Smart #3 Brabus 2024 Review

Despite links to premium brands, the Chinese-built 2024 Smart #3 Brabus is smartly priced in comparison to the go-fast EV SUV competition.

It ships Down Under via Australian importer LSH Auto and is currently sold out of three Mercedes-Benz dealerships, each located in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. More locations are expected to be added to the roster in 2025.

The Brabus-themed range-topper is priced at $70,900 before on-road costs (ORCs). For the spend you get two electric motors for all-wheel drive grip, as well as myriad Brabus badges to remind everyone you’ve bought the fast version.

Two, rear-wheel drive single-motor options are offered with the entry-level #3 Pro+ for $57,900 and the mid-spec Premium variant at $61,900 (all prices exclude ORCs).

There is growing competition in this fast-paced EV segment, with the likes of the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N being hard to beat in terms of ultimate performance – but it’s also $110,383 before ORCs.

Bringing the monetary value close to the #3 is the Tesla Model 3 Performance at $80,900 and the mechanically similar $71,290 Volvo EX30.

The 2024 Smart #3 Brabus is built on Geely’s SEA2 platform (Sustainable Experience Architecture) that’s also used by Volvo and Zeekr.

Externally, the performance intent is conveyed by the variant-specific body kit and larger 20-inch alloys with red brake calipers. The sporty aesthetic vibe is continued inside with red stitching and seatbelts, alloy pedals and microsuede/leather upholstery.

The list of standard kit also includes adaptive matrix LED headlights, LED tail-lights, panoramic glass roof, dual-zone climate control, heated/ventilated power adjustable front seats, steering-wheel heating, head-up display and a powered tailgate with swipe functionality.

The Smart #3 Brabus is covered by a five-year/150,000-kilometre warranty, while the battery warranty runs for eight years or 150,000 kilometres. Buy a Smart before the end of 2024 and you’ll get three years (or 60,000km) of free scheduled servicing via an LSH Auto dealership.

The 2024 Smart #3 Brabus has achieved a five-star ANCAP safety rating, awarded after recent testing.

The highlights of the active safety tech include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control with stop/go function, lane keeping assist, blind spot detection, traffic sign recognition, lane change assist, driver fatigue monitoring, automatic parking assist, front and rear parking sensors as well as a 360-degree camera.

There are seven airbags as well as ISOFIX points and top tethers in the rear for child safety seats.

While the #3 Brabus is endowed with a comprehensive list of safety kit, it loses marks in terms of its integration and the plethora of audible warning chimes. The active lane keeping is very active – although you can get away with merely placing a pinky finger on the steering wheel, which will appeal to some.

You can turn a lot of the systems off or reduce their assistance, but unless you create your own profile, you’ll be doing it every time you get in the car, as it constantly reverts to everything on. Ironically, trying to disarm everything will trigger the driver attention alert.

Depending on the buyer, the tech found within the 2024 Smart #3 Brabus can polarise opinion. Why? It’s very Generation Alpha.

The #3 runs the company’s latest ‘Smart Planet’ UI that even includes a cheetah or fox avatar on top of the unique instrumentation. Your kids will love the detailed graphics and gimmicks, but it takes some familiarisation to understand how it all works on the 12.8-inch colour touch-screen.

Elsewhere there’s an informative, rectangular instrument cluster that includes everything you need from speedometer, audio/trip computer and radar-based features.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as are features like the wireless phone charging pad, USB-A and USB-C ports (front and rear), Bluetooth, DAB+ digital radio, native satellite navigation and a 13-speaker Beats audio system.

The 2024 Smart #3 Brabus lives up to its branding by being ridiculously brisk – it covers the 0-100km/h dash in a claimed 3.7 seconds.

Yep, that’s right, a figure that was once reserved for bona fide sports cars can now be achieved by an SUV you’ll find doing the daily commute or weekly shop. To put things into perspective, the zero-to-hero time is faster than the previous generation Mercedes-AMG C 63 – and that packs a twin-turbo V8 powerhouse.

The #3 Brabus achieves the quoted figure thanks to dual electric motors. In addition to the motor found on the rear axle of the lesser model grades, the Brabus has an additional unit up front for combined outputs of 315kW and 543Nm.

There’s also launch control, otherwise known as Rocket Launch in Brabus-speak. Not only does it include a visual countdown from three, it’s also audible. And just like a theme-park ride, the #3 Brabus catapults you forward at an alarming rate.

Four driving modes are available, those being Eco, Comfort, Sport and Brabus. The first two soften responses significantly and are perfect for smooth and progressive inputs around the city. Swapping into Sport mode ups the ante, while Brabus constantly engages bother motors for eager response.

It begs the question; do you really need to go this fast in a small SUV?

Supplying the motors with energy in the 2024 Smart #3 Brabus is a 66kWh Lithium nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery pack.

The claimed WLTP range is 415km, with energy consumption coming in at 17.6kWh/100km (WLTP). However, after almost 900km of predominately highway driving, we achieved 20.1kWh/100km. So, the real-world average range is more like 350km.

