New Smart #5 will be unveiled on 28th August as a Skoda Enyaq rival

The new Smart #5 will be unveiled on 28th August - a family-sized SUV called the #5, that’ll look to expand the all-electric brand into new territory. After several leaked images were found on the Chinese Ministry of Information Technology website, Smart has posted more pictures of the #5 showcasing its off-road ability. 

Having initially revealed the new Smart #5 in concept form at this year’s Beijing motor show it’s not surprising to see Smart is testing its SUV on some pretty rough terrain as it gears up for the reveal event in Australia. The production car will lose the off-road focused #5 Concept’s roof-mounted lightbar, knobbly tyres and bonnet tree cables with Smart now referring to it as a ‘luxury SUV’.

As we’ve already seen from the leaked images, the new official test shots show the Smart #5 will gain a more upright body compared to the Smart #1 and Smart #3. There’s a bluff nose, an upright windscreen and a traditional SUV profile for the #5. The front end features a similar face to the concept, those four inserts along the faux grille could also light-up like on the concept, although we won’t know until we’ve seen the Smart #5 in the dark. 

There’s a new alloy wheel design for the #5 with four-spoke rims and on the rear pillar, Smart’s ‘C’ logo appears. Around to the rear we see a full-width light bar which is joined by four individual lights sitting along the bootlid. 

Smart may have made a name for itself with the dinky ForTwo, but the new #5 will be the largest Smart to date. At 4,705mm long, the #5 is 56mm longer than the Skoda Enyaq and only 50mm or so shorter than a Tesla Model Y. This suggests Smart’s new SUV will be a more family-friendly model, with a generous amount of interior space thanks to a 2,900mm wheelbase.

Smart has already confirmed other technical information about its next SUV, including a brand new 800-volt hardware and battery pack of more than 100kWh. Official figures haven’t been confirmed, but the maker says that should translate to a range of “more than 341 miles” and a 10 to 80 per cent charge time of “just 15 minutes”.

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As we’ve seen with the #3 and #1, Smart will offer a range of single and dual-motor powertrains, topped off by a high performance flagship with a combined power rating of up to 637bhp. This figure is just a sum of the two motors’ peak power rating, though, so it remains to be seen whether the battery pack is capable of feeding that much power to the motors at any one time. 

Official performance and economy figures are still some way off being released, but for those less interested in straight-line speed, a range of more sensible models will be available. This includes a second dual-motor variant with a combined power figure of 579bhp, plus two single-motor variants with 386bhp or 335bhp. 

This being a modern EV, the need to fit in such a large battery pack has led to a very short rear overhang, which should not only benefit packaging the powertrain elements, but also unlock lots of rear legroom. As a result, we don’t expect this model to offer a third row of seating, which some potential rivals with similar footprints, like the Peugeot E-5008, offer. 

No images have been revealed of the Smart #5 interior, so far, but we expect the cabin will contain the new generation of technology and hardware previewed by the Smart #5 Concept. This is likely to include a screen-heavy design, with two large touchscreen displays mounted on the dash for the driver and passenger, plus a further driver’s display and minimal physical controls. 

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