2024-03-22 14:33:20
Price: NIS 230,000
Competitors: Volvo EX30, Zikr X, Tesla Model Y, Abarth 500e
We liked: performance, interior design, value for money
We liked less: comfort in the city, multimedia screen, range
Score: 8/10
Somewhere in Herzliya at a distance of about a kilometer as the crow flies, there are three cars. One in the Mercedes showroom, the second in the Volvo showroom and the third in the Zicker showroom. On the face of it, it’s hard to think of luxury cars more different than the Smart #1, the EX30 and the Zikr X, but in reality all three sit on a platform that comes from their owner, the Chinese Geely.
In a world where platforms take over every good part, in a world where mechanics are slowly being replaced by digitalization, the charm of this or that car is fading. In their place, generic products are offered that offer the consumer a different experience mainly in design and marketing.
And this is exactly where Smart tries to stand out. True, it is no longer a playful city car (for more, read the test on the standard Smart 1) but it is looking for its uniqueness. This uniqueness comes from the Bravos improvement workshop, which for many years has been taking Mercedes vehicles and turning them into performance machines. Unlike its platform sisters, the Smart can boast a name that attracts attention but also raises the bar of expectations. Volvo or Zikr speed does not indicate exceptional dynamic capabilities. The Bravo workshop, on the other hand, definitely does.
If you were looking for a real advantage in Mercedes’ partial ownership of Smart as opposed to the Chinese Geely’s full ownership of the other two brands that benefit from the same platform, here are the shock absorbers and suspensions, but not only them. Let’s sort it out.
#Smart #Bravo #road #test #full #opinion