Took the Smart #5 out today. The Pro and then the Brabus. Both ends of the spectrum so to speak.
The Pro, which is the base entry, was very nice. Seats were lovely and comfy with good adjustment. Great visibility inside. Steering was very direct, no dead spots, it reacted very well to input change and the wheel felt nice to hold. The regen on "medium" I found ideal for the brakes. I hardly used the actual pedal, and talking of brakes they were very responsive. Versus the Skoda Enyaq we test drove a few months ago, those brakes were like sponges, with too much travel before feeling any engagement. I was also surprised at the acceleration from the Pro in "sport". It was no slouch. The car rode uneven bumps well and the cabin noise was minimal. It was a very nice place to be, with no rattles. Used the infotainment only for a few minutes; it would take time to get used to where things are properly but it seemed responsive. The panoramic roof was lovely and we really liked the way the seats move to let you get in and out, before returning to their memory position. Wing mirror adjustment is in the menu system but was very quick to find and both left, and right, dip in reverse (right only slightly). And finally the indicator sound is quite fun and different and has 3 different volume levels for those that want to reduce the volume.
On to the Brabus. No words can describe how fast this thing is in "brabus" mode. I mean it verges on painful when fully accelerating. It was scary fast (and I used to have a supercharged Mustang GT), but this thing is in a different league with that instant delivery of power. People have said that it is too much for the car to handle, or the chassis to handle, but the car was absolutely fine even on a cold 8 degrees today. Bit of squirm, but it stays planted. We both said that actually it is too much power. But of course you can drive more sedated but then why spend £52k to drive in "comfort" mode. Interior was lovely, all suede / Alcantara with red stitching. Some carbon fibre bits. Seats were firm. Even with the adjustment and lumbar I found the side bolsters to be a bit lacking, and no adjustment / inflation option. OK if you are a fatty lol but other people may find you do slide slightly from left to right. Getting back in the M240 I noticed straight away. I do like to be slightly "pinched" (sure there is a joke there somewhere). But, not a deal breaker, and certainly not the worst seats where some appear to have zero side bolster support and you slide around just by taking a small corner lol. The larger wheels didn't seem to impact ride quality or noise.
I think for us, the Pulse would be the model to look at. You're getting nearly all the performance of a Brabus, but the softer interior and still with the tech. Dual OLED screens, the Heat Pump, All Wheel Drive, etc. Still haven't figured out how to open the boot from outside.
They drove very well and using the wand for gear selection took me back to my AMG A35 days. Lack of start/stop button was weird but you'd soon get used to just jumping in, flicking down to "D" and away you go. Range at about 95% charge was reporting (I can't remember exactly), I think ~310 miles on the Brabus and the Pro was ~280 miles.
Really couldn't fault either of the cars at all, Pro or Brabus. The dealership were great, let us take them both out for as long as we wanted, no pressure or hassle.
