Now it's official, life as a small car brand for transverse parkers is over.

Smart is trying to reinvent itself, has chosen a Chinese partner and is now showing its first car from the young marriage: an SUV.

Anyone who fell in love with the cuddly two-door must be brave.

Because the new one demonstrates the attempt to combine traditional elements of good humor with a modern appearance, but it is more likely to be lost in the crowd than to impress with non-conformity.

The economic compulsion was strong, Smart is considered a major loss maker.

Holger Apple

Editor in business, responsible for “Technology and Engine”.

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The host Daimler didn't want to look at it any longer.

The small car manufacturer was brought into a joint venture with the Chinese major shareholder Geely.

Since then, the first Smart of a new era has matured with Chinese technology and German design.

It should probably have been on the market by now, but nothing is normal in the car industry these days either.

So now the cloth fell, and you can see what the sparrows were whistling from the roofs.

The two-seater developed in the 1990s with Swatch boss Nicolas Hayek as a Micromobil becomes an SUV that competes in the compact class with a length of 4.27 meters and five seats.

The wheelbase of 2.75 meters is as long as the whole car used to be.

It goes without saying that it remains primarily oriented towards the city, so it drives electrically, befitting its status.

There will be a whole family in different performance classes.

With the introductory model, of course, Smart leaves its terrain and sets an exclamation mark in the direction of performance that not every friend of the brand needs to understand.

272 hp and a top speed of 180 km/h are in the data sheet, the rear-wheel drive brings its own touch of dynamics.

With its 66 kWh battery, it should achieve a range of up to 440 kilometers according to the standard.

It can be charged with 22 kW AC and 150 kW DC.

These are significant values.

Of course, 1820 kilograms unladen weight is also beyond the imagination.

So a lot is changing, no, everything is changing.

The first deliveries are planned for the turn of the year.

Then the prices will be fixed.

If you use the VW ID 3 as a guide, you shouldn't be too wrong.

That would be around 30,000 euros upwards.