Smart #3

The cabin of the Smart #3 looks vibrant and youthful. The dashboard has a swooping T-shaped theme that flows smoothly towards the centre and then downwards. With an all-black theme that also gets contrast elements in the Brabus variant, the cabin of the Smart #3 has sleek rounded rectangular AC vents on the corners and three rounded AC vents below the centrally placed 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. 

The Smart #3's cabin feels sporty, with sports seats with integrated headrests and a compact 9.2-inch full-TFT console behind the flat-bottom multi-functional steering wheel. The cabin also gets premium features like heated and powered front seats, a powered tailgate, automatic climate control with rear AC vents, a panoramic sunroof, a 13-speaker Beats sound system, and more. 

The Smart #3 is a modern crossover with swooping curves and a roofline that resembles a four-door coupe. At 4,400mm long, 1,844mm wide, and 1,556mm tall, it has the road presence of a midsize off-shoot SUV. 

All Smart #3 variants have triangular ‘Cyberspark’ LED headlamps with a connected LED bar between them at the front, which gets adaptive high-beam features in the Premium and Brabus variants. The #3 has swooping curves for the bonnet, fenders, doors, and roofline that give it a highly aerodynamic essence, reflected well in its 0.27 Cd.

Other visual highlights of the Smart #3 are the front splitter with a trapezoidal air dam, flush-type door handles, LED tail lamps with connected LED light bar and 19-inch wheels – ‘Flux’ in Pro and ‘Torque’ in Premium. The Brabus variant gets sportier 20-inch alloys, red brake callipers and contrast red and black highlights.

The Smart #3 has Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear for the suspension, along with Eco, Comfort and Sport drive modes. With these attributes, the Smart #3 feels easy and hassle-free to drive, with it delivers a plush ride quality as well. The Brabus variant further gets larger 20-inch alloy wheels, stiffer suspension, a lowered ground clearance and an additional ‘Rocket’ launch mode for a more involving driving experience.

The Smart #3 shares its powertrain options with the smaller Smart #1. The Pro and Premium variants feature a rear-wheel drive configuration with a rear-mounted motor that develops 272 PS of maximum power and 343 Nm of maximum torque and enables the #3 to touch the 100 kmph mark from dead-stop in 5.8 seconds. Meanwhile, the Brabus variant comes with an all-wheel drive system with a dual motor setup that claims 428 PS of maximum power and 543 Nm of maximum torque, while clocking 3.7 seconds for the 0-100 kmph run.

While the Pro variant has a 49kWh LFP battery that claims a 325 km range, the Premium and Brabus variants have a 66kWh NMC battery that delivers a 455 km range in Premium and a 415 km range in the Brabus variant. 

Being a modern new-age electric vehicle, the Smart #3 is equipped with a host of safety features, including six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, traction control, front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree parking camera, hill start assist, hill descent control, traction control and tyre pressure monitoring system. It also gets ADAS features like pilot assist with highway assistance, lane change assist, front and rear cross-traffic alerts, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition and more. 

The Smart #3 takes forward all the positives of the smaller Smart #1 as a larger and more premium offering, with even more visually dramatic styling, performance, and matureness of a dynamically well-sorted electric vehicle.