smart #3 review

Overview

The smart #3 is an electric SUV with 5 seats, a 66 kWh battery and a quoted WLTP range of 265 miles. On paper it suits families who want space without moving up to a van. Prices start at around £38,000, with leases quoted from about £349 a month.

Its headline specification point is straightforward: coupe-SUV with Mercedes-designed interior. The sections below break the published figures down and set them against the other electric cars in our Your UK region database.

Design & practicality

Bodystyle is an SUV with 5 seats and 370 litres of boot space. Against every EV in the database that puts it below average for outright carrying capacity, and among the weakest among other SUVs.

Boot volume is typical of the class: fine for a weekly shop and a couple of cases.

Range & charging

The quoted WLTP range is 265 miles from 66 kWh of usable-plus-buffer capacity — around mid-pack in the database for distance between charges. Real-world figures are typically 10–25% lower in cold weather and at sustained motorway speeds.

That is a mid-size battery with mainstream rapid-charging speeds. As with any EV, the running-cost picture depends far more on whether you can charge at home overnight than on the charging speed itself.

Performance

The published 0–60mph time is 5.8 seconds, which puts it around mid-pack for acceleration here and makes it brisk by the numbers. Electric drivetrains deliver that pull instantly from a standstill, so town-speed responses tend to feel stronger than the figure suggests.

Tech & features

We score cabin technology at 8/10 based on published equipment levels, which is below average across the database. The specification highlight is that coupe-SUV with Mercedes-designed interior.

Expect a large central screen, over-the-air updates and driver assistance as standard on most trims.

Price & value

New prices run from £38,000 to £46,000, with three-year-old used examples from around £30,000 and leases quoted from £349 a month. That sits at the middle of the electric cars in this database, and the middle of the SUVs specifically.

Our value score, which weighs the price against range, space and equipment, is 7/10. Whether it works out cheaper than your current car depends on your mileage, fuel price and charging setup — the cost calculator does that maths properly.