Smart #1
Published · Researched 2026-09-21
Smart #1 review: nearly great, nagged to death
The Smart #1 is for the design-conscious EV buyer who values Mercedes styling and Geely hardware — and who has the patience of a driving instructor. Verdict: the best hardware in this cluster, sabotaged by the most irritating software.
What it is. The reinvention of Smart as a Geely–Mercedes joint venture: styled by Mercedes, engineered and built in China on Geely's SEA platform (the same bones as the Volvo EX30 and Zeekr X). A compact electric crossover, rear-wheel drive with 272 hp and a 62 kWh usable battery (273 miles WLTP), or 428 hp twin-motor Brabus if you're feeling spicy. 150 kW DC charging plus a genuinely rare 22 kW AC on-board charger. Five-star Euro NCAP. On sale across Europe, the UK (£31,950–£43,450) and Australia since 2023. Not in America.
What's genuinely good. The fundamentals are strong. Both UK long-termers praised the refinement — excellent noise isolation, a comfortable ride, a cabin that feels a class above the price. The kit list is generous: panoramic roof, heated everything, heat pump on the Premium, real leather on the seats, a head-up display, Beats audio. The 22 kW AC charging is a real-world superpower on European three-phase streetside chargers. The Brabus is silly-fast for the money. And unlike most cars here, there's a real dealer network behind it — the Mercedes connection actually means something when you need a service slot.
What's actually wrong. The electronics behave like a helicopter parent with a grudge. CAR magazine's long-termer got fatigue warnings after five minutes at the wheel — four months later, still happening nearly every journey, and the car also bonged because the driver-monitoring camera was obscured by the steering-wheel spokes. Autocar's car scolded its driver for looking at traffic at a junction while stationary. The adaptive cruise keeps a follow distance so vast that other drivers treat it as an invitation. The powered door handles retract just as you reach for them. The app wouldn't pair for one tester, and tech support's advice was "just reinstall the app." Everything lives in the touchscreen — adjusting the mirrors means three menus deep. The regen is heavy, can't be switched off, and the throttle calibration is laggy; one reviewer never got comfortable with anything but the lowest setting. Then the recalls: a Finnish magazine found the rear centre seatbelt could unbuckle a passenger's belt in a high-speed swerve — "dangerous design flaw," fixed by a 2025 UK recall of 2,051 cars. And in March 2026, Smart recalled 18,217 Chinese-built 2022–2023 #1s and #3s over battery fire risk from manufacturing inconsistency; whether EU cars share the defect is UNVERIFIED. What Car?'s long-termer blew a fuse that silenced the radio, phone, parking sensors and indicators — the repair took a month. Skip it if you want assistance systems you can trust, physical buttons, or a car that doesn't lecture you. At £40k, both long-termers said, there are better options.
The social pulse. The UK press corps drove this car more than any other in the cluster, and the consensus is unusually aligned: love the hardware, loathe the nannies. Owner voices are harder to find in accessible English-language groups — Threads has wishlist posts, not owners — but the long-termers both note that "other #1 owners have also had words with Smart," so the frustration is shared, not imagined. The fox mascot that "does precisely nothing" has become the car's unofficial emblem: a cute distraction in a car full of un-cute distractions. No astroturf; Smart's marketing is quiet and the criticism is loud.
The value call. At £31,950 the Pro undercuts the EX30 it shares bones with, and Australia's 2026 price cuts (up to A$5,000 off, Pro+ now A$49,900) make it genuinely tempting — if you can live with the software and the thin Aussie dealer network. Against it: the Kia EV3 and Skoda Elroq are better-sorted at similar money, and a used EX30 is the same platform without the fox. Sweet-spot year: 2025 — seatbelt fix applied, later software, mature dealers, post-reprice in Australia. Skip 2023 — first EU year, seatbelt cohort, worst of the software era.
Buy the car. Budget a long, deep breath for the electronics.