From the fully equipped BRABUS to the basic equipment
When I get into the pro+, the first thing I notice is that it feels almost as valuable as my BRABUS. I am also immediately impressed by the bright interior. I really enjoy white and yellow. And now after three weeks in the summer and with my blue jeans slipping over the seats, there is no discolouration to be seen. I love it.
No Alcantara, but everything with leatherette and just as little plastic as in the BRABUS. The only thing I notice for the first few kilometers is that the pro+ doesn't have a head-up display and all-wheel drive. Apart from that, it seems to have everything my BRABUS has. The large display in the middle, the 360° camera, panoramic roof, LED headlights, alloy wheels, heated seats, digital key, OTA updates and a cooling compartment in the center console. The list is long and I could list more.
Despite the basic equipment, the pro+ still has the 66 kWh battery with 22 kW AC charging and 150 kW charging. With it the smart #1 manages a real range of 300 km. On a tour with quite a lot downhill, I managed to do even 360 km in one go at the Autobahn. You really can't complain about that. Plus, it charges from 10-80% in under 30 minutes. As a BRABUS owner, I've certainly asked myself why I actually pay the extra money for the BRABUS.
Sure, the 315 kW (428 hp) from the all-wheel drive system are definitely fun. But whether you sprint to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds or just 6.7 seconds doesn't really matter. Incidentally, I find it exciting that the pro+ has 383 Nm on the rear axle, while all the others only have 344 Nm at the rear. Both are fast and both are easily enough for overtaking. Thanks to the battery in the underbody, both have a very low center of gravity and have a really good weight distribution on the axles.
Then why is it so much cheaper?
I really had to search for a while as it was really hard for me to find anything. The parking assistant is missing, the turn signals flash normally, not with a futuristic running light. The pro+ does not measure the air quality either. Instead of the matrix LEDs, it's just normal LEDs and instead of the Beats sound system, it just has a normal sound system. As already mentioned, the head-up display is also missing. In addition, the Pro+ does not have a heat pump, which I don't really miss for a battery of this size. Even if it always nice, of course.
But the only thing I really miss is the wireless charging of the cell phone in the center console. Which should be nothing that a charging cable or a self-retrofitted charging mat couldn't solve.
But that's it already. The basic version of the smart #1 is also available with a detachable trailer hitch for 1,600 kg, it has a blind spot assistant and it also has heated seats.
Personally, I'm also a big fan of colors. At smart, you are free to choose which color you want. No matter what you choose, there is no extra charge. Personally, I would go for the white interior with the black car and yellow accents. Or directly the red car with a black roof and interior. Depending on what you prefer. I also liked mine now in black / black with a white interior. Discreet on the outside and fun on the inside.
But what you should pay attention to, with the white interior, the dashboard in the front of the windshield is also white. If you wear sunglasses with a polarizing filter in strong sunshine anyway, it doesn't really matter. Otherwise it reflects quite strongly, although you get used to it surprisingly quickly.
I miss the smart #1 pro, recommend buying the pro+
It seems a trend at smart that the Chinese get the cool stuff. With us, the smart #1 pro+ is the smallest equipment available. In China there is still the smart #1 pro, this is exactly the same car, but with a 49 kWh battery (lithium iron phosphate) and a correspondingly slightly shorter range. In everyday life, however, this is still more than enough range.
At just very few manufacturers I recommend the basic equipment without any extras. Because usually then the reversing camera is missing in an Audi SUV for example, the heated seats in a Mercedes or something else. Sometimes you have the feeling that you have to be happy that there are four wheels, a steering wheel and a seat at the base price. Even with the smart fortwo and smart forfour, I had warned against driving the absolute base version on steel rims, because too much stuff is simply left out, so that the surcharge on the first equipment line is easily worth it.
Tesla has been showing for years that even basic cars can be well equipped. Smart is now following suit, putting the #1 as a pro+ on beautiful aluminum rims and already packing in a lot of equipment. Accordingly, I can only recommend the pro+. Of course, a Premium and a BRABUS have “more”, but one can argue whether the surcharge is worth more. In terms of value for money, there is currently nothing better at smart than the pro+.
My detailed test report on my own smart BRABUS #1 can be found here:
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