After the #1 and #3, the next electric vehicle (EV) from smart Automobile (a joint venture between Geely Auto Group and Mercedes-Benz AG) that will be launched in Malaysia is the #5. First revealed to the world in August last year, the #5 has already made its public debut here when it was put on display at this year’s Malaysia Autoshow (MAS) in May. Now, we’re getting more details about the brand’s largest offering to date as part of an official media preview held recently.
Let’s start with the basics. The #5 is an electric SUV built on the SEA3/PMA2+ platform that is also used by EVs such as the Zeekr 7X and Geely Galaxy E8. Three variants are set to go on sale here, including the base Pro, mid-spec Premium and top-spec Brabus, each with its own powertrain configuration that we’ve listed below:
smart #5 Pro
- EV architecture: 400V
- Electric motor output: 340 PS (335 hp or 250 kW) and 373 Nm; RWD
- 0-100 km/h: 6.9 seconds
- Top speed: 200 km/h
- Battery: 76 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP)
- Range (WLTP) 465 km
- AC charging: 11 kW; 10-80% in 8.5 hours
- DC charging: 150 kW; 10-80% in 30 minutes
smart #5 Premium
- EV architecture: 800V
- Electric motor output: 363 PS (358 hp or 267 kW) and 373 Nm; RWD
- 0-100 km/h: 6.5 seconds
- Top speed: 200 km/h
- Battery: 100 kWh nickel cobalt manganese (NCM)
- Range (WLTP): 590 km
- AC charging: 22 kW; 10-80% in 4.5 hours
- DC charging: 400 kW; 10-80% in 15 minutes
smart #5 Brabus
- EV architecture: 800V
- Front electric motor output: 224 PS (221 hp or 165 kW) and 270 Nm
- Rear electric motor output: 421 PS (416 hp or 310 kW) and 440 Nm
- Total system output: 646 PS (637 hp or 475 kW) and 710 Nm; AWD
- 0-100 km/h: 3.8 seconds
- Top speed: 210 km/h
- Battery: 100 kWh nickel cobalt manganese (NCM)
- Range (WLTP): 540 km
- AC charging: 22 kW; 10-80% in 4.5 hours
- DC charging: 400 kW; 10-80% in 15 minutes
With these specifications, the #5 offers the highest battery capacity of any smart EV, eclipsing the 49-kWh LFP and 66-kWh NCM batteries found in the #1 and #3. The #5 also provides higher outputs across all variants, with the Brabus being the most powerful smart EV you’ll be able to get here. Even so, the #3 Brabus is the century sprint winner at 3.7 seconds (#1 Brabus is 3.9 seconds) – we’ll chalk this up to weight, as the #5 is at least 300 kg heavier than its siblings.
Looking at what’s available in the market today, the #5 is similar to its platform sibling, the Zeekr 7X, although the latter’s lesser variants offer higher outputs and its top-spec Performance AWD comes with air suspension, which is not available on any #5 variant here but is offered in China. Other EVs like the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and Xpeng G6 also don’t get air suspension or offer a 100-kWh option.
Moving on to styling, if you’re a fan of boxy and rugged SUVs, the #5 is right up your alley with its upright, slab-sided body featuring strong shoulders that sets it apart from the more curvaceous #1 and most EVs in the market. The exterior lighting design is also instantly recognisable, with the front sporting a light bar and four illuminated oblongs that visually connect the Cyberlight matrix LED headlamps, which itself has oblongs for daytime running lights.
This look is replicated at the rear, with the taillights having the same signature and light bar with four oblongs. From this angle, you’ll notice the #5’s thick D-pillars as opposed to the “pinched” design seen on the #1.
As for the bumpers, they differ depending on which of the three available variants you go for. The Pro and Premium share the same design at the front, with the lower apron featuring three vertical bars set behind a silver-coloured skid plate with horizontal stripes, while near-trapezoidal-shaped air curtains occupy the corners. Said skid plate design is also applied at the back.
Meanwhile, the Brabus gets the same bumper but with a different, sportier-looking insert for the lower apron lower that has oblong-shaped perforations and protruding sides, the latter repeated for the rear. The air curtains are also furnished with horizontal strakes to mark out the sporty variant, with more indicators being the red accent line at the base of the bumpers, roof rails as well as the more chrome-heavy rocker panels.
