Smart showed its Concept #5 at this year’s Beijing Auto Show, the car’s notable departures from Smart orthodoxy being big (relatively) size, square lines and a heavy off-road demeanor. The production version we expected is close to launch in China, and thanks to a reveal by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), we see that #5 will park two out of three of those concept attributes in dealer showrooms. The trail-ready mien is gone, the squareness and size remain. Smart #3, a crossover-coupe-ish model launched last year, is the largest of the automaker’s two current models at 173 inches long, 72.6 inches wide and 61.3 inches tall on a 109.6-inch wheelbase. MIIT data puts Smart #5 at 185.2 inches long, 75.6 inches wide and 67.1 inches high on a 114.2-inch wheelbase. That’s 10 inches longer than the 2025 Mini Countryman, three inches wider, and two inches taller. A Tesla Model Y is 187 inches long, 76 inches wide and 64 inches tall on a 113.8-inch wheelbase.
It’s thought that on top of Smart trying to grow into wider consumer consideration, the embiggened footprint is for holding a battery pack of more than 100 kilowatt-hours. The Smart sits on the same Geely SEA architecture used by sister brand Volvo for the EX30 and Polestar for the 4, the 4 fitted with a 100-kWh pack in the U.S. Autocar, which found the MIIT documents, believes the #5’s extended wheelbase is more about rear legroom and the car won’t offer a third row, making ample space for no more than five. An 800-volt architecture ensures fast charging, Smart claiming a range of more than 341 miles on China’s testing regime and an SOC refill from 10% to 80% in 15 minutes.
The top trim is going to use a lithium-ion version of that large battery to juice two potent motors, their combined output hitting a potential 637 horsepower. The MIIT documents apparently state individual motor power, not the crossover’s final output, so it’s possible Smart’s tuned the motors to a combined peak below that 637 hp. Another dual-motor variant is listed with 579 hp, while single-motor variants ring in at 358 hp and 335 hp powered by a less expensive lithium-iron-phosphate pack.
We’re still waiting on pics of the interior, but spy shots show lines that follow the Concept #5’s. That would put a digital gauge display behind the steering wheel, and make the rest of the instrument panel a massive screen all the way to the passenger’s side vent, broken into two displays. Now that the MIIT has offered the preview, market debut shouldn’t be far off.
