The all-new, all-electric Smart #1 was tested by Euro NCAP, achieving some pretty encouraging safety ratings.
Let's recall that the Smart #1, unveiled in April, has nothing in common with other Smart models (fortwo and forfour), as it's a fruit of the new joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely Automobile. With Mercedes-Benz design and Geely's engineering and production (in China instead of in Europe), the brand is expected to become profitable and most likely much bigger in terms of sales volume.
The car is based on Geely's Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform, first used in Geely's Zeekr (which also heads Europe).
The Smart #1 received from Euro NCAP a full five-star safety rating, but that's something normal when a new model enters the market. An interesting thing is that this not a very big car, yet it noted a pretty high Adult Occupant protection of 96%.
For reference, the new Tesla Model S just got 94% result, while the Tesla Model Y was at 97%. 96% is a noticeably better result than Nissan Ariya's 86% or Toyota bZ4X's 88%.
Child Occupant protection is also pretty good at 89%. Vulnerable Road Users protection is estimated at 71%. In terms of Safety Assist, 88% indicates that Geely has done its homework well in basically are areas.
Considering a 66 kWh battery for a range of 260-273 miles (420-440 km) WLTP, 200 kW rear-wheel drive powertrain, good charging specs (22 kW AC and up to 150 kW DC), as well as over-the-air (OTA) software updates, this appears to be the best electric Smart ever.
Gallery: 2022 Smart #1 Euro NCAP Crash Tests
2022 Smart #1 Euro NCAP test results:
- Adult Occupant protection - 96 percent
- Child Occupant protection - 89 percent
- Vulnerable Road Users protection - 71 percent
- Safety Assist - 88 percent
See all details here.
Crash tests include:
- Frontal impact test - 50% of the width of the car is striking an oncoming deformable barrier (both traveling at 50 km/h/31 mph)
- Frontal impact test - the car impacts a rigid full-width barrier at 50 km/h (31 mph)
- Side impact test - a mobile deformable barrier impacts the driver's door at 60 km/h (37.3 mph)
- Pole test - the tested car is propelled sideways into a rigid pole at 32 km/h (20 mph)
