Smart Malaysia has confirmed that the grand launch of the Smart #1 EV will take place on 21 November and will be streamed live on its Facebook page. At the event, the company will finally announce the pricing of the EV which made its first public appearance in Malaysia back in July.
We were first made aware of the launch date earlier this month after it was mentioned on social media by one of Smart’s dealerships. Not long after that, Smart Malaysia itself began to tease the launch event on its social media channels.
Smart #1 pricing is the last piece of the puzzle
Given that the EV was first shown to the public four months ago, the launch is certainly a long time coming. Even though Smart Malaysia has revealed the price range for Smart #1 which is between RM200,000 to RM250,000, many still felt unsure about an EV that doesn’t have an official price tag attached to it.
This doesn’t come as a surprise though, given that the Smart #1 is competing in the Premium (RM200,000 to RM399,999) segment of the market which is filled with so many options. Of course, it is also hard to overlook strong competition from other EVs within the same price range such as the Tesla Model 3 & Y, and Hyundai Ioniq 6 & Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Smart #1 Brabus, Premium, Pro quick specs
Featuring an all-wheel-drive (AWD) setup, the two electric motors on the Smart #1 Brabus deliver a total output of 315kW (422hp) alongside 543Nm of torque. Powering this particular variant is a 66kWh lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery pack which enables the EV to deliver a WLTP-rated range of up to 400km.
The Smart #1 Brabus also comes standard with a 22kW onboard AC charger that allows it to be charged from 10-80% in 3 hours. The same battery and AC charging setup have also been implemented on the mid-tier model which is the Smart #1 Premium.
However, the Premium model does provide a slightly higher WLTP range of 440km since this rear-wheel-drive (RWD) variant features a less powerful 200kW electric motor with 343Nm of torque.
There is also the Smart #1 Pro variant which comes with the same RWD electric motor as per its Premium counterpart but with a much smaller 49kWh lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) battery. Naturally, this variant has a much lower WLTP range than the rest of the family at 315km.
It also takes much longer to charge the Smart #1 Pro from 10% to 80% since it has been equipped with a less powerful 7.2kW onboard AC charger. As for DC charging, all three variants can support DC fast chargers with an output of up to 150kW and this allows them to go from 10% to 80% in under 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, all three Smart #1 variants have the same top speed of 180km/h. That being said, the Brabus can go from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds while the century sprint timing for Premium and Pro models is much higher at 6.7 seconds.
Smart #1 first drive impression
For the past few months, we had several opportunities to test out Smart #1. So far, our experience with the new EV across all three variants has been positive even though it is still too brief to give them a proper verdict.
As noted by Jonathan, even the EV’s base variant which is the Pro model offers good ride and handling. While the range-topping Smart #1 Brabus provides more performance and a stiffer suspension setup, it is still quite comfortable to drive unlike some sports cars out there.
To know more, make sure to check out Jonathan’s full first drive experience with the Smart #1 Pro and Smart #1 Brabus right here.