To inject even more character, the #5 has easter eggs in the form of pandas on the glass panels: windscreen, rear window and side quarters. Frameless doors are also a nice touch, as are a panoramic glass roof (1.7 metre squared area with powered sunshade), a powered charge port door, self-righting wheel caps (logo stays upright; Premium only) and a NFC sensor on the right B-pillar for use with a key card or compatible mobile phone with the companion app.
Wheel sizes start at 19 inches (with 245/50 profile tyres) for the Pro and go up to 20 inches (with 255/45 profile tyres) for the Premium. The largest units belong to the Brabus, which gets 21-inch Monoblock Z 10-spoke lightweight units wrapped in 225/40 profile tyres. All variants get Continental EcoContact 7 tyres, including the torque monster Brabus, along with a standard braking system (red callipers on the Brabus) – upgraded brakes are available in China.
In terms of dimensions, the #5 measures 4,705 mm long, 1,920 mm wide, 1,705 mm tall and has a wheelbase spanning 2,900 mm. For context, the #3, which is currently the largest smart EV on sale here, is 4,400 mm long, 1,844 mm wide, 1,556 mm tall and its wheelbase is 2,785 mm.
One EV that is close in size to the #5 is the newly-launched Zeekr 7X, which measures 4,787 mm long, 1,930 mm wide, 1,650 mm tall and has the same wheelbase of 2,900 mm. Other EVs in the same size class as the #5 include the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and Xpeng G6, all of which lack the smart EV’s rugged appearance. The latest MINI Countryman SE All4 comes close in terms of the off-roader look but it is a much smaller vehicle overall at 4,433 mm long, 1,843 mm wide and with a wheelbase of 2,692 mm.
A unique design is one way for an EV to stand out in a competitive landscape, and the #5’s eye-grabbing exterior is matched with an equally funky interior. We start with the dashboard, which is shaped to resemble a tie clip with the dual 13-inch AMOLED 2.5K touchscreens positioned slightly outwards instead of sitting flush.
These sit within an oblong frame with the one in the middle being the main infotainment access point. The second screen ahead of the front passenger has reduced functionality and is mainly for media consumption – you’ll still see it from the driver’s seat even when the car is moving but the driving monitoring system will prompt you to pay attention to the road ahead. For the driver, there’s a configurable 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster display and a 25.6-inch head-up display with augmented reality.
Powering the in-car systems is an AMD V2000 chip, which enables crisp visuals and is part of a hardware package that also includes 256 GB of local storage and 24 GB of memory. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support is included, along with access to ChatGPT, a digital voice assistant and over-the-air (OTA) software updates. Animal avatars are a staple with smart EVs, and after the fox (#1) and cheetah (#3) comes a lion in the #5 (we found it in the air-conditioning menu of the infotainment).
Another piece of tech that will likely impress is the Sennheiser-sourced sound system that offers 2,000 watts of peak output, AMBEO 3D audio (7.1.4 layout), Dolby Atmos support and comes with 20 speakers, including one that rises up from the top of the dash.
A few of the speaker units are tied to the 256-colour ambient lighting system that offers 36 lighting layouts, including options that change to the rhythm of the music being played. The Sennheiser setup is standard from the Premium onwards, with the base Pro having nine speakers instead.
Look around and you’ll find more reminders of the oblong theme, including the shape of the pedals, the chunky door handles with electric door poppers, the right panel for the lights and boot/frunk opener, the frame for the driver monitoring camera, the sill plates, the back of the seat headrests and the pattern on the seats.
The novel cabin also has a premium feel to it, with the brand claiming 90% of the interior is trimmed in some form of soft-touch material, including Nappa leather (Premium) or Dinamica microfibre (Brabus) for the seats. Real oak wood trim is found in the Pro and Premium, with the Brabus getting faux carbon-fibre pieces to go along with its variant-exclusive Alcantara steering wheel and red seatbelts. The range-topper and the Premium also get two wireless charging pads instead of just one in the Pro.
