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it is the largest Smart ever and is the true ambassador of the brand’s progress after the marriage between Geely and Mercedes, which includes only electric models. It’s called #3, it takes the shape of an SUV-coupé that inherited characteristics and technologies brought to the fore by SUV #1, the progenitor of the Sino-German Smart generation. The two models aesthetically the result of the Mercedes style center are similar but do not have many points of contact, they share powertrain and battery sizes but are based on two different configurations of the architecture also developed by Geely, which is also used by SUVs electric cars from brands in its galaxy: the Volvo Ex30 and the Zeekr
#3 also brings to the debut a new entry-level version of the entire Smart range, which starts the price list at around 40 thousand euros. This is the Pro with a 49 kWh battery which joins the other all 66 kWh batteries. That is, the Pro+, Premium and 25th Anniversary also single-motor with 272 horsepower with 343 Nm of torque, as well as the all-wheel drive Brabus with a twin-motor system with 428 horsepower and 543 Nm of torque. The autonomy of the #3 ranges from 325 of the Pro to the 455 kilometers promised by the Premium and the 25th Anniversary thanks to the help of the heat pump. Charging times from 10 to 80% are five and a half hours with 7.4 kW alternating current systems for the Pro, three hours with 22 kW charging stations for the other #3 single-engine models and half an hour with systems up to at 150 kW for all versions.
#3 seems like a simple sporting interpretation of #1, but that’s not the case. In fact, it is more robust and threatens even medium-sized SUVs as it is 4.40 meters long or almost ten centimeters more, 1.84 meters wide, 1.55 meters high and has a longer wheelbase: 2.78 meters .
The line of the #3 develops following a minimal design that defines rounded and muscular shapes, an aggressive shark-nose front, a slender silhouette that accentuates the attention paid to aerodynamics and luminous signatures that, running along the front and tail, enhance the width of the SUV-coupe. The passenger compartment is also very spacious at the rear, bright, pleasantly furnished along the lines of that of the #1 complete with a high central console that creates an enveloping effect around the driver and front passenger. Furthermore, it is well made and digitized by the 9.2″ instrument display and the 12.8″ infotainment display, with an original interface animated by the twirls of a cheetah avatar. Following the widespread philosophy applied by Tesla, from this display, after an initial apprenticeship, the following are managed: air conditioning, hi-fi, navigation, car configurations, energy recovery steps during slowdowns, rear-view mirror adjustments which however must be completed using buttons on the steering wheel, opening the tailgate and ADAS settings that generate a level 2 semi-assisted driving system.
The #3 Premium is dynamically reliable and agile even through bends and user-friendly on the motorway by setting the diligent semi-assisted driving system. The pleasantness of driving is supported not only by the promptness with which the powertrain reacts to accelerator commands, but also by the linearity of the thrusts which benefits comfort, together with the silence that reigns in the passenger compartment and the gradualness with which the suspensions overcome even the close irregularities of the road. Especially in the city you just need to get used to the more determined steps of energy recovery during slowdowns, in particular the one-pedal mode which manages to stop the #3 even more decisively than expected. As regards autonomy, at the end of the 150 kilometer test on ups and downs, curves and a motorway stretch of the island of Mallorca which began with the battery almost fully charged, we detected a residual range of 240 kilometres, consistent with the declared maximum range of 455 kilometers.