Review: smart #1 Brabus – Stylish, Sporty, and Simply Too Good!

A Brabus-badged smart Car? Really?

For those not familiar with smart, this German-born marque is currently owned by both Geely and Mercedes-Benz. While Geely is in charge of providing the battery and drivetrain, the latter German marque is directly involved in designing the #1. As a result, the #1 sees familiar Merc design touches inside out.

Besides Merc-esque design, the souped-up smart #1 Brabus also gains tons of Brabus-specific cosmetic bits, including a full Brabus aerokit

Specific to the top-specced Brabus variant are the exclusive Brabus aerokit with a slew of red accents, 19-inch ‘Dynamo’ wheels, and a pair of intake vents on the hood. Besides these, the Brabus model is also offered in several unique two-tone colourway choices with an all-red roof to match the accents mentioned.

The Brabus theme continues inside the smart #1 Brabus, with the first thing you notice upon entering the cabin are the red-hued Brabus embossing on the headrests that contrasts against the black combination Alcantara-leather seats. Like the exterior, the cabin is also laced with a slew of red accents and trims, including the seatbelts.

Modern tech amenities are all present in the smart #1 Brabus, including a 13-speaker Beats sound system

Besides those, the #1 Brabus comes equipped with plenty of modern creature comforts. Included are powered and ventilated front seats, wireless charging pad, massive 12.8-inch infotainment display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, slim 9.2-inch digital instrument cluster with a 10-inch head-up display (HUD), dual-zone ambient lighting system, 13-speaker Beats premium sound system, and a panoramic glass roof.

Overall, it’s pretty clear that the Brabus treatment is quite thorough for the smart #1. More importantly, the Brabus-ification goes beyond looks…

So, How About Its Performance?

Aesthetics aside, the smart #1 Brabus is also bestowed with performance improvements that help to live up to its well-known nameplate.

Unlike other smart #1 variants, the #1 Brabus gets a peppier, dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) setup that delivers 422 HP (315 kW) and 543 NM. Said figure translates to an eye-opening century sprint time of just 3.9 seconds, though its V-max is capped at only 180 KM/H.

Aside from the peppier dual-motor setup, this tuned-up EV crossover also gains stiffer suspension tuning

This peppier powertrain setup, coupled with the Brabus-specific suspension tweaks and Geely’s stellar SEA platform, makes the #1 Brabus a very delightful car to drive. Even with its tall-riding facade, the #1 Brabus boasts minimal body roll, with the car firmly planted when carving corners at relatively high speed.

Straight-line performance, on the other hand, is no brainer with any EV. In fact, this Brabus-treated EV easily outperforms sportier cars available out there, especially when toggled into ‘Brabus’ drive mode. While this may sound like a fun and neat party trick, we strongly caution the uninitiated to tread this mode carefully - some may find this supercar-like rapidness to be overwhelming.

Despite its sporty nature, the #1 Brabus still offers a respectably comfortable ride

On the comfort front, the #1 Brabus still boasts respectable ride comfort, even when riding on stiffer, damper setup over the #1 Premium slotted below. Impressive too is the noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) level of this crossover. There’s but a hint of wind noise at higher speeds - an expected caveat with frameless windows. Tyre roar, however, is noticeable at high speeds, though they’re not at alarming levels.

To summarise, the Brabus treatment goes beyond aesthetics, and the performance upgrades help elevate this #1 in its overall performance and driving dynamics. Best of all is that it doesn't come at the expense of comforts. Safe to say, the #1 Brabus offers one of the best driving performances among its segment rivals.

What About Its Battery & Charging?

Similar to its drive dynamics, the name of the game for the #1 Brabus is ‘compromise’. Underpinning the same SEA-E platform with 400-volt architecture as other #1 variants, the #1 Brabus uses the same 66-kWh NMC-type battery as the #1 Premium. Aptly, the peppier powertrain does see maximum EV range reduced to 400 KM (WLTP), compared to the Premium’s 440 KM WLTP figure.

150 kW DC charging sees the #1 Brabus' 66-kWh battery pack goes from 10-80% in less than 30 minutes

Fortunately, this doesn’t affect charging performance, and the #1 Brabus still gets the same DC 150 kW charging ability, which allows 10% to 80% recharges done in just 29 minutes. Impressive too is the #1’s built-in 22 kW AC charging capability, which can juice this EV from 10% to 80% in just three hours.

The smart's on-board EV charging map is very helpful in planning your long-distance journey

What sets the #1 apart from other EVs is the inclusion of the smart on-board charging map. Accessible via both its main head unit and the Hello smart mobile app, this charging map not only displays nearby EV chargers around you, it also helps you plan your long-distance journey.

