Smart, Yes That Smart, Is Building A Big AWD 638 HP Jeep Renegade

Don’t check your calendar, you did not fall into a portal and get transported to April 1st March 32st. That headline you’re reading is somehow real. Remember Smart, the company that made nerdy little 70 HP city cars? Yeah, it has revealed its latest vehicle, and it’s the last thing you’d ever expect. Smart has unveiled the #5, and it’s an off-road electric SUV with up to 638 HP and looks like a bizarro world Jeep Renegade.

Smart has been teasing this SUV for a while, but I still couldn’t believe it. Smart has always wanted to build an SUV since the early 2000s, but this has become a bit of a comedy. Mercedes-Benz sold half of Smart to Geely in 2019 and it’s been all-in on SUVs ever since. First came the #1, which I’m contractually obligated to explain officially means “Hashtag One,” then came the unfortunately named #3.

Now we have yet another SUV, and this one is the craziest yet. Smart originally envisioned this as something you’ll want to take off-road and wants to give you up to 638 HP to make it happen. Squint hard enough and the new #5 looks like a Jeep Renegade, too, but only cooler.

Things Aren’t Going That Great

If you haven’t been following the Smart story, I’ll bring you up to speed. In 2014, Smart launched the third generation of its famous Fortwo and the second generation of the bigger Forfour. These cars were supposed to fix nearly everything people complained about for nearly two decades. The new cars ditched the slow-shifting transmissions for either a DCT or an honest five-speed manual and tossed the low-powered engines for legitimately quick turbo threes. Sure, fuel economy didn’t get better, but reviewers called these cars fun, which is a win if you’re Smart!

Unfortunately, the improvements seemingly came too late. Parent company Mercedes-Benz eventually threw in half of the towel, selling half the unit to Geely. The Geely-ified Smart would now go all-electric featuring Geely tech but Mercedes design.

The half-Geely ownership also brought a major shift. Smart would go from the seller of tiny city cars to electric compact SUVs. China gobbles up EVs, so that makes sense. The debut EV SUV, the #1, looked fresh and in Brabus form, brought on enough power for four-wheel burnouts. Then came the #3, which is one of those sleek SUVs that automakers insist on calling coupes. Later, Geely and Mercedes got a third partner in on the party.

In terms of sales, the new EVs aren’t lighting the charts on fire. In January 2024, Smart said it sold nearly 70,000 units globally since launching the #1 in 2022. That’s not bad, but isn’t impressive when you remember that in 2008, Smart sold 103,722 Fortwos in Europe alone and another 24,000 in America that year. So, Smart has these powerful electric SUVs, but sales are still down.

Our Chinese car news contributor Tycho de Feijter has reported on the condition of Smart in China and Europe. In May, Smart sold just 3,327 cars in China, marking it as 57th place in the region. Sales in Europe aren’t much healthier. Tycho also notes that tariffs are bringing even more uncertainty.

Smart #5 SUV unveiled in China.

Smart is a Chinese-German EV-maker jointly owned by the Geely Group and Mercedes-Benz. Smart cars are manufactured in China.

The Smart #5 is a new five-seat SUV. It isn't small: 4705/1920/1705, with a 2900 wheelbase. Smart will offer various… pic.twitter.com/VngfgtOiKh

— Tycho de Feijter (@TychodeFeijter) June 13, 2024

So, people aren’t really scooping up these new cars. Yet, Smart isn’t done yet. It’s getting back into the ring with something crazy.

Smart’s Jeep Renegade

Back in April, Smart released sketches and renders for Concept #5, quite possibly the most ambitious vehicle to ever wear a Smart badge.

I call it ambitious because in its imagery, Smart touted all-wheel-drive, short overhangs, and off-road tires being centerpieces of the new SUV. The press release went even further with: “Protective front and rear skid plates with a hidden integrated winch and folding rear step for roof access, in combination with an illuminating roof light bar, enhance the vehicle’s adventurous spirit.”

Now, I must admit that I got really excited here because come on, this is the old 2006 Smart Formore finally realized. It was also the largest vehicle to ever be called a Smart. Yet, the headlining features weren’t the off-road kit, but the 800-volt architecture, allowing a charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in just 15 minutes. Smart also said the concept had “more than 341 miles” of range. That’s based on a battery over 100 kWh and on the WLTP cycle. Yes, this is somehow still a Smart. I also couldn’t stop seeing a Jeep Renegade in that side profile. I suppose that could be because I’m now a Renegade fan after setting hot laps in one.

Now, thanks to Tycho and Chinese automotive news sites, we can now look at the production version of the #5. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published Smart’s homologation filing, which reveals what the #5 vehicle looks like and what kind of power it’s harnessing. All of it is stupid, for a Smart, anyway.

Sadly, the production Smart #5 loses all of the off-road bits, but the style is largely the same. This is the most blocky Smart SUV yet and it’s trying its best to look like a rugged off-roader. The front bumper cover seems to try to copy the look of a skid plate and Smart’s now signature LED light bar is now segmented. Those almost look like clearance lights, the Smart is a baby Raptor in training. I dig it.

This theme is repeated in the rear with a large diffuser or skid plate-looking thing, plus the segmented lighting. Something interesting to note here is that the lights are smoked, matching the vehicle’s black badges.

Turn to the side and I think you’ll see why I call this a Jeep Renegade. Now, don’t take that as a slight, Smart, because I think the Renegade is a handsome little guy. I also like how this SUV has a largely slab side. In an era when so many vehicles have creases seemingly for the sake of creases, I’m okay with this!

Something new revealed by the MIIT is a ridiculous powertrain. As of now, the hottest Smart is the 428 HP Smart #3 Brabus. This blows that thing right out of the water. The MIIT says the lowest spec drivetrain features a rear motor making 335 HP. Then there’s a slight step up to 358 HP.

From there, Smart apparently adds a 221 HP front motor alongside the 358 HP unit for a combined output of 579 HP. Finally, there’s the big boy, and it’s a 416 HP rear motor combined with the 221 HP front motor making an insane (for a Smart) 638 HP. That one would presumably be in a Brabus model. Or heck, maybe the Brabus will find a way to be even faster, because why not.

Sadly, “faster” in this case does not mean top speed as all models but the top version halt progress at 124 mph. The top model gets to a nice and round 130 mph. Granted, I’m not sure how much faster you would want to go in a 15.5 foot long, 5,401-pound SUV. It’s hard to believe that this is supposed to be a Smart!

RWD models of the Smart #5 get lithium iron phosphate batteries while the quicker AWD variants get nickel manganese cobalt batteries. At this time there isn’t any confirmation of battery size or architecture. What we do seem to know is that these will go like hell. Maybe it’ll even come with something like the concept’s interior:

Tycho believes the vehicle will launch in the third quarter of this year while CarNewsChina expects it to come out in the fourth quarter. Pricing is unknown at this time. With that said, the future of #5 and Smart as a whole is unclear. America is imposing a 100 percent tariff on Chinese EVs and recently the EU has hit China with its own tariffs that reach up to 38.1 percent. So, if our European readers do get a chance to drive this, who knows how expensive it’ll be.

It looks like I’m going to have to get a passport because I have to see what driving a 638 HP electric Smart is like.