2023 smart #1 EV’s interior revealed – Merc design, 13-speaker Beats audio, localised UI with charger location

You’ve seen our media preview coverage of the smart #1, and those of you who came to EVx 2023 even got to see the new EV in the metal, so what’s this about then? The embargo lifts on the smart #1’s interior pics, and we can finally show you the EV’s cabin.

Before we talk about the smart #1 (pronounced as hashtag one) interior, here’s a recap of the returning brand, its new identity and the first product of ‘the new smart’, which is the #1.

Those of you who are of a certain vintage might remember the ‘smart car’ from the 90s. The iconic mini car was a Mercedes-Benz and Swatch collab that later saw the larger ForFour and the Roadster sports car join the fray. There were even Brabus versions of those funky little things. All three were officially sold in Malaysia back in the day, and while sightings have become a lot more rare these days, there are survivors.

Like fashion, smart’s hot start petered out to a mere existence in the 2010s. Then came Geely in 2019. The ambitious Chinese carmaker took up part ownership in a 50:50 JV with Mercedes-Benz, and it was decided from the start that the Germans will be in charge of design, with Geely providing the architecture and engineering. The new smart is an EV-only brand.

smart was really big in Europe in its heyday, and China is now the world’s biggest EV market. Suitably, the rejuvenated brand employs the ‘China-Europe dual-home’ strategy, while targeting regions with high potential. ASEAN is one such region, and Proton – via subsidiary Pro-Net – is the distributor for the smart brand in Malaysia and Thailand.

Pro-Net CEO Zhang Qiang says Malaysia is a ‘priority market’ for the smart brand. As such, we’re the first country in ASEAN to get the smart #1, which made its public debut at EVx and will hit showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2023. We’re now in August (gulp!), which means Q4 is just around the corner. Pro-Net has been busy appointing smart dealers, and big names such as Hap Seng and EON are onboard.

The #1 sits on Geely’s Sustainable Electric Architecture (SEA), a modular EV platform that also underpins the likes of the Lotus Eletre, Zeekr 001 and Polestar EVs. The SEA2 version of the base is shared with the Zeekr X and the recently-revealed Volvo EX30. Solid bones.

The #1 Premium you see here is powered by a single rear motor with 272 PS (200 kW) and 343 Nm of torque going to the rear wheels. That’s good for a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 6.7 seconds and capped top speed of 180 km/h. The high-performance #1 Brabus adds on a front motor to make it AWD, 428 PS (315 kW), 543 Nm and 3.9 seconds in the benchmark sprint – the Bottrop-tuned EV is also planned for Malaysia.

The #1’s battery is a 66-kWh lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) unit providing 440 km of WLTP-rated range (Brabus 400 km). The maximum charge rate is 150 kW DC, which means that if paired to a compatible fast charger, the #1’s battery can go from 10-80% state of charge (SoC) in 30 minutes. Now, there’s always plenty of focus on DC fast charging, but an EV’s primary source of juice should be AC, and the #1 stands out in the field with 22 kW AC when most rivals max out at 11 kW.

Having an onboard 22 kW AC charger makes a big difference – smart Malaysia says that going from 10-80% SoC takes just three hours. This means that you can have a long lunch break and when you’re done, the EV is replenished, all without paying DC rates. 22 kW AC is rare in the EV market – in Malaysia, only the ’55 quattro’ variants of the Audi Q8 e-tron and e-tron GT, and the Porsche Taycan supports the higher rate. Not every EV comes with a technical USP, but here’s one.

The smart #1 is billed as a B-segment SUV, but it doesn’t appear like one to this writer, looking more like a giant hatchback. Also, it’s much bigger in the metal than I expected – EVx visitors, what do you think?

That illusion is likely to be from the smart’s width and long wheelbase – at 1,822 mm, the #1 is 32 mm wider than a Honda HR-V, despite being 115 mm shorter than the ICE SUV. The stout look also comes from the EV’s very long wheelbase of 2,750 mm (140 mm longer than HR-V), and large wheels (19’s) at each corner. Literally, because there’s virtually no overhang at either end. This square base allows the #1 to be tall (1,636 mm, 46 mm taller than HR-V) without looking awkward.

