smart #1 BRABUS Review: Compact Rocket by the East and the West

What we like:

The best from the East and West in an appealing package

Well-sorted handling

Premium interior

What we dislike:

Can seem a little pricey

For those who can remember, cars from smart always stood out for their segment beating compactness and clever packaging. Although part of Mercedes-Benz, they always had an identity of their own.

As what one could consider the ultimate city car, smart is one brand that’s ripe for electrification. The #1 is the first modern smart born from a comprehensive overhaul of its business, and it’s built on Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) electric vehicle platform. Although smart may shy away from this association, I see it as a boon. China builds one of the most advanced electric cars today, so you’re getting top shelf technology.

The clever thing that smart has done was to leave design to Mercedes-Benz, which lends a Germanic touch to the #1, and also owns 50% of smart. I’m not surprised the car won a 2023 Red Dot Award for Product Design; the packaging is palatable to taste buds used to luxury continental marques and indeed, surpasses them in many respects thanks to drawing the best that each partner has to offer.

The global effort to create the #1 really paid off. It feels well-resolved and put together, unlike some rivals which seem to lack that last 10-20% of finesse to really get it right.

The build quality, for example, is beyond reproach. There is nary a rattle when the car is on the move, and the doors close with a satisfying thunk. The infotainment system’s rapid response and usability is amazing, something that looks like it’s been refined in a million cars, instead of just one model. I like the premium features of the illuminated stainless steel tread plates, generous use of suede, head-up display and 13-speaker beats sound system too. And then of course most importantly, there is the way it drives.

What we have here is the Brabus version, which is the most powerful #1 you can buy with a whopping 428 hp and 543 Nm. It’ll do 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, which is as fast as the Mercedes W205 C63 S. Brabus is sort of the skunkworks version of AMG, a little more unhinged and feral, building wild modified Mercedes cars with big horsepower. Its take on an electric car is quite refreshing, translating it tastefully in the form of a specially-tuned chassis, sports seats, an alcantara-lined steering wheel and stainless steel-plated pedals.

I know, a Brabus electric car sounds a little bewildering, but I assure you it works beautifully. There is a real sense of purpose in the way the #1 Brabus devours the road, with proper meaty steering feel. Perhaps riding more on the firm side, the car nonetheless is a proper weapon in the right hands, scything through the twisties like a bona fide sports car with power to all four wheels. Even more mind-blowing is its straight line speed, which in Brabus mode, really feels like a cat that’s set on fire. Full throttle feels like warp speed on the #1 Brabus, and even among electric cars notorious for their pace, it feels properly quick. It’s one of the very few electric cars I proactively drove to seek out my favourite roads to drive in.

The smart #1 (and the Brabus version) is one of the first premium electric cars from a non-traditional brand to enter the Singapore market. Its success would be pivotal in setting a benchmark for others to follow, like Zeekr and Denza. I think the #1 stands a good chance, and it doesn’t hurt that its home in Singapore would eventually be at level 3 of the Mercedes-Benz Centre.

Photos by James Wong

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