The Smart Concept #5 previews yet another all-electric SUV

Smart is all set to launch its biggest car yet, and it’ll look a little bit like this Concept #5 when it eventually arrives later this year. Mmmm, boxy. 

Yep, we’re about to get yet another SUV from the new-age, all-electric joint venture between Geely and Mercedes-Benz, and it looks as though the designers took a fair bit of inspiration from Merc’s own EQB.

Smart says that the #5 (yeah, that ‘Concept’ name is fooling nobody) will mark the brand’s “entry into the premium mid-size SUV segment”. It also says that #5 – which will be larger than the #1 and #3 – will feature a massive 100kWh+ battery and 800-volt technology. The latter should allow for properly rapid charging, with a 10 to 80 per cent top-up taking just 15 minutes, while the former will mean a range of over 341 miles. 

Sounds promising. The chunky tyres, front and rear skid plates, hidden winch, folding rear step and roof-mounted light bar all help to give the Concept #5 a rugged look too, although we’d imagine pretty much all of those things we just listed will be dropped for the actual production car. Boo. 

Still, we can expect all-wheel drive in the production #5 and the many OLED screens inside will probably make it too, along with generative AI tech that allows you to have a full conversation with the car. Eugh. Fingers crossed for the portable speaker in the centre console, though – that’s an idea we can get behind.

Smart also makes a very brief mention of a “zero-gravity front passenger seat” but has seemingly forgotten to tell us what that actually means. We know the Concept #5 seats are heated and cooled and feature both a massage function and a leg rest, but we’re left wondering whether they’re genuinely floating in mid-air inside the cabin. Guess we’ll never know.

Anyway, the concept will be unveiled to the world at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition this week, and we’ll see the #5 production car later in 2024. Thoughts on the design, folks?

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