{"id":76430,"date":"2024-09-02T14:28:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T18:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=76430"},"modified":"2024-09-02T14:28:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T18:28:53","slug":"smart-car-returns-as-a-mid-size-electric-crossover-to-take-on-the-model-y","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=76430","title":{"rendered":"Smart car returns as a mid-size electric crossover"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\"smart<\/figure>\n

Does every<\/em> new version of a car have to be bigger than the one before it? Smart seems to think the answer is, \u201cYes!\u201d And it\u2019s launched a new, five-passenger electric crossover in Australia that it thinks will be able to take the fight to Tesla\u2019s best-selling Model Y<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Smart arrived on the automotive scene as a joint-venture between funky plastic watch brand Swatch<\/a> and Mercedes-Benz<\/a> that hoped to sell ultra-compact city cars with swappable plastic body panels that would, in theory, make it easy for young urbanites to customize their cars.<\/p>\n

Despite its first cars being objectively terrible (seriously, that 1-2 shift would nearly put you through the windshield), the company seems to still be around, and its latest vehicle \u2013\u00a0the all-new smart #5 Summit Edition and #5 Premium+ models that made their world premiere in Byron Bay, Australia, this weekend \u2013\u00a0has ditched the funky microcar concept entirely in favor of more conventional styling, a high-tech interior, and its sights set firmly on the automotive mainstream.<\/p>\n

Interior upgrade<\/h2>\n
\"\"
New #5 offers a high-tech office, via smart<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new #5 features room for five adults, some cargo, and an approachable, chunky off-road style that\u2019s sure to be popular, if not groundbreaking. And, for their part, the smart guys seem pretty proud of the thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted to present our first-ever mid-size premium SUV, the all-new smart #5, to the world,\u201d says Dirk Adelmann\u200b, CEO smart Europe. \u201cWith this new vehicle, we are expanding into a new market segment, reflecting our commitment to quality, innovation, and addressing the evolving needs of our customers \u2026 this vehicle represents not only a new level of premium for smart but also an opportunity to explore new possibilities in the realm of electric mobility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest smart yet<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Fold-flat rear seats in the new #5; via smart<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adding to the off-roader aesthetic, the smart #5\u2019s exterior features a roof light bar, an electric trailer hitch, and an optional \u201cAdventurers\u2019 Collection\u201d package that includes underbody protection, a roof-mounted carrier basket, running boards, a side bag, and even an fire escape-style ladder to reach your overland gear more easily.<\/p>\n

Gotta have a ladder<\/h2>\n
\"\"
The #5 is nearly five feet tall, making a ladder mission-critical; via smart<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smart is really selling the outdoorsy lifestyle with the new #5, too. Beyond the Adventurers\u2019 Collection, the #5 offers buyers the ability to adjust all seats to create a king-size, queen-size, or single sleeping space inside the cabin. The smart #5 also offers 34 storage compartments, a 72-liter frunk, and up to 1,530 liters under the hatch to help you feel at home while you\u2019re camping out, too.<\/p>\n

The smart #5 features an 800V, 100 kWh battery with a \u201csuper-charging function\u201d (4C) that enables charging from 0 to 70% capacity in just 15 minutes. The #5 is good for up to 740 km (over 450 miles) on the CLTC cycle. No word yet on price, but smart executives floated an entry-level price under 50,000 euros at Auto China<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Electrek\u2019s take<\/h2>\n

While I absolutely hate<\/em> the fact that every carmaker is turning its iconic brands into five-passenger crossovers (and if you don\u2019t think that\u2019s happening, ask yourself what a Mitsubishi Eclipse or the latest \u201cMach\u201d Mustang looks like these days), I fully understand that the car business is a business<\/em>, and if you want to move the metal in today\u2019s market, you need to be selling crossovers.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like it, but it is what it is. Smart will sell more of these than they did the OG ForTwo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SOURCE | IMAGES<\/strong>: smart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.<\/em> More.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does every new version of a car have to be bigger than the one before it? Smart seems to think the answer is, \u201cYes!\u201d And it\u2019s launched a new, five-passenger electric crossover in Australia that it thinks will be able to take the fight to Tesla\u2019s best-selling Model Y. Smart arrived on the automotive scene […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-cars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}