Smart scales up into the big leagues with its all-wheel-drive electric #5

What’s it like driving the largest Smart car ever made? Once you’ve thoroughly recalibrated your understanding of the brand – born in Germany via a Swiss-instigated collaboration, now overseen by Chinese brand one-stop-shop Geely – Smart’s journey is an uncommon one.

For many, the name is still indelibly associated with the tiny two-seaters that made its name. Although this minimal statement of mobility is by no means dead and buried (a new iteration of the Smart fortwo is on the way, the Smart #2), the company is mostly focused on much larger mid-sized SUVs. The new Smart #5 is the biggest of the lot and joins the Smart #1 and Smart #3 to make a sturdy range that covers all bases.

In its home market, the Smart #5 is very much a young person’s car, with a rugged Summit Edition available at launch that included a roof rack and seats that fold flat into a bed. In Europe, the Summit can still be ascended, only it’s not quite as ruggedised as the original (no folding access ladder, for example).

The fold flat seats remain available across the #5 range, however, as do a number of other neat interior details, from the elegantly expansive dash to the plethora of storage spots. One unwelcome Geely signature is also present – the lack of physical buttons. In everything from Lotus to Volvo, the company’s brands favour touchscreens over tactile feedback, usually to their detriment.

That’s not to say the #5 is completely lacking in character. The most focused model is the #5 BRABUS, with a frankly OTT 710Nm of torque and sub four-second sprint to 62mph – electrification has transformed the humble family car into a monster.

Smart reckons that all #5 models will best 300 miles in real world conditions; provided you’re prudent and not too heavy-footed, there’s enough juice on board (100kWh) to never let the dreaded anxiety creep in.

Everything is very chunky, however, from the Tonka-toy like external styling to the thick rimmed wheel and raised ride height. Dedicated off-road controls are available and the #5 is good for towing trailers up to 1600kg in weight. Despite the initially disconcerting way in which such cars never have to be switched off (simply leave and walk away and it locks up), it soon becomes second nature.

Less easy to accommodate is the scale – at 4.7m it is considerably longer and wider than the original OG Range Rover. Perhaps this says something about the democratisation of luxury, but more likely it’s an indicator that cars of all stripes are getting way too large.

If you have the room and the reason, the #5 is competent and likeable electric all-rounder, with welcome practicalities that go beyond being just a mode of everyday transport. Fans of Smart’s original iteration will have to count on the forthcoming ultra-compact #2 to get their dose of intelligent mobility design.

Smart #5, from £39,800, UK.smart.com, @smart_worldwide