[Car Review] smart #5 Pro: 5 great things.

The moment my daughter climbed into the back seat of the smart #5 Pro, she turned to me with wide eyes and said: “Wow, Papa, this car is so big inside!” That’s the first reaction from a kid who has sat in all the cars I’ve reviewed, big and small.

Then my son got in, and I put my foot down on the accelerator, and he declared: “This car is soooo fast like a roller coaster!”

My wife, who is somewhat a harder person to please, after settling into the front passenger seat, gave me her signature measured verdict: “The seat not bad lah quite comfortable.” And that is high praise from her given that she has exacting requirements for a comfortable car.

Three family members. Three great reactions. That’s the smart #5 summarised right there. Ok, review done.

Not quite. What about the two other titular great things?

Number 4. This car is luxury through and through. It was designed by the Mercedes-Benz global design team. It has a panoramic halo roof, frameless doors, and soft-touch materials covering the entire door panel from top to bottom, including the bottom half that most carmakers leave hard and plasticky.

Now, let me ask you something. Can you guess how much this car costs with Mercedes’ish interiors?

Not $350,000. Not $280,000. Not even $250,000.

It’s only $231,000. Amazing, by today’s COE standard where all other luxury cars in this segment is priced above $350,000.

And that completes the 5 great things about this car.

A Smart Transformation

For those who haven’t been following Smart’s transformation, a quick recap. Smart used to be the brand behind those tiny two-seaters that looked like someone had chopped a hatchback in half.

Then Mercedes-Benz and Geely joined forces and turned Smart into something completely different. The new Smart is co-owned by both automotive giants, with the cars designed by the Mercedes-Benz global design team under a philosophy they call “Love, Pure, Unexpected.”

The smart #5 is the literally the biggest thing the brand has ever built. It’s their first mid-size SUV, measuring 4,695mm in length with a 2,900mm wheelbase. To put that in perspective, the #5 is practically the same length as a BMW X3, with a wheelbase that actually exceeds the X3’s. For a car wearing the Smart badge, that is a sign of a different era for the brand.

The Interior: Premium Beyond Its Price Tag

Step inside the smart #5 Pro and your instinct is to touch and feel and molest every surface you can see. Because this level of interior quality simply does not belong at this price point.

There’s soft touch materials everywhere, and every bit of plastic trim does not creak, rattle or sound cheap when you attack it with your fingernails. Everything is solid, premium and well built.

What wows me most is that whole door panel is soft-touch, including the bottom half. That detail matters more than it sounds. This is a rarity. In cars costing considerably more, you will still find hard plastic below the armrest (ahem BMW X3, ahem Lexus NX and ahem Mercedes-Benz GLC). It signals that the people who designed this car actually cared about what your hand, your arm, and your leg brush against every single day and spare no expenses to include a luxurious interior.

There are 34 storage compartments spread throughout the cabin, a 72-litre frunk up front, and a 630-litre boot out back. Fold the rear seats flat and you get 1,530 litres of cargo space.

The 1.7m2 panoramic roof floods the cabin with light, making the already-generous space feel even more airy. My daughter, sitting in the rear, had an open sky above her. She enjoyed looking up at those Lunar New Year lights as I drive through decorated roads.

Then there are the EV-exclusive modes that an ICE car simply cannot replicate. Camping mode keeps the climate control running comfortably while the car is parked and switched off, so you can sleep or rest inside without burning fuel or waking the neighbours. Pets mode does the same thing when you need to leave your dog in the car: the cabin stays cool, and a screen on the dashboard lets passersby know the temperature inside is under control. These are small things on paper, but they change how you think about the car as a space rather than just a vehicle.

For a closer look at the interior, here’s a 360-degree walkthrough: Insta360 link

The Drive: Fast, Fun, With One Caveat

The smart #5 Pro is powered by a 76kWh LFP battery driving a 250kW motor that puts out 335bhp. On paper, those are solid figures. On the road, especially when you slot it into Sports mode, they become something more visceral.

My son’s “soooo fast” verdict was earned. The car delivers its power with that instant EV urgency that still catches you off guard even when you know it’s coming. Expressway overtakes feel effortless. Body roll is well-controlled for a car this size, and the suspension handles Singapore’s roads competently in most situations.

But here is where I have to be honest. Brake a little harder, and the front end dips in a way that produces a bouncy squat and kneel motion that can get annoying. It’s not dangerous by any measure. But in Singapore’s stop-start traffic, you will definitely notice it.

On range, the official WLTP figure is 465km. In my real-world experience, if you drive the way the car tempts you to drive with its enjoyable instant torque, expect something closer to 350 to 380km on a full charge. For Singapore use, this is completely fine. But do not go in expecting WLTP figures if Sports mode is your default setting.

The self-parking feature deserves a special mention. It is intuitive enough that you actually use it, which is not something I can say about every car’s parking assist. In Singapore’s tight HDB multi-storey carparks, having the car take over parallel or perpendicular parking with minimal fuss is an everyday convenience that quietly earns its keep.

5 Great Things

The smart #5 Pro comes in a package with great space, speed, comfort, luxury and price. You get a German-designed SUV with an interior that shames genuine luxury cars on material quality, performance that makes the TPE feel like your personal playground, and a price of $231,000 that makes competitors at the same budget look undercooked.

What about things that are not as great? Know that I’m really picking bones here. The ride under hard braking is the one asterisk. The real-world range is honest rather than impressive.

And if you want the Sennheiser 20-speaker sound system, ventilated seats, more performance, a second AMOLED display for your front passenger, and a larger battery, you will need to step up $40,000 to the Premium trim.

But if you are looking for the most luxurious EV SUV package you can buy in Singapore right now without selling the HDB flat, the Smart #5 Pro makes a very, very strong case.

Should You Buy?

Buy if: You want German-designed luxury at a price that does not require the price of three rounds of COE renewal. You have a family who will notice and appreciate the interior quality. You like driving fast and do not mind the trade-off on ride quality.

Skip if: You would like to save some bucks for a less luxurious offering. Or you want the full Premium experience — in which case, the extra $40,000 for the Premium trim is worth every cent.

On-the-road price (as of 5 Mar 2026): $231,000 (Pro) / $271,000 (Premium)
Battery: 76kWh LFP | Power: 335bhp | WLTP Range: 465km | Real-world range: approx 400km

The smart #5 Pro used for this review was provided by smart Singapore. All opinions expressed are the author’s own and have not been influenced by the brand.