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Smart #5 long-term test: report 2

Our subeditor needs a practical, comfortable electric SUV with enough range to cope with a long motorway commute and an active lifestyle

Smart #5 2026 long-termer chris with Sennheiser headphones

The car Smart #5 Premium Run by Chris Haining, Subeditor

Why it’s here To find out if Smart's flagship makes sense as a do-everything electric family SUV

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Needs to Be relaxing on the commute, fun at the weekend, and effortlessly practical – with a good range

Mileage 1195 List price £47,300 Best Price £45,300 Price as tested £47,300 Official range 366 miles Test range 300 miles

14 September 2026 – Take the music with you

If you’re of a certain age, when visiting electronics stores as a kid, you’ll have made a beeline for the shelves full of hi-fi systems. You’ll have twiddled with the graphic equalizers, pressed the Bass Boost buttons and cranked up BBC Radio 1 on 97.7mhz (typically, that and Radio 4’s 92.5mhz were the only frequencies that could penetrate those huge metal retail hangars). You’ll have damn near been thrown out of the shop, and it’s with the same childish glee that I tested the stereo in my Smart #5 for the first time.

Chris Haining

Updated: 14 September 2026

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And a little badge on one of its speakers gave me extra reason to be excited. I’m a big fan of Sennheiser headphones; when I wear my trusty Momentum 3s in the office, the outside world ceases to exist and I’m transported to a place where the music helps my writing to flow freely. Before I know it I’ve blissfully churned out thousands of words – and colleagues completely give up on attempts at communication.

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Smart #5 2026 long-term test centre speaker

If my headphones can do that for me in the office, the #5’s 1190-watt Sennheiser Signature sound system should do amazing things to the M25 motorway on my way there. Before I was treated to the sound, though, there came the theatre. When you start the #5, the front centre speaker rises from the dashboard like an art deco toadstool growing in time lapse, illuminated from beneath to tie-in with the ambient lighting. And several of the 19 other speakers strategically placed around the interior glow with similar flair.

And then, with the Tidal music streaming app hooked up via wireless Android Auto, the tunes began. Feeding the system a playlist of assorted hip hop, the first thing I noticed was the sub bass. It’s deep and distinct enough to have any nearby geologists nervously looking at their seismographs for signs of impending doom (or MF Doom, if they’re hip hop fans). And yet this bottom octave doesn’t overpower the rest of what’s going on. The vocals never sound shouty. The treble doesn’t lapse into sibilance.

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Smart #5 2026 long-term test inside headphones

Actually, thanks to how quiet the #5 is at motorway cruising speeds (when the M25 actually starts flowing), that deep well of watts isn’t wasted merely overcoming background noise. In the BYD Atto 3 that I ran recently, the stereo had to work hard to drown out the roar kicked up from by the tyres. With the #5, though, gaining pace doesn’t interfere with the music. All in all, cruising in what is effectively a wheeled set of headphones is a very sound way to travel.

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