New Smart #5 revealed as rugged electric SUV concept

On sale 2025 | Price from £45,000 (est)

As you grow up, you don’t just get bigger, you also learn new things. Similarly, Smart may have started out making diminutive city cars, but the Smart #5 electric SUV is set to be both the brand’s largest and most technologically advanced model to date.

Previewed in concept form, the #5's design is a departure from that of the smaller Smart #1 and Smart #3. While those cars feature curves and contours aplenty, the Concept #5 is rather more boxy.

What’s more, unlike its road-focused siblings, it’s been bestowed with all manner of off-roading accessories. These include an LED light bar, underfloor skid plates, a winch, knobbly off-road tyres and a folding rear step to provide access to its chunky roof rack.

It’s unlikely that the final production car will offer many of these features, but serious off-roading abilities would land the electric #5 effectively in a class of one. That is, unless you can afford the upcoming ultra-premium, ultra-pricey Range Rover Electric.

The Concept #5 does look a little more familiar on the inside, although that’s mostly down to the flat-bottomed steering wheel. On the dashboard there are three screens: a new driver display, larger than the 9.2in screen in the #1 and #3, plus two OLED infotainment screens – one mounted centrally, the other in front of the front passenger seat.

This second screen may let the passenger access media, sat-nav and climate controls more easily, although a full list of features has not been announced.

Exact details of the #5’s battery have yet to be revealed, but Smart has suggested that it will be available with a ‘100kWh+’ unit which, it says, would allow for an official range of more than 341 miles. For comparison, the Kia EV6 can officially eke 328 miles from its 77.4kWh battery.

The #5 will likely be the first Smart model to use an 800-volt electrical system (rather than the more conventional 400-volt systems used in the #1 and #3), allowing for faster charging. According to Smart, this would mean a 10-80% charge of the #5’s battery – with a suitably powerful public charger – could take just 15 minutes. However, such chargers are few and far between, so it’s likely to take longer in the real world.

The production version of the Smart #5 is due to be announced during the second half of this year, so it’s unlikely that it’ll appear on UK roads before 2025. Pricing is expected to start from around £45,000, putting the #5 in line with electric SUVs such as the Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y.

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