When using a DC fast-charging station (CCS Type 2 connection), the Brabus can replenish the battery at up to 150kWh. A 10-80 per cent charge takes less than 30 minutes – something we did several times at various locations.

If you have a dedicated wall box at home, the maximum AC charge rate is 22kWh, taking up to three hours for the same result.

What you glean from behind the wheel of the 2024 Smart #3 Brabus largely depends on how you intend to drive it.

If you’re privy to the Brabus badge, then you might want to moderate your expectations. The #3 is an unequivocally fast SUV, there’s no denying that. However, if you intend to enjoy your small SUV’s performance in ways other than merely impressing your passengers from a standstill, then you might be disappointed.

The main culprit is the lack of tyre grip from the low-rolling-resistance tyres. Ultimately, the Continental EcoContact 6Q rubber is focused more on eking out extra range than providing the #3 with enough traction to harness the prodigious power.

It’s the front axle, particularly when in Brabus mode, that battles the most. Power understeer is easily induced under heavy acceleration with steering lock applied, kind of like a high-powered front-wheel drive hot hatch without a sorted limited-slip differential. In layman’s terms, it essentially feels like the front of the car is walking wide on corner exit. Conversely, you can induce understeer on corner entry, too.

Okay, it’s far from all doom and gloom, though. The rear motor is the more powerful of the two and you can even manage to coax some back-end yaw for the kind of fun you don’t expect from an EV. The ride quality is well-tuned for a passive suspension set-up and the damping is controlled.

Even the steering can be tailored outside the four dedicated driving modes. It’s a little too heavy and artificial in the most aggressive setting but take it back a notch and the responses feel far less synthetic. The regenerative braking is well tuned and feel through the pedal is decent, too.

However, this isn’t solely about performance. And the experience continues to improve when you lean into the upmarket EV side of things. The experience is far more positive. Yes, the wheels are 20-inch items, but the ride quality straddles the firmness-versus-comfort divide well. It rarely feels overtly harsh and the noise and vibration levels are appreciably low on smooth tarmac.

The Brabus makes sense within the CBD, too. The light and quick steering setting makes car parks a breeze and the effortless nature of the EV powertrain means you won’t be slowing traffic. Conversely, settling into highway stints is made more comfortable by the fact the #3 feels solid on the open road.

The cabin of the 2024 Smart #3 Brabus is a really nice place to be with a thoughtful design, quality materials and decent levels of practical storage.

The frameless doors add a cool factor and the carpets/floor mats offer Lexus levels of plushness. The #3 Brabus also gains Mercedes-Benz-like air vents and the central console (which includes a cooled storage compartment) mimics that of the previous generation AMG GT. Everything feels solidly built.

Yet there’s a lot to get your head around ergonomically – especially with the infotainment and switchgear – although it is nice to see some haptic buttons at the base of the infotainment screen. Two annoyances arise at night as the ambient lighting reflects badly on the front side windows and the indicators housed in the wing mirrors are a distraction in your line of sight.

The slinky roofline suggests poor rear headroom, but that’s not the case in reality. There’s even sufficient legroom, considering the EV packaging and 2785mm wheelbase. Thankfully there are air vents for the back seats too, because there’s no sunblind for the full-length panoramic glass roof. Owners will constantly use the remote-access app to set the climate control in summer.

The relatively compact overall dimensions (the #3 Brabus is 4400mm long, 1844mm wide and 1556mm tall) equate to a hatchback-esque boot capacity of 370 litres. It does expand to 1160 litres with the rear 60/40-split folding back seats stowed.

There is a flat floor to conceal charging cables and a puncture repair kit (but no full- or space-saver spare), and the boot also features a retracting cover, bag hooks and netted cargo pockets. Being an EV there is a ‘frunk’, but it’s only 15 litres and best reserved for charging cables.

For a company that usually prides itself on its unconventional approach to design, the 2024 Smart #3 Brabus presents as an unexpectedly stylish and functional SUV with an of-the-moment coupe design.

The neck-whipping straight-line performance is addictive. To some, the headline figure of 3.7 seconds to 100km/h will be a carrot too hard to resist. Considering it doesn’t cost exorbitantly more than the ‘slower’ rear-wheel drive models, you’re getting a lot of straight-line bang for your bucks mixed in with a premium small SUV.

Yet, in truth the hypo #3 is more rewarding when you aren’t accessing the Brabus side of its personality. You don’t feasibly need this much acceleration. In the end the, ahem, smarter buy is the cheaper and more efficient rear-wheel drive versions. However, we wouldn’t unsubscribe or unfollow you for succumbing to the straight-line performance of the Brabus.

2024 Smart #3 Brabus at a glance:
Price: $70,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Two permanently excited synchronous motors
Output: 315kW/543Nm
Transmission: Two-speed transmission
Battery: 66kWh lithium nickel cobalt manganese
Range: 415km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 17.6kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five stars (ANCAP 2023)

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