Smart #3 Brabus review: sporty, chic and smart

Smart is, as we know, now a joint venture between Daimler and the Chinese car company “Geely”. After the Smart #1 Brabus, they are now bringing their SUV coupe to customers as a sporty Brabus version. We have tested the Smart #3 Brabus in everyday use for you!

tl;dr: Smart can be sporty

With the Smart #3 Brabus, in addition to the compact SUV #1, there is now finally something for those who don't want to sit too high. As well as for those who want to drive in a more sporty manner. The Smart definitely fulfills this. Even if you can't completely deny its SUV look. With modern technology, numerous assistants and a decent finish, the #3 Brabus can prove itself to us. Of course, not to be completely neglected are the 3,7 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h. After all, not every car with power can call itself a “Brabus”, but the Smart #3 definitely deserves it.

The Alcantara steering wheel proves right from the start that Smart is serious again. With its 66 kWh battery, whereby 62 kWh can also be used, it can realistically travel 320 km with normal driving. If you push it a bit, however, it will of course be a little less. However, these can be refilled very quickly thanks to AC charging with 22 kW or DC with up to 154 kW charging power. Smart offers one of the best charging curves in its class. It also offers very good cornering characteristics, the chassis has sporty suspension and does offer comfort, but sometimes the focus seems to be on sportiness.

We can recommend the Smart #3 Brabus to anyone who can imagine a sporty SUV coupe as an everyday companion. Especially if you like the Mercedes interior style. Because it is undoubtedly immediately recognizable. The infotainment system responds quickly, although it might look a bit too playful for some people. There is charging route planning, but it is somewhat poorly developed. This means that charging stations are planned, but there are no filter options or information as to whether they are occupied. It also seemed to us that 11 or 22 kW chargers were planned along the route. Smart needs to work on this again; a major navigation update was supposed to come in the summer, but so far it hasn't arrived.

Video report:

Design: Red with black roof, simply good

We had the Smart #3 Brabus in a color combination that really suits the vehicle. Red as the exterior color with a black roof and accents. Plus the Brabus emblems all around. The sportiness is much more apparent here than with the white that we had on the Smart #1 Brabus. In general, the #3 Brabus simply looks sportier, this is probably due to the shape. Also not to be underestimated is the interior design, which was definitely inspired by Mercedes. The round air vents, three in number, can also be found in some significantly more expensive models from the manufacturer with the star.

The rims also look good and now even have Brabus lettering stamped on them. But if you want something a little more "Brabus", you can also get an extra "tuning kit" for the Smart #3 Brabus from the Bottroper, including lowering and the well-known monoblock rims. It's nice that this isn't just a "Brabus line", but that the manufacturer even offers customers a little more. Among other things, the illuminated Smart door sills can be exchanged for ones with Brabus lettering, but these tuning parts are only available after sales.

Interior: AMG greets you every day

When you get into the Smart #3 Brabus for the first time, you immediately notice the new Mercedes design language. But in a positive sense, nothing creaks or feels inferior. However, the door pockets could be padded, they are made of plastic, but they are extremely large in the driving area. Unlike Mercedes, Smart has completely dispensed with piano lacquer, which we can definitely only approve of. The three round ventilation outlets below the infotainment screen are quite reminiscent of the Sindelfingen company. Mercedes is still involved in the design of the new Smarts. So it doesn't really surprise us, but that the quality here is sometimes better than in the EQS is.

By the way, the center console is ventilated, which means it can keep your drinks or food a little cool in summer temperatures. Everything a tech-savvy heart could desire is included as standard. A head-up display, a Beats sound system, a driver display and sporty Brabus seats are included. The 12-inch infotainment display is upright in the middle in landscape format, as we already know from the Smart #1. In general, apart from the seats and the ventilation outlets, a lot is similar here. Logically.

What we would also like to highlight is that the charging cradle for the smartphone is now finally in a different position. This means that you can reach it better when taking out your smartphone than was the case with the #1. The seats are pleasantly sporty, offer great lateral support, but are also comfortable to sit on for longer journeys. The trunk is also slightly larger than in the #1, it now holds 370 liters and by folding it down you get a full 1160 liters.

Infotainment: Stable with new features

Anyone who wants to use the infotainment of the Smart # 1 has seen it once, you will immediately feel at home with the #3. It still uses an Android-based system, which can also be easily updated via over-the-air updates. During our test period, we received an OTA update ourselves and the process was extremely simple. The Smart models can now also do V2L with their own adapter, which means that nothing stands in the way of the next E-Grill season. As with the Smart #1 Brabus last year, there is now wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which work well and have a very good resolution.

In addition to Relax, Wash or Pet mode, the system now also offers a few games to pass the time while charging. These are already familiar from the usual Teslas and other similar models. Nothing special, unfortunately we still have to wait for streaming providers such as Netflix and Co. However, we think that with the launch of the Smart # 5, one or two video apps will find their way onto the smart phones. That would at least be desirable.

Driving behaviour & loading: Sporty, with good (loading) cornering

The Smart #3 Brabus doesn't just look sporty. The coupe-like shape and the slightly sportier seats mean that cornering is significantly better than the Smart #1 Brabus. It can be driven quite precisely and well on almost all terrains. Of course, you can tell that Brabus had a hand in this. The chassis is very firm and sporty, inviting you to take corners a little faster. You also get to trust the car relatively quickly, at least that was the case on our trips. The brakes are very well tuned and can certainly do more than the 180 km/h limit would suggest.

The #3,7 Brabus accelerates from 3 to 0 km/h in just 100 seconds, optionally with emulated engine sound, but this eventually becomes so sonorous that you'd rather turn it off again. If you like it particularly fast, you can activate the rocket start in Brabus mode, at night the ambient light flashes red like on a launch pad. A friendly female voice starts a countdown in English from 3,2,1 and GO. Then you should let go of the brake as quickly as possible. This always put a smile on our passengers' faces. So here is a recommendation if you ever drive the Smart #3 Brabus out ofproshould be beer.

Charging: Good charging curve

The charging curve is unchanged from that of the Smart #1 or Volvo EX30. After all, they share a common platform. According to the data sheet, the peak goes up to 150 kW, in our charging test we saw the 158 kW more often than we thought. On average, the #3 charges up to 80% with 130 kW. That is a good performance, only at 80% do you notice a significant drop to 100 kW and then it gets less. So no problem at all for long distances. Our consumption was a good 17 to 18 kWh per 100 kmThis is a very good value for this vehicle class. A heat pump is of course installed as standard in the Smart #3 Brabus, which then ensures an increase in range in winter.

Realistically speaking, the #3 Brabus can travel an average of 335 kilometers. That's more than enough for most people, as it can charge quickly for its class of vehicle.

Loading planning: Unfortunately still missing

Although already since the end of 2023proUnfortunately, there is still no sensible charging planning in Smart's system. Nevertheless, a major navigation update wasprochen, which was actually supposed to be released in summer 2024. This is now gradually coming to an end. We are excited to see when Smart will be able to keep its promise. After all, there is the Android Auto or Apple CarPlay connection with various route planner apps as an alternative.

Assistance systems: Simply good

Not really surprising, the assistants on Smart work quite well, as with many vehicles on the new Geely platform. Here and there, the finishing touches are still missing, but the sign recognition has now been done really well. The steering assistant is particularly impressive on the motorway, but mind you, it only goes up to 130 km/h, which is pretty solid for an assistant. The ACC, on the other hand, goes up to 150 km/h, which is also perfectly fine from our point of view. The parking assistant works well, and also offers the option of correcting your parking space yourself if you want to park a little differently.

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