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?
Toyota Australia has made a raft of changes to the current LandCruiser 300 Series line-up as part of the latest round of upgrades, but even though the third-from-top Sahara gets a $1119 price rise, it doesn’t receive any updates.
In an increasingly competitive 4WD wagon market – where some car-makers are offering more standard features and tech at lower prices – has the venerable LandCruiser lost its lustre?
Read on.
It’s easy to get lost in marketing hype, but — based on first impressions — the Smart #1 does what it says on the tin. This is a Chinese-built SUV that feels more premium than most, and one which is priced to tempt you from one of the German big three. The warranty isn’t good enough, though, and the multimedia screen can be infuriating, but it drives very nicely, especially on suburban roads.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
The Sahara version of the LandCruiser 300 is an impressive large 4WD wagon: refined and comfortable on-road, and it adequately retains that renowned ’Cruiser capability off-road.
It's supremely comfortable seven-seater and has heaps of potential as a touring vehicle, but while there's plenty to like about the Sahara spec, the updated seven-seat GXL (up $2029, to $110,820 excluding on-road costs) offers a more appealing compromise between price and features, especially now that it has a cool box in the centre console, four-zone climate control (previously two), and eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat (with lumbar support), among other additions.
There is an impossibility pretty model in Smart’s new line-up, but the #1 ain’t it. While the #3 — which has also just launched — is a sleek-looking, coupe-style SUV, the #1 is a top-heavy small SUV that doesn’t shine from every angle.
Front-on, or from a front three-quarter angle, the #1 definitely works, with the brand setting out to remove unnecessary fussiness from the design, leaving smooth and rounded bodywork in its place.
There are no body creases or weird angles here, instead it’s a smooth, fluid-like design that flows from the front LED lights bar to the smooth shoulder lines to the matching light treatment at the rear.
But it’s at the rear where, for mine, the design begins to fall over. From that angle, the #1 looks skinny and top-heavy, especially when wearing the red hat of the Brabus model.
Still, eye of the beholder and all that.
Inside, though, the #1 kicks all sorts of goals, presenting as a properly premium-feeling EV space that’s swimming with technology and lovely cabin materials.
I particularly love the letterbox-style screen that replaces the traditional dashboard. It’s not distracting or overbearing like some twin-screen set-ups, but clearly shows you the key driving stuff you need when you’re on the road.
Side note, though, the massive central screen is super clear and lightning fast, but as usual you need to spend some (a lot) of time with it to figure out where all the functions are hiding, with most of the car’s key controls hidden within its labyrinth.
And side note two, the background graphics look like they were designed by a cordial-addled child, it is busy, cartoonish and out of keeping with the calm, grown-up nature of the #1’s cabin.
The LandCruiser 300 Series in Sahara spec strikes a nice balance between practicality and prestige.
The Sahara's exterior has a distinctive LandCruiser appearance: chunky but modern-ish and ready to be fitted with Toyota genuine accessories or aftermarket gear.
The Sahara is 4980mm long (with a 2850mm wheelbase), 1980mm wide and 1955mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 2620kg.
The Sahara’s exterior has that distinctive LandCruiser appearance, but modernised.
Otherwise, there are chrome exterior mirrors and door handles, and dynamic indicators front and rear that add to its overall quietly classy appearance.
The Silver Pearl premium paint on our test vehicle costs $675. Other paint choices include Glacier White, Ebony, Crystal Pearl, Graphite, Merlot Red, Eclipse Black and Dusty Bronze.
The Smart #1 measures just under 4.3m long, just over 1.8m in width and around 1.6m in height, and it rides on a 2.75m wheelbase. And the perk of the Smart’s EV powertrain, the brand says, is Mercedes-Benz E-Class levels of space in the back seat, despite the #1’s diminutive footprint.
It’s a big claim, and while I didn’t break out the tape measure I can say the backseat feels plenty generous, and because the rear pew slides forwards or backwards by 15cm, you can choose whether you want more legroom or more luggage space.
Speaking of which, pop the auto-opening boot (by hitting the ‘a’ in the ‘Smart’ lettering, which I couldn’t figure out without help) and you’ll find 323 litres of space with the back seat as far back as it goes, growing to 411 litres with it pushed all the way forward. There’s also a 15-litre frunk.
Smart says the #1 weighs 1800kg, adding it will tow 1600kg — but I’m sure you can imagine the impact a heavy load will have on your driving range.
There's a sense of familiarity in the 300’s cabin – it's a functional yet premium space – and it's an easy cabin in which to become instantly comfortable.
The driver gets a heated and power-adjustable steering wheel, and ventilated, heated and power-adjustable seat (with power lumbar adjustment), while the front passenger gets a ventilated, heated and power-adjustable seat.
All seats are leather-accented, comfortable and there are soft-touch surfaces throughout the interior.
The Sahara's 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen is a main feature in the cabin and it's easy to use, now with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there's a wireless charging pad near the shifter. There are USB-A and USB-C charging points upfront.
The centre console houses a cool box and its lid can be opened from either side, so driver or passenger can access whatever is inside.
And – will wonders never cease? – the Sahara has a powered sunroof (aka moonroof).
There are the usual storage spaces, cupholders, receptacles in the doors for bottles, and myriad other spaces for the stuff that you carry every day.
