The Smart EV concept is not the Smart car you thought you knew

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The Smart EV concept is not the Smart car you idea you knew

(Image credit: Mercedes/Geely)

Remember the Smart machine? Well those tiny little city-roaming vehicles could be ready for a comeback. Except they probably won't be tiny, and they'll be ditching the gas tank for a battery.

The brand new Smart EV-concept has just been unveiled at the IAA Mobility show in Munich, showing us what sort of machine parent-company Mercedes has planned. And it looks zilch like the Smart machine you remember.

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This new design looks more than alike to the Mini Countryman than the Smart cars of old. That means information technology comes with four seats, aerodynamic styling, a drinking glass roof, and (most importantly) a lot of interior space.

(Image credit: Mercedes/Geely)

But that big size has an extra hidden advantage: improved range potential. While it seems counterproductive to increase the size (and weight) of a car to increase range, a larger car has infinite for a bigger battery. The bigger the battery, more often than not speaking, the further your EV can travel before you have to think about recharging.

(Paradigm credit: Mercedes/Geely)

Inside the new Smart concept are all the conveniences y'all'd look from a modern EV. That includes a 12.8-inch touchscreen console, a minimalistic design, and gold accents that make this automobile wait like it was designed to show off in a high-end department store.

Other notable features include a rear scissor door for easier entry, even if they can be impractical out in the real world. At that place are also 21-inch wheels, LED light confined at the forepart and rear of the automobile, and a blueprint that about screams "wait at me, I'm an EV." And then pretty outlandish, which is one of the things I hope gets scrapped before this motorcar goes into production.

(Epitome credit: Mercedes/Geely)

And this car is prepare to get into production, thanks to a partnership between Mercedes' parent company Daimler and Geely — owner of brands like Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. The auto volition exist built on Geely'south Sustainable Architecture, the same every bit its ain brands, and volition back up the usual features like fast charging and over-the-air updates.

Multiple versions are as well on the cards, including a long range model, though other specifics haven't been revealed. The all-time part? The Smart EV is set to go on sale in China next yr, with plans to expand the launch to Europe equally well. No give-and-take on a U.S. release right now, peculiarly since Smart abandoned the American market place in 2019, just we can keep our fingers crossed.

Just remember that the concluding production model is probably going to await quite dissimilar. How different? We couldn't possibly say. So it'll be interesting to see what'due south actually on the cards when it goes into production side by side twelvemonth.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide'south Automotive Editor, which means he can usually be institute genu deep in stats the latest and best electric cars, or checking out some sort of driving gadget. It's long fashion from his days as editor of Gizmodo U.k., when pretty much everything was on the table. He's commonly found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set up onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or lament that Ikea won't let him buy the stuff he really needs online.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/the-smart-ev-concept-is-not-the-smart-car-you-thought-you-knew

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