Other creature comforts for passengers include heating and ventilation for the front seats (the second row gets heating only), double glazed glass and a one-touch comfort mode for the second row that reclines the rear seat backrest by 10 degrees and pushes the front passenger seat forward to maximise legroom. Like in a Mercedes-Benz, seat controls are located on the door cards for both rows. It’s worth noting that the #5 doesn’t come with soft-close doors, which is found on the 7X.
As for practicality, the five-seat #5 has 630 litres of boot space (including 110 litres under the floor), expandable to 1,530 litres with the 60:40 split-folding rear bench down (this has a central passthrough for longer items), with the frunk providing another 72 litres in the rear-wheel drive Pro and Premium – the Brabus’ frunk capacity is less at 42 litres. There are 34 stowage areas in total spread throughout the cabin along with various hooks, and the flat load space behind the front seats can accommodate a bed measuring up to 2.7 metres by 1.4 metres.
On the driving assistance front, the #5’s sensor suite is improved from the #1 and #3, with increased resolution for its cameras. The forward-looking unit is an eight-megapixel unit (1.7 MP for the #1 and #3), while the four cameras that enable surround view are 3 MP (1.3 MP for the #1 and #3). The #5 also gets an extra rearward-facing 3 MP camera that isn’t found on its smaller siblings.
These cameras, along with the five radars and 12 ultrasonic sensors, feed into dual Nvidia Drive OrinX chips to enable functions such as front and rear automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist (includes emergency assist and departure warning), adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, highway assist, front collision warning, front and rear cross traffic alert, blind spot detection, lane change assist and fully autonomous parking. The most comprehensive hardware and tuned software are said to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these functions.
Standard equipment for the Pro variant includes polyurethane leather seat upholstery and door trims, automatic high beam, a powered tailgate, three drive modes (Eco, Comfort and Sport), manual-levelling headlamps, basic 256-colour ambient lighting, seven airbags as well as static front and rear positioning lights.
The Premium adds on a hands-free function (kick sensor) for the powered tailgate, illuminated and concealed exterior door handles, LED door sill plates, Nappa leather (steering wheel, seats, door trims), adaptive high beam, automatic headlamp levelling, dynamic positioning lights and extended functions for the ambient lighting.
The Brabus being the only all-wheel drive variant gets additional drive modes such as Snow, Sand, Mud, Rock, Adaptive and Brabus. It also comes with sports suspension (China’s version comes with air suspension) and simulated engine sounds.
Buyers of the Premium will have the option of four exterior colours, including Meta Black, Cyber Silver, Pulsar Ruby and Saturn Beige (pictured here), all paired with an Eclipse Black roof and Shadow Black interior. The Brabus also gets an Eclipse Black roof and black cabin as standard, with the primary body colours available being Atom Grey Matte (pictured here), Meta Black and Digital White. Don’t mind the brown seats in the Premium preview car because that’s a pre-production unit.
We now come to the important matter of pricing, which Proton New Energy Technology (Pro-Net), the distributor of smart vehicles in Malaysia, isn’t providing at the moment. We can speculate that given its size, specs and positioning as the brand’s flagship, the #5 will cost more than the #3 (RM175,000 to RM255,000) – the #1 is between RM169,000 to RM249,000 for further context.
A starting price north of the #3’s RM175k, depending how far north it is, would put the #5 in the realm of the Zeekr 7X (RM179,800 to RM226,800), Xpeng G6 (RM168,820 to RM188,820) and BYD Sealion 7 (RM184,500 to RM200,500). The Tesla Model Y is part of this melee too, although it has a much higher starting price of RM195,450 for its base variant, going up to RM242,450 for the Long Range All-Wheel Drive.
In China, the #5 ranges from 229,900 to 329,900 yuan (about RM136k to RM194k), the top figure being for the Brabus variant. Meanwhile, the 7X there is from 229,900 to 269,900 yuan (RM136k to RM160k), meaning the #5 Brabus is priced far higher than the 7X Performance AWD. We should point out that China’s #5 gets even more powertrain configurations, including non-Brabus options with all-wheel drive and air suspension.
Given everything we’ve told you from our private preview with the #5, what do you think of the upcoming rugged smart EV? Does it stand out from rivals in its class? Does it look more premium compared to the competition? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
GALLERY: smart #5 Premium
GALLERY: smart #5 Brabus
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