any better than the ID.3 Pro Performance. But it does have a slightly longer usable battery, at least if you opt for the 58 kWh battery in the ID.3. Therefore, realistic ranges of 350 km are quite feasible in everyday life. Anything above that could perhaps be achieved in summer. On the other hand, the #1 scores with one of the best fast-charging curves in its segment, which means that it can continue charging faster than the ID.3 or its ilk.

But if you want a directly functioning Android Auto and CarPlay connection that also runs stably, but can do without interior quality and OTA updates, you should take a closer look at the ID.3. Or better yet, just wait for the next facelift, when the much more powerful 4.0 hardware and software will be available.

Otherwise, you can't go wrong with the smart #1; it's a very good all-rounder in many areas, even superior to the VW in terms of towing capacity. It can officially tow up to 1,6 tons braked, which isn't bad for a car of this size these days. And best of all, the regular OTA updates only make the smart #1 better. But I've refrained from counting the numbers here, so we've rated the smart #1 Premium as it currently stands. And it does that outstandingly well.

Driving comfort and assistance systems

Since this review is already beyond the scope, I'll keep it a bit shorter. The ride comfort is very good, the chassis is well-tuned, and it corners very well. Thanks to the standard rear-wheel drive and 272 hp, the larger smart has good forward acceleration. The assistance systems include everything you could want in a modern car. From adaptive cruise control to steering assistance and autonomous parking assistance, everything is on board. The cameras have a good and usable resolution, the visualization during automatic parking is effective, and you have more confidence than, for example, with VAG vehicles.

The ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) is activated via the steering wheel with “real” buttons, and the distance is also set there. In all cases, #1 always braked appropriately, just like you would have done yourself. Only the steering assistant still needs some fine-tuning; it wasn't as "reliable" as VW's Travel Assist, for example. The Matrix LED lighting system, which is part of the series from the Premium onwards, dimmed perfectly in all cases and there wasn't a single headlight flash , but something should still be done to the “fluidity” here, because the Matrix LED system is sometimes reminiscent of a strobe light show: it fades signs or other road users in and out so quickly and jerkily. This looks “weird” not only for the driver, but also for other road users.

This makes the ID.3 with the IQ.Light system significantly rounder and smoother. This immediately seems higher quality and “safer”. Otherwise there's not much to complain about, we're not missing any assistance system in the #1. By the way, there are also digital car keys via Bluetooth, these are currently still in beta and we were unable to test them thanks to the lack of app access. However, up to 5 digital keys should be possible, which can also be shared with family and friends.