Smart packs #5 with space, comfort and efficiency

Biggest model from Chinese-German brand offers longest range among cars of its size and performance

- Christopher Tan

Smart is a joint venture between China's Geely and Germany's Mercedes-Benz. In the new Smart #5 mid-sized crossover the brand's largest model to date - there are signs of the mixed parentage.

Electrical seat adjustment switches are identical to what you see in a Merc. The steering column drive shifter is another Merc mainstay, although several electric vehicles now sport it. The Pro variant reviewed here has heated seats, but no ventilated seats - a quirk also seen in Mercedes and other German cars here.

The #5's Chinese genes are harder to spot at a glance, but they are there. For instance, it is built on a Geely platform shared by other group vehicles such as the Zeekr X, Polestar 4 and Volvo EX30.

The Chinese penchant fanciful electronic door openers is present in the form of push buttons. (Emergency manual override levers are found within the door pockets.) And there is Leo the Lion, an on-screen avatar which accompanies the car's voice command.

The purpose of voice command is to allow the driver to focus on the road. So what is the point of an avatar? Possibly to infuse cuteness, since Smart is known for cute cars.