After a welcome light show and the popping of the flush door handles, you’ll notice the #1’s frameless door windows, which adds a touch of traditional class; likewise, the courtesy driver’s seat that moves back automatically for easier exit/entry.

Step in and you’ll notice how high the centre console is in the T-shaped cockpit. It’s topped by a 12.8-inch standalone touchscreen in landscape, and to its right is a slim 9.2-inch instrument cluster supplemented by a 10-inch colour head-up display (HUD), which shows all the essentials, including navigation. If the exterior hinted at Mercedes-Benz being in charge of design, the cockpit confirms the suspect.

Those familiar with modern Mercs will also smile at the ambient lighting, which has 64 colours and different top and bottom combos, Mercedes-style. But it’s a lot more youthful in here, in line with smart’s positioning. The large swathes of colour-coded plastic trim doesn’t project ‘premiumness’ or sportiness, but it gives the smart a fun vibe.

A vibe that’s also seen in the hockey puck smart ket with proximity auto lock/unlock, and the infotainment system UI, which has a little fox living in it. Not a dog, the orange fella is called smart and he moves around the screen sometimes, but mostly just chills in a corner. smart the fox is who you’re talking to when you use voice control. Yes, it’s wholly unnecessary and as gimmicky as gimmicks come, but hey, it’s harmless!

If you’ve been shaking your head so far, you’re probably not smart’s target audience (relax, me too), which is apparent when you note smart’s choice to equip the #1 with a pumping 13-speaker 640W sound system, by Beats no less. There was a time when the ‘Dr. Dre brand’ was seen over young ears, all over town, but I don’t see many on the streets these days – is Beats still cool?

Even if it’s not, Beats should be still more youthful than the typical Harman Kardon or Bose options, and there’s also a special Beats EQ setting which I presume is heavier on the bass. There’s also Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, plus Qi wireless charging, of course.

By the way, although the #1 may be a CBU import, smart Malaysia is collaborating with other parties to develop local telematics services to support the vehicle control, navigation and the smart customer app. We’re told that this localisation will include locations of the all the chargers under the top charging network operators in Malaysia, which sounds like valuable help.

There may be youthful theme going on, but the smart #1 is equipped like a proper premium product. The kit list has leather, ventilated and powered front seats with memory, the above-mentioned courtesy driver’s seat, extra front passenger seat adjustment via touchscreen (for the driver), dual-zone auto air con with rear vents, N95 air con filter and a cooled centre armrest storage (piped in from AC). Full ADAS too, of course.

As you would have gathered by now, the new smart is no longer compact. In fact, the cabin is huge for a so-called B-segment SUV and the width and high roof is immediately apparent upon entry. Space is generous at the back, as is seat comfort. There’s also a very generously sized ‘panoramic halo roof’ above you.

It’s a very practical car too, even if you’re more baby stroller than Beats audio. The rear bench has 130 mm of 60:40 sliding adjustment if you want to extend the boot length; capacity varies between 323 to 411 litres, or 986 litres with the rear seats folded flat (there’s also a ski hatch). Under the hood is a small 15L frunk, which might be useful for takeaways.

The media preview included a sampling session at Proton’s internal test track, where we tested the Premium and Brabus variants on the banked oval and performed some figure 8 exercises. Starting with the Brabus’ explosive acceleration (I saw 180 on the dash) and hilarious fake ICE noise meant that the subsequent stint in the Premium was a calm affair, but there aren’t many EVs that we’d call slow.

There wasn’t much to take away from the short drive, but we got to test the #1 at high speed, and the tall hatch has good stability and feels ‘solid’ on the move, with the steering having good weight. This sounds basic, but if confirmed on regular roads, the #1 would already be dynamically ahead of a few EVs on the market. The first impressions bode well and we’re looking forward to a proper drive.

So, what do you think of the smart #1’s package and looks, and in your opinion, what would be a good price for the well-specced Premium and the dual-motor Brabus?

GALLERY: 2023 smart #1 Premium in Malaysia – interior