Brand's largest model yet lands in three flavours, with a Brabus halo and a sub-four second party trick.

SMART has gone large.

The #5, a medium-to-large electric SUV that sits well above anything the rebooted brand has fielded here so far, is in dealerships now — and it arrives wanting to be taken seriously as a premium proposition rather than the city-runabout the badge once implied.

Three variants make the trip. Entry is the rear-drive PRO+ at $79,990 plus on-roads, the family-minded Premium at $89,990, and the performance flagship — the inevitably-named Brabus (above) — topping the tree at $99,990.

The #5 joins the smaller #1 and #3 in a dealer network that has been quietly expanding, with sites now in Auckland (Albany and Botany), Hamilton, Tauranga and Christchurch.

Local distribution sits with Armstrong’s, with Smart under general manager Arek Zywot, who describes the newcomer model as an important next step for the brand here.

"Customers are increasingly seeking premium electric SUVs that combine practicality, luxury, performance and advanced technology," Zywot says, framing the #5 as a single answer to all four — whether the buyer wants a long-legged family hauler or a flagship with attitude.

The numbers do read well. Every #5 runs a 100kWh LFP battery, and smart cites WLTP range of up to 540km for the PRO+, rising to 590km for the Premium. As ever, those are Europe market WLTP optimals.

Where the #5 looks genuinely current is its electrical architecture. The car runs an 800-volt system, which Smart says allows a 10–80 percent DC top-up in as little as 18 minutes. With the right kind of charger. Specifically, something larger than the 350kW maximum devices here.

Even so, the underlying hardware is the right kind, and vehicle-to-load capability adds a useful party trick for anyone who wants to run a campsite or a power tool off the battery.

The PRO+ is hardly a poverty model. Standard kit includes a panoramic glass roof with powered blind, wireless phone charging, automated and remote parking, over-the-air updates, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and adaptive cruise with stop-and-go.

It also carries the safety story that Smart is leaning on hardest: a five-star Euro NCAP rating that the maker says earned it the title of Euro NCAP's Safest Large SUV of 2025. That rating applies across the range.

Step up to the Premium and the cabin gets ambitious — dual 13-inch OLED screens, a head-up display, and a 20-speaker Sennheiser system with Dolby Atmos. There's smart Pilot Assist, a 360-degree camera and a dozen parking sensors, and, more usefully for the towing crowd, a 1600kg braked capacity that broadens the appeal beyond the school run.

Dual motors, all-wheel drive and up to 475kW give the Brabus a 0–100kmh claim of 3.8 seconds.

Zywot's pitch is that premium EV ownership can be "both exciting and practical," and on paper the BRABUS makes the case: the performance is there, but so is the same tech and everyday usability as the rest of the family.

The #5 also arrives with a shelf of international silverware, including Family Electric SUV of the Year at the 2026 What Car? awards and a brace of Red Dot design nods.