#5, the Smart with 630 litres of boot space

The days when Smart was a brand of small two-seaters designed for narrow streets and optimal parking in European cities with space issues are long gone. This week, the brand—which is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and the Geely Group—has unveiled what it claims will be its largest model yet.

Given Smart's history of compact vehicles, this is not surprising, as the #5 is a 4.70-metre-long SUV with 630 litres of boot space—there won't be a seven-seater from the company—meaning it's on the larger side.

It is available with two different batteries, one of 74 kWh and another of 100 kWh, providing a range of about 465 or 590 kilometres, respectively. Beyond that, the vehicles cannot be configured beyond the different equipment levels, of which there are six available.

Once you surpass the Premium level, the variations include two motors, one on each axle, providing all-wheel drive. From that point, the power also increases significantly, reaching up to 646 horsepower in the Brabus version.

This edition can reach 100 km/h in less than 3.8 seconds but is docile enough for comfortable driving if you have a light foot. Otherwise, the acceleration is sudden, powerful, and very entertaining, but it quickly drains the battery.

This means we are living in a golden age of electric cars, where manufacturers have not yet had to reduce their power to a reasonable level to maximise their range and the resources allocated to battery construction.

Does a nearly five-metre SUV with 646 horsepower make sense? Absolutely not, but this doesn't stop brands from bringing them to market. It's certainly fun to drive, but the owner of such a car will likely use that power for overtaking and little else, knowing that a charged battery is more valuable.

Therefore, the versions with 360 horsepower are agile and powerful enough to make the car fun to drive and significantly reduce energy management concerns.

Aesthetically, the car is well-finished—it's impossible not to see similarities with the Mercedes-Benz EQB—and features three touchscreens on the dashboard that span its entire width. The passenger also has access to streaming apps for series, games, or music.

Two drawbacks of the Smart #5 are, on one hand, that a car with a rugged appearance for off-road use has rather flimsy bodywork, and on the other, that the navigation system, in low coverage situations, tends to get lost and nearly left me stranded in the middle of a mountain range. Aside from that, it's a pleasure to drive with so much power under the pedal and in the speakers.

Orders for the #5 are now open, and its price, for the Pro version, starts at 47,640 euros.