There aren’t many cars that have been as quickly forgotten as the smart #1. The rejuvenated city car brand’s first electric SUV was revealed to great fanfare back in 2022 with funky styling and some impressive specs, but such was the pace of EV development that it soon became outclassed. That was all the more so when the closely-related Volvo EX30 and Zeekr X arrived, offering identical performance and range for less money.
Well, the Geely-Mercedes-Benz joint venture is fighting back with a significant update for the #1, which will be launched in China later this week on August 6. Not that you’d be able to tell from the outside, because the design has been left pretty much well alone – not a bad thing, as it remains one of the standout features of the current car.
In fact, the few visible changes are barely worth mentioning. New pull-up door handles mean the #1 is ready for the Middle Kingdom’s impending ban on electric door releases, while Blue Gold and White Gold join the colour palette, paired with a Corona Gold (I guess we can use that name again now) roof and door inserts. The stylish “triple-claw” 19-inch alloy wheels were added to the top model last year.
The interior is also mostly untouched, so you still get the T-shaped flowing dashboard, pill-shaped air-con vents and 9.2-inch instrument display. The big change here (literally) is the much larger infotainment touchscreen that dispenses with the row of capacitive touch buttons on the lower edge, pushing some of them to the roof console.
Elsewhere, there are now tripod-style interfaces on either side of the dashboard that are all the rage in China. These allow accessories such as phone holders and action cameras to be mounted and are powered at up to 72 watts. Last year saw the branding of the 13 speakers change from Beats to Sennheiser, in line with the partnership signed for the #5.
But really, the big news is under the skin. The #1 is the first of the smart-Volvo-Zeekr trifecta to gain an 800-volt electrical architecture that enables “6C” DC fast charging. As such, the car can be topped up from 10 to 80% in as little as 12 minutes.
It will also receive Geely’s latest Thunder 16-in-1 electric motors, boosting efficiency to a class-leading 93.8%. According to Autohome, the new #1 will be offered in a single rear-wheel-drive configuration, producing 333 PS (245 kW) – up from the original’s 272 PS (200 kW), but down from last year’s 340 PS (250 kW).
The 61.52 kWh battery is slightly smaller than the old 66 kWh pack, but it’s likely an LFP unit rather than NMC, and it delivers a reported CLTC range of 535 km (around 440 km WLTP, the same as the outgoing model). The #1 will also gain Geely’s G-Pilot H5 highly-automated city and highway driving functionality, with an expanded sensor set that includes roof-mounted lidar, although don’t expect this to be offered outside China.
Hopefully, smart will see fit to offer this update globally, as it’s sorely needed amid the influx of new 800-volt rivals with more range and faster charging. Would you get the new #1 if it comes to Malaysia? Let us know in the comments.
smart #5
from RM209,800 
smart #3
from RM175,000 
smart #1
from RM169,000 
its a shame that most malaysians still stuck with 1.0L 3 pot Peroscammer Bezza and Axia. How to be developed country? Better compare yourself with 3rd world shithole country like Myanmar and Cambodia
If it doesn’t have 22kW AC charging they can fk off.
Based on what is written in the article, there isn’t much of an improvement vis-a-vis the competition out there. So it comes down to price. I bet it would be much more expensive, in which case I doubt there will be many buyers.