Smart 1 vs Cupra Formentor

What's the difference?

Another day, another China-backed EV brand launches in Australia. This one, though, should be at least be vaguely familiar, with Smart having previously operated in Australia about 15 years ago, back when it was a Mercedes-Benz sub-brand rocking the tiny and clever Smart ForTwo and ForFour.

Mercedes is still involved, though now as a 50/50 joint venture partner with Chinese giant Geely, though the new Smart family is not being delivered by either company, and are actually being distributed by Mercedes’ biggest global dealer group, LSH Auto.

All of which is a load of information you don’t really need. But you should know, as a result of all that, the brand is promising a fleet of semi-premium EVs designed in Germany and built in China, with the Smart #1 the first to touch down in Australia.

Oh, and they pronounce the “hashtag” part of the model name, but I just can’t see that strategy becoming part of the Australian lexicon.

Anyway, part-Chinese, part-German and all electric. So should the #1 be on your EV shopping list?

The Cupra Formentor is the most popular model in the Cupra stable and now the VZe Tribe Edition has joined the ranks.

Sitting one rung below the top petrol grade, the Tribe Edition combines the VZe plug-in hybrid powertrain with some great design upgrades, as well as features usually reserved for the top model.

Is this the most appealing Formentor model yet? We've spent a week with it to find out.