Smart #3 2024 Review

Figuring out the #3’s recommended retail pricing is easy – take the pricetags for the #1, and add $3000. That puts the entry-grade #3 Pro+ at $57,900, the mid-spec Premium at $61,900, and the top-tier #3 Brabus at $70,900.

The standard equipment fit-out for the Smart #3 is virtually identical to that of the #1, meaning 19-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, a powered tailgate, LED headlamps, and a panoramic glass sunroof for all models. The only differences there are the absence of a retractable sunblind for the #3’s glass roof (the #1 gets a fully opaque motorised sunblind) and the button for the tailgate cleverly hidden within the ‘a’ in the Smart badge. Both front seats are also powered and heated, and a heated steering wheel is also standard.

The Premium grade adds adaptive matrix LED headlamps and leather upholstery, as well as some additional EV hardware in the form of an efficiency-boosting heat pump and a faster AC home charger, which allows it to travel 20km further on a single charge while also enjoying a faster charging time.

The flagship #3 Brabus gets some additional bodykit addenda and a smattering of ‘Brabus’ badging around its exterior, complemented by red brake calipers and 20-inch alloy wheels. Inside, sporty microsuede upholstery with red contrast stitching is complemented by the red seatbelts and alloy pedals.

All #3s are covered by a five-year, 150,000km warranty, with the battery pack covered by a separate eight-year, 150,000km warranty.

The #3 has been awarded a five-star overall rating by Euro NCAP however Smart’s local distributor LSH Auto has confirmed that it will be making vehicles available to local body ANCAP for Australia-specific testing.

Standard safety gear on all Smart #3s include a seven-airbag array, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, front and rear cross traffic alert, 360-degree parking camera, front and rear parking sensors, driver fatigue monitoring, and an overspeed warning.

Like other aspects of the Smart #3, the tech feature suite is largely the same as for the #1. A 13-inch infotainment touchscreen is the centrepiece of the dash and runs Smart’s own in-house operating system, but is also compatible with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Sitting behind the steering wheel is a slim 10-inch digi-dash (which remains bright and clear even in direct sunlight). The steering wheel itself is festooned with buttons for trip computer interactions, audio control, and the cruise control/speed limiter.

Moving into the Premium gains you a loud and crisp Beats audio system, a self-parking function, as well as a sizable head-up display – a great feature to have in an EV, where aural feedback on vehicle speed isn’t as noticeable.

The Brabus has the same in-car tech as the Premium (its point of difference relates more to its powertrain, see below), but it’s worth noting that all Smart #3 variants suffer from the same affliction: too many controls are only accessible via the touchscreen, which can be fiddly and frustrating to use when the car is in motion.

As with the #1, the Smart #3 is available with two powertrain options – a single-motor arrangement powering the rear wheels with a 200kW, 343Nm electric motor, and a dual-motor layout delivering 315kW and 543Nm. The former powers the Pro+ and Premium grades, while the dual-motor configuration is reserved for the Smart #3 Brabus, but all variants are supplied energy from the same 66kWh NCM battery.

However, thanks to the #3’s greater performance focus, those powertrains deliver stronger straight-line go: a hot-hatch-esque 5.7-second 0-100km/h sprint for the Pro+ and Premium, and a scorching 3.7 seconds for the #3 Brabus when you hit the switch for that variant’s specific ‘Brabus’ mode and stomp the accelerator.

Though it uses the same 66kWh battery as the Smart #1, the #3’s fastback silhouette and lower ride height give it an aerodynamic advantage that helps it eke out a longer range claim than its more upright brother.

For the Smart #3 Pro+, the manufacturer claims a peak range of 435km, with the #3 Premium extending that to 455km thanks to an efficiency-boosting heat pump. The dual-motor Brabus is a bit of an electron hog, and its indicative range maxes out at 415km as a result.

We’d love to be able to tell you that the Smart #3 delivers on the sporting pretensions of its appearance, but the truth is the launch drive route steered clear of any roads that would have allowed any kind of dynamic exploration. That assessment will need to come later.

What we can vouch for, though, is that the #3 seems perfectly competent as an around-town runabout, with all variants – dual-motor and single-motor – boasting plenty of zip to slice through urban congestion. Yes, the dual-motor Brabus is obviously quicker, but that’s not to say that the single-motor #3 variants feel slow. Far from it, with rolling acceleration that’s particularly perky.

And by the same token, the Brabus only becomes fast and frenetic when you’re in Brabus or Sport mode – in Normal or Eco, it’s docile enough to ensure your latte remains in its compostable cup.

