Smart may not entirely be the microcar-exclusive name it once was. But even as it gears up now to produce its largest car yet, it's crystal clear about one thing: It is not straying from its original brand ethos.
On first glance, that might be hard to believe at first.
The Smart #5, which celebrated its global premiere in Brisbane last month, is notable not just for the fact that it's pushing the brand into new sizing territory. On a purely visual level, it's also unlike the #1 and #3 - with its intriguing light signatures, rugged touches, and of course, boxy styling.
Gone are the soft curves and roundedness of its siblings. In their place, instead, stands an unambiguously tougher SUV that looks like it could handle some mud - even if most of its owners are likely to keep it thoroughly on tarmac.
But therein lies the question: Does Smart risk diluting its carefully-crafted visual identity - especially given the brand's recent revitalisation - with such a significant shift?
Same philosophy, different segment
It doesn't seem to think so.
The memo was quite straightforward, it appears. "We looked at [the question of] if Smart were to leave the city", Kai Sieber, Head of Design at Smart (and also one of Mercedes-Benz's design chiefs), replies, when asked about what inspired the #5's styling.
Doing so, in turn, has taken the firm away from "[just] a question of round or square", and instead saw design discussions revolving around the pursuit of "what suits the segment".
"When we do an urban vehicle, it needs to be more friendly; a little bit soft," Sieber notes of the #1 and #3, before continuing, "But since we are now doing an outdoor car, it's honest, and it's square. What is part of our philosophy is that Smart has an honest design that transcends segments."
Admittedly, strategies vary across different carmakers. Sieber brings up Tesla, for instance, as a plausible example of what happens when a team pursues "the same design with different proportions".
"The Model 3 is a flat-ish sedan - and then you blow it up and it's a Model Y. It's no criticism - you can do it like that. But it's not the Smart way. So we say, 'No, our equivalent of the Model Y occupies a different segment (from the #1 and #3). It needs to be an SUV.'"
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this Smart way, in turn, seems to align itself heavily with the strategy undertaken by its German parent, Mercedes-Benz, which remains in charge of all the design elements (even as Geely has taken the reins for the engineering aspect of things).
One will note, for example, that the design languages of the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class are more clearly aligned for the very fact that they are all sedans. "But the G-Class is a completely different segment", Sieber points out. "So it looks different… The #1 and #3 come from one clear family, with a more similar use case. But the #5... would be what would be a G-Class in the Mercedes family."
He is quick to underscore the fact that Mercedes-Benz and Smart remain separate entities even from a design perspective.
"A Mercedes needs to have a Mercedes face, and a Smart has to have a Smart face," he insists - even if the two brands are proud to share the same design pedigree and treatment. He pulls up yet another analogy: "Imagine Smart and Mercedes are - from a design perspective - part of the same family. The father is Gordon (Wagener, Chief Design Officer for Mercedes-Benz Group AG); the mother is me. And there are two kids - Smart and Mercedes-Benz - who are not twins. They look very different, but they have the same genes."
Furthermore, even amidst the tweaking-to-segment, Sieber reiterates that the brand's core hasn't changed.
Rather than commit to any sort of fixed shape, Smart has always focused on the maximisation of space: With a high wheelbase-to-length ratio, and the vehicle's wheels tucked out towards all of its corners.
"All the Smarts have a great stance," Sieber proffers. "And (in that sense), the #5 is like the first ForTwo. In the first ForTwo, its wheels are in the corners because it needed the stability as such a small car. But we still follow these principles, and proportions for the #5." There is one other defining hallmark, too; look at the #1, #3 and #5 straight on from the rear, and one can virtually trace the same outline from the roof down to the wheel arches.
New chapter
As for what the firm hopes to achieve with such a large car now, it should come as no surprise that the #5 is more explicitly targeted at full-sized families with its extra space - and thus should open the brand up to a larger customer base.
Since its re-launch as a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, the firm has reportedly delivered over 100,000 cars already across China and Europe, with the #1 remaining ahead as its bestseller so far (although we are reminded that the #3 was launched a fair bit later).
"The #5 definitely carries the mission to go into a more mainstream segment and also - hopefully - to further diversify our customer portfolio," Mandy Zhang, Global CMO of Smart, tells us. Another goal: To provide existing customers with the opportunity to upgrade from their current Smarts.
Still, she suggests that the brand has been strategic with all of its releases so far - each model intentionally dedicated to occupying a certain segment - before going on to state, "I do hope the that the #1 will continue with its volume."
The #5 isn't where the expansion of the model lineup ends. Back when it first reintroduced as a joint venture, Smart had stated that it planned to unveil a new model every year from 2022 to 2025 - meaning that at least one more car is in the works.
When we probe about whether the #5 possibly previews a new design direction that the firm is set to continue, Sieber remains coy about the exact details, but holds on to his original line:
"I'm not about to tell you what our next car will be, but it will be - again - a different segment, and therefore it would again have a completely form… But you will again find [the same defining elements]. You will recognise it's the same pedigree, within the same family."
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