Smart #5 takes the little brand into big new territories

Thanks to Mini’s 2025 lineup, we know that Mini is no longer mini as in small. Thanks to the Smart #5, we know that Smart is also no longer mini as in small. And in fact, this hatchback is larger than the Mini Countryman, sized about like the Tesla Model Y in length and width but two inches taller. Proper midsize dimensions mean the cargo bay can hold 54 cubic feet with the second-row seats folded, while up front, a frunk adds another 2.5 cubic feet of storage, and the cabin counts 34 storage areas.

After debut at the Beijing Auto Show earlier this year, the production Smart #5 rocks up to showrooms with rounded edges and just enough detailing to enliven the underlying two-box minimalism; in case you didn’t know, all Smarts sit on Geely platforms, while their designs come from Mercedes-Benz’s design studios. The brand hasn’t released all the details we’d want to know, such as outputs and max DC fast-charge rate, probably because deliveries in Europe aren’t scheduled to begin until next summer.

Until then, here’s what we do have as official. Geely’s SEA2 bones hold a 100-kilowatt-hour battery working off an 800-volt electrical architecture. At its max charge speed, the battery can be refilled from 10% to 80% in 15 minutes. Range on the Chinese cycle, thought to be even more lenient than Europe’s WLTP cycle, tops out at 460 miles. Outputs will come in 335- and 386-horsepower single-motor drivetrains, and two dual-motor drivetrains of 579 hp and 637 hp.    

The launch model serves up two trims, a nicely stocked Premium with rear-wheel drive and a clearly trail-focused Summit with all-wheel drive. Premium loads up all the expected gear like a panoramic sunroof, 256-color ambient lighting and 2,000-watt, 20-speaker Sennheiser audio, plus unexpected gear like floating center caps that keep the Smart logo upright at any speed. The Summit loads up on literal gear, like a light bar on the roof and a trailer hitch. An optional Adventure’s Collection goes full Defender, adding a roof rack, ladder, exterior storage capsule and skid plates.

The interior’s made for adventure as well, with zero-gravity seats that can recline up to 121 degrees, and rear seats that can be laid flat to create a big bed. When it’s time to hit the road, the dash is a series of screens, a 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster kept company by two 13-inch AMOLED 2.5 displays running to the passenger’s door. The driver ultimately wins the display wars, though, thanks to a 25.6-inch head-up display. In the growing infotainment AI avatar wars, Smart #5 occupants will field a lion as their AI guide, another step in intensity after the Smart #1 debuted with an AI fox and the Smart #3 came with an AI leopard. Unlike the AI human avatars in more of our own vehicles, the Smart allows owners to choose different avatars or none. 

Future trims will slot an entry-level model at the bottom and a Brabus variant at the top.

While the Smart #5 isn’t planned to reach Europe until spring 2025, the automaker might also be waiting until November to decide how it will approach the European market. November is when the EU is meant to make a final decision on the issue about tariffs on China-built vehicles, which provisionally total 29.9%.