Smart has revealed the new Concept #5 medium-sized SUV at this week's Beijing motor show as part of the recently relaunched brand’s model offensive. Expected to preview a forthcoming foray into the premium electric SUV market, its manufacturer describes the Concept #5 as a “visionary vehicle.”
Smart design
As expected from Smart, Concept #5 has a chunky and rugged design exaggerated by the roof lights, chunky tyres, and roof rails. But the styling sits somewhere between the smaller Smart models and the Land Rover Defender, with modern, narrow lights, short overhangs, and a visor-like glasshouse design. Bulky bumpers with skid plates keep the off-road-inspired design alive, but they also hide the built-in winch and folding rear step for roof access.
Intelligent tech
The interior, meanwhile, is designed to maximise cabin space and comfort for passengers with a “zero-gravity” front passenger seat, but there’s a focus on technology, too. Two embedded screens allow access to the vehicle’s functions, while there’s a portable speaker in the centre console and ambient lighting tech.
Smart has also given the Concept #5 a healthy dose of more modern technology, including artificial intelligence systems provided by generative AI firm Cerence. The tech is designed to give drivers and passengers an in-car assistant with which they can converse more naturally than with conventional voice recognition technology.
But the system can do the conventional stiff, too, allowing drivers to control some functions such as music, media and climate control with their voice. Other settings, such as navigation and personal settings, can also be controlled by voice.
Super-fast charging
Under the skin, the Concept #5 gets an 800-volt drive system with a battery that offers more than 100kWh of capacity. That allows for super-fast charging with the system offering the chance to charge from 10 to 80 per cent in 15 minutes from a suitable ultra-rapid charger. When fully charged, however, the SUV offers an all-electric range of more than 547km, while five driving modes allow drivers to tune the vehicle to the prevailing conditions.
New horizons for the brand
“For more than a quarter of a century, Smart has made a significant impact by pioneering models and mobility solutions for the urban space and beyond,” said the company’s CEO, Dirk Adelmann. “The Smart Concept #5 is the most unexpected and versatile car that our brand has ever created. With this vehicle, we leave all boundaries behind and open up a new segment for customers in Europe and worldwide.”