The Smart #3 rides on a 20mm lower suspension than the #1, with a 35mm longer wheelbase. There’s certainly a difference in ride and handling between it and the #1, starting with a firmer edge to its bump response, particularly in the Smart #3 Brabus, which rolls on 20-inch wheels versus the 19-inchers fitted to the #1 Brabus. We wouldn’t describe the Smart #3’s ride quality as brittle though. In fact, with a fairly long-travel suspension there’s plenty of vertical movement when driving over an undulating road, but the damping on the passive dampers reins in any pogo-ing and the Smart #3 generally corners with a flatt-ish attitude.

The steering also matches up nicely to the rest of the chassis, with a pleasing weight to it when the steering resistance slider is wound all the way to Sport, and the reasonably direct rack and tight turning circle contribute to the car’s agile feel.

Our only real issues with the #3’s driving experience don’t concern its mechanicals, but rather the electronics. The lane-keep function is over-reactive and easily picks up the ghostly outlines of old lane markings, tar lines, and changes in road surface texture, which prompted us to deactivate it. Same too for the speed sign recognition, which would detect signs that weren’t pertinent to the road we were travelling on or were merely advisories, which in turn would activate the overspeed alert (which has a very low activation threshold to begin with). As with the lane-keep, we ended up turning that off.

Nope – the #3 is geared towards urban and highway driving.

The swoopy lines and organic curves of the exterior are mirrored on the #3’s interior, with a prominent buttress-like centre console smoothly merging with the dashboard and wrapping around the front passengers. It’s a similar treatment to what you’ll find in the #1, but there are differences in the details: round vents in lieu of rectangles, less airspace between the roof and your scalp, fractionally lower seating, a few extra centimetres in cabin length and no retractable blind for the full-length glass roof.

No matter the variant, all #3s come with a 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring a handful of haptic buttons underneath. The instrument binnacle contains a slim electronic display for speed, drive mode, cruise control and other driving functions, while the Premium and Brabus grades also get a head-up display.

There’s a mixture of surface textures and finishes depending on variant, but even the base Pro+ grade we experienced had a pleasing mix of metallised plastic surfacing on things like the door handles and centre console, soft-touch door uppers and knee pads, and a light-coloured textile trim panel on the dashtop with contrast stitching, along with comfortable part cloth/part leather seat upholstery.

It’s broadly rather attractive and fashionable, and geared toward a younger crowd (although Smart quietly admits it’s likely to find more favour among an older cohort). But what sets the #3 apart from many segment rivals is its use of space. Beneath that ‘floating’ high centre console is a generous storage shelf mounted near the floor, while the absence of speaker boxes in the front doors leaves room for huge door bins. A lidded phone compartment hides a wireless charging pad and a couple of USB charge ports (1x USB-C, 1x USB-A), and the armrest compartment is surprisingly long and deep.

Although the roofline is low-slung, there’s actually plenty of room in the #3’s back seat too. A lower seat mounting position and the absence of a sunblind for the sunroof means the #3’s chopped roof doesn’t actually impinge on headroom. The #3 loses the sliding rear bench of the #1, but backseaters still get to enjoy loads of legroom and knee room while sitting in a natural, semi-reclined posture. Frameless door glass is another nice design touch that helps impart an airy, light-filled ambience to the cabin, not to mention an upmarket aura. The only thing that upsets that is a fair bit of tyre noise on coarse-chip asphalt.

The boot is small, however. Smart quotes a number of 370 litres with the rear seats in place (1160L with them down), and while it’s good enough for a couple of suitcases or a bunch of backpacks, it’s no bigger than your typical small hatchback’s load area. Under the bonnet, you’ll find a frunk, but with just 15 litres of capacity, it’s really only good for stowing the charging cable.

If you’re pondering a Volvo EX30, you may want to check out a Smart #3 first. Not only do the two cars share platforms and a good deal of their mechanical innards, but their performance metrics are also fairly close. The Smart costs a smidge less too, and there has been a greater design emphasis on rear seat accommodation.

On its own merits, there’s plenty to recommend the Smart #3. It’s stylish, a fun splash of colour in an EV world that is, at times, far too sensible for its own good. It’s fun to see a car with some personality, but it’s also great to see that charm isn’t the only positive attribute of the #3. It genuinely drives well and presents a great choice for those seeking an upmarket commuter car.

However, so does its sibling in the showroom, the #1. Is the #3’s sporty vibe and slightly improved performance worth an extra $3000, given most other attributes are near-identical? That will largely come down to individual taste.

2024 Smart #3 at a glance:
Price: $57,900 (Pro+), $61,900 (Premium), $70,900 (Brabus), plus on-road costs
Available: Now
Powertrain: Single or Dual AC induction motors
Output: 200kW/343Nm (single motor), 315kW/543Nm (dual motor)
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 66kWh lithium-ion, Nickel Cobalt Manganese
Range: ADR – 435km (Pro+), 455km (Premium), 415km (Brabus)
Energy consumption: 16.8kWh/100km (Pro+), 16.3kWh/100km (Premium), 17.6kWh/100km (Brabus)
Safety rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP, 2023)

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