WELCOME
If there’s a single phrase that sums up Smart’s new #1, it’s ‘from zero to hero’. You see, the dinky city cars with which the brand made its name might have looked distinctive, but they suffered from a host of flaws, including poor ride comfort and extremely limited practicality. For a long time, they didn’t even make parking (their supposed USP) particularly easy, because they lacked power steering. And even though later examples remedied this, there were still plenty of frustrations. As a result, we were sceptical when Smart first told us it was going to start making SUVs. After all, if its cars couldn’t convince when they had no direct rivals, what chance did they have in one of the most competitive classes out there?