• Competitively priced compared with rivals
• Charging at home can be cheap
• Entry-level driving range isn’t great

What are the running costs?

Like any electric car, cost can vary significantly on where you charge it. At home with a tariff designed to make use of off-peak tariffs can mean a few pence per kilowatt. Fast charging regularly at points at motorway services will be much more expensive than that. Our experiences with the #3 included an average efficiency of around three miles per kWh.

The Pro claims 202 miles on a charge, which is relatively small and only useful to those with home chargers. Pro+ and Premium are more competitive with 270 and 283-mile ranges respectively, with the Brabus claiming a 258-mile range.

As for charging times, Smart claims around half an hour to do a 10-80% charge regardless of spec at the highest DC charging rate. Pro and Pro+ can only charge to 7.4kW on AC home wallboxes or less sophisticated public chargers, meaning circa six-hour chargers for those. Smart says Premium and Brabus models can take up to 22kW AC, meaning a three-hour charge is possible.

Servicing and warranty

The #3 comes with a three-year, 30,000-mile warranty as standard. As part of its Integrated Service Package, your #3 also benefits from roadside assistance from the date of registration until its first service.

Reliability

Given this is relatively new technology and engineering, this area is a little unknown. Smart has technically been in business for 25 years now and, in its current guise, is part-owned by both Mercedes-Benz and Geely – both are brands that have been around a long time and know their way around how to build a car properly.