Once you key in the destination, the charging map will give you an estimated state-of-charge (SOC) at the destination based on your car’s current battery level. Should the charging map predict that your car won’t have enough SOC to reach your destination, it will suggest charging stops along the way.

Connected to over 70% of Malaysia's current charging network, the Hello smart app is truly the only mobile EV charging app you need for the #1!

Activating the charger is also made easier with the Hello smart app, which includes debit and credit card payments on top of a built-in e-wallet. Currently, the smart EV charging map is now connected to over 70% of Malaysia’s current EV charging network, with over 1,000 charging points around the nation.

Altogether, these functions makes your smart #1’s ownership experience much better and easier, especially for those who are less acquainted with the EV life and its limited practicality. Speaking of which...

Is It A Practical Car?

In some ways, EVs are not the most practical cars out there, and the experience may vary depending on your living arrangement. In terms of space practicality, EVs are generally more favourable compared to their ICE-powered counterparts, especially amongst offerings that underpin a dedicated EV platform.

Both front and rear cargo space are compromised in the #1 Brabus

Fortunately, the rear boot space features an extra lower compartment, and can be further expanded by folding down the rear seats flat

The same case, however, can’t be said for the smart #1 Brabus, despite this underpinning a dedicated EV platform. For starters, sporty rear-end design does see the #1 sacrifice boot space, which only measures 323 litres as standard. Frunk space, on the other hand, is also reduced to only 15 litres, due to the #1 Brabus harnessing an extra motor at the front axle.

For passengers, the #1 is surprisingly roomy, boasting ample legroom and headroom for both rear and front passengers, this perhaps largely thanks to its tall and wide roof design. Coupled with its full panoramic glass roof, the #1’s interior feels very spacious and open, despite the car’s small overall dimensions.

Besides a smaller boot, the #1's thick C-pillar does make for an annoyingly huge blind spot for drivers. Although this may sound alarming, we’d reckon the #1’s safety features like blind-spot monitoring (BSM), rear cross-traffic alert, and the 360-degree camera view are enough to mitigate this shortcoming.

Speaking of Safety…

Besides their bonkers straight-line performance, EVs are also renowned for their stellar safety features, as evident in the smart #1 Brabus.

Features like BSD (left) and 360-degree Visual Park Assist (right) are both present in the #1

Notable active safety features present here include Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), front and rear collision mitigation (FCMS & RCMS), Lane-Departure Warning (LDW) and Prevention (LDP), Automated Lane-Change Assist (ALCA), Evasive Manoeuvre Assist (EMA), front and rear cross-traffic alert (FCTA & RCTA), Blind-Spot Detection (BSD), as well as both Highway and Traffic Jam Assist (TJA) plus 360-degree Visual Park Assist.

While both the ACC and Park Assist functions can be easily accessible via the steering buttons (left), some ADAS functions are hidden deep within the car's infotainment menu (right)

Throughout our testing period, all ADAS functions worked as intended without lags or fidgety sensations typical in most low-level ADAS suites. If we had a bone to pick, accessing some of these ADAS functions does get quite complicated as it requires users to go through several layers of the menu. This could be a hazard for drivers to engage them while driving, so you’d best be parked to tweak any setting here.

Nonetheless, the smart #1 Brabus’ full-swing of active and passive safety features helps make it a decent all-rounder EV crossover, even when presented in a sporty Brabus nature.

So What’s The Cost Of All of This?

Quirky yet sporty looks, rapidly bonkers performance and driving dynamics, and a richly-equipped cabin, the smart #1 Brabus ticks all the right boxes to make it a very compelling buy for anyone seeking a sporty EV crossover. And the next fact just makes this already stellar product more desirable over rivals.

With all its bells and whistles, the smart #1 Brabus is tagged at just RM249,000 on-the-road, making it one of the most affordable premium EVs in the market today. For reference, comparable European rivals are priced closer to RM300,000. From which, just the Volvo XC40 and C40 Recharge Twin boast the closest performance figures to the #1 Brabus.

At a relatively reasonable price tag of RM249,000, plus plethora of warranty coverage, the #1 Brabus is simply too hard to ignore

For that price, you’ll get extensive warranty coverage included too, starting with the standard 4-year unlimited mileage base vehicle warranty, followed by a 2-year unlimited mileage spare parts warranty with 24/7 roadside assistance. On top of that, the smart #1 Brabus also comes with an 8-year or 200,000 KM high-voltage battery warranty and an 8-year or 150,000 KM high-voltage component warranty.

Aside from a handful of minor quirks mentioned, the smart #1 Brabus is simply too good for the amount of money smart Malaysia (PRO-NET) have tagged each at. In case you’re in the market for a performance EV with a posher package than a certain Sino-American brand whilst also being both cheaper and sportier? Then your best bet arguably lies in the smart #1 Brabus.

SPECIFICATIONS

smart #1 BRABUS