Tweedehands Smart #5

smart began as a collaboration between Swatch and Mercedes-Benz in the 1990s, with a brief to build a city car so short it could park nose-in to the kerb. The 1998 Fortwo did exactly that, and became a fixture of European city centres for two decades, loved and mocked in equal measure.

The brand went fully electric in Europe in 2020, earlier than anyone else, and then reinvented itself completely. Since 2019 smart has been a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, with Mercedes handling design and Geely providing the electric platform and manufacturing.

The result is a very different smart. The #1 and #3 are compact electric crossovers with real range and hot Brabus versions, and the #5 is a proper mid-size SUV with 800-volt charging. The tiny two-seater is gone; the pitch is now premium electric mobility with a Mercedes-drawn face.