Smart 1 vs Skoda Enyaq

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?

Something important has shifted.

This is the Skoda Enyaq facelift. Yes, it’s been barely a year since the original finally launched in Australia, after endless delays, in September 2024. And they’ve already gone and changed it.

Yet there’s more going on here than merely updating an ageing mid-sized SUV electric vehicle (EV), because Volkswagen’s Czechian brand is rediscovering its roots. The era of the $40K supermini seems to be passing.

And that’s terrific news for buyers and likely terrifying news for rivals like the BYD Sealion 7, Kia EV5 and Tesla Model Y.

Welcome, then, to the 2026 Enyaq Series II. Does sharper pricing stand for ‘Extra Value’ in this family-focused EV? Let’s find out.