I came along to the palatial Mercedes-Benz building in Brisbane for the launch of the all-electric 2024 Smart #3 & Smart #1. We have a good introduction to them and drive them to Byron Bay for the launch of the new smart #5 electric off-roader. Let’s see how I got on with the smart #3!
The #3 is a fully electric sports sedan, I liken it to a coupe-SUV such as an Audi Q3 Sportback. Brought to life by the Mercedes-Benz design team, it is a funky-looking premium EV! Smart cars used to be tiny little runabouts and now they are more practical, all-electric cars imported from China.
The #3 looks fantastic, and I am struck by the bright Photon Orange colourway of this top-spec Brabus #3.
The Smart #3 comes in three variants, starting at $57,900 for the Pro+, $61,900 for the Premium and $70,900 for the top-spec Brabus.
When I look inside the top-spec Brabus the interior has been given the full Brabus treatment so has the Brabus branding, seats, red and black colours, design and performance. In case you hadn't heard of it, Brabus is a brand that makes incredibly fast and luxurious versions of Mercedes models for the very wealthy.
The #3 has a battery range of 415-455km, which is great for weekly family usage, school drop-offs, commutes, etc.
The interior is beautifully designed, with a large central media screen at the heart of the car.
This screen controls everything from turning the child lock on to the cheeky leopard avatar you can befriend and use for voice controls. Kids will love it!
It does have ACP and AA so you can access your phone's navigation, messaging, podcast and music apps while driving.
The Smart #3 has the sweeping lower roofline to the back compared to the boxier-looking Smart #1, but the design team has tried to increase the interior rear headroom by removing the blind on the roof etc and it seems quite spacious, I look forward to testing it with my kiddies in the back! The large glass roof has 99% UV protection according to Smart – but it's infra red that causes heat so the aircon might get a workout!
As a family car, the #3 is spacious inside for its size! The rear seats are comfortable, and there are ISOFix in the two outer rear seats, within plastic guides and easy to connect to.
There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three rear seats. They’re not within plastic guides, but I found them easy to connect to through the boot.
I bought one child seat down to try in the smart #3 today and it was lovely and easy to fit, there is definitely room for a second child seat and I look forward to testing with different child seats and seeing if a third will fit when I test the #3 with my family. #3across!
The flat rear footwell gives great access and legroom for rear passengers, too. There is an aircon vent in the back of the central console for rear passengers so you can keep little ones comfortable while driving.
Round in the boot, there is plenty of underfloor storage, which is great for popping the kids' dirty beach gear, etc. I have the Thule Spring one-handed folding stroller with me today, and that fits nicely in the boot of the 2024 Smart #3, with room around it for shopping, etc.
I look forward to testing the Thule range of prams in the boot when I test it with my family soon.
The #3 is a lovely EV to drive. Being an EV it has very fast acceleration (especially the VERY sporty Brabus) so you are confident to pull out at junctions and changing lanes in traffic. The ride is lovely and quiet and you are cocooned from a lot of outside road noise. You have good visibility and the ride is smooth and very enjoyable. The turning circle is very good making it easy to park and manoeuvre and the cameras are excellent which helps too. There isn't an ANCAP safety rating for the Smart #3 yet but Euro NCAP rated it five stars with 86% for child occupant protection and 90% for adult occupant protection.
I have loved driving the smart #3 today and I look forward to having it for a longer test with my family and putting it through our full BabyDrive testing with more child seats and Thule prams.
To learn more about the Smart #1 just click on the link here.
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