Second-row seats are in a 40/20/40 split-folding configuration, and the third row is a power-folding arrangement that stows away forwards and flat.
The Sahara's cargo space, when all seven seats are in use, is a listed 175 litres (VDA) behind the third row, increasing to 1004 litres when the second and third row are stowed away.
The rear cargo area has a 220V/100W inverter and four tie-down points.
The #1 is available in three trim levels — the Pro+, Premium and Brabus — and pricing (before on-road costs) climbs from $54,900 to $58,900 and $67,900.
Brabus, by the way, was a lesser-known Mercedes-Benz tuning arm, a little like AMG, which should give you some idea of what to expect from the performance-badged models.
Anyway, that pricing is good enough to undercut key rivals, including the Volvo EX30 (from $59,990) and BMW iX1 ($78,900), and it’s drastically less than Mercedes-Benz's EQA 250 ($84,900), all before on-road costs.
Also firmly in the Smart’s favour is that there isn’t a cheap-feeling model among them, with even the Pro+ feeling properly well-equipped and premium.
Entry-level cars score 19-inch alloys, a panoramic roof, LED lighting, a powered tailgate and a 12.8-inch central screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a 9.2-inch digital dashboard. There’s wireless device charging and a decent stereo, too.
The Premium then adds matrix LED headlights, leather trim, a huge head-up display and a better Beats stereo, while the Brabus scores a unique interior and exterior treatment, better suspension and a launch control function.
The seven-seat LandCruiser 300 Series Sahara has an RRP of $139,310 (excluding on-road costs), up from $138,191.
Our test vehicle had a few extras onboard, though, including optional paint (Silver Pearl for $675), an EBC module, (estimated $235 fitted), an on-road towing kit (estimated $285 fitted), a 12-pin trailer wiring kit (estimated $525 fitted), brake controller wiring kit (estimated $625 fitted), giving it a total of $141,655.
Otherwise, the features onboard a standard Sahara include a 12.3-inch touchscreen (with sat-nav, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a wireless phone charger, four-zone climate control, leather-accented trim, a head-up display, a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated power-adjustable front seats (with three-position driver's seat memory), heated second-row seats (outboard), and power-folding third-row seats.
There is also cooled centre console storage, a 14-speaker JBL premium audio system and a dual-screen rear entertainment system.
You do get a lot for your cash but, geez, with this price tag, you'd be silly not to expect to.
There are two drivetrains on offer here - one shared across the Pro+ and Premium, and another delivering the prodigious power of the #1 Brabus.
The first shared option is a single rear motor that delivers 200kW and 343Nm, which is enough to knock off the sprint to 100km/h in 6.7 seconds. Top speed for all models is listed as 180km/h.
The Brabus, though, adds a motor at the front axle, giving it AWD, which ups the outputs to a punchy 315kW and 543Nm, dropping the sprint to 100km/h to a very fast-feeling 3.9 seconds.
It’s a single-speed EV transmission in each, which means smooth, constant power delivery with no traditional ‘steps’, and all get 'Eco', 'Normal' and 'Sport' drive modes, though the only thing they impact is the accelerator response.
You can add weight to the steering, but that’s a separate item accessed elsewhere in the screen’s sub-menus.
The Sahara has the 300 line-up’s 3.3-litre V6 twin-turbo diesel engine, producing 227kW at 4000rpm and 700Nm from 1600 to 2600rpm.
It has a 10-speed automatic transmission, high- and low-range 4WD, as well as a centre diff lock.
What it also has is a handy array of 4WD-focussed driver-assist tech onboard, which includes crawl control, downhill assist, hill-start assist, multi-terrain select, multi-terrain monitor with panoramic view, and active traction control (A-TRC).
It also has what’s called turn assist which, when activated through crawl control, helps to reduce the 300’s turning radius by braking the inside rear wheel – and while it initially seems like a bit of a novelty, this feature may come in very handy if you have to work your way through especially narrow and twisty bush tracks.
All Smart #1 models share the same 66kWh battery, but how far you can travel between charges comes down to the trim you choose, with the WLTP driving range either 400km, 420km or 440km. The Brabus, of course, covers the least ground between charges, owing to its dual-motor set-up and amped up power outputs.
When it comes time to plug in, all models are equipped with 150kW DC fast-charging capability, and when plugged into said charger, you can expect to go from zero to 80 per cent charged in less than 30 minutes.
There’s also 22kW AC charging on board in the Premium and Brabus models, which means you can use three-phase power, but plugged into a regular 7.4kWh home wallbox should see you go from zero to 80 per cent charged in 7.5 hours, which means overnight charging should work a treat.
Official fuel consumption is listed as 8.9L/100km on the combined cycle.
I recorded 12.4L/100km on this test, which is reasonable considering I did a solid half-day of low-range four-wheel driving, book-ended by 100km of highway driving.
The Sahara has an 80-litre main fuel tank and a 30L sub-tank (totalling 110-litre fuel capacity) so, going by my on-test fuel-use figure (12.4L/100km), you could expect a driving range from a full 110 litres of almost 890km.
The #1 and its sister car, the #3, might share powertrains and batteries, but they are designed to drive very differently. The #3 is the sporty one (always code for a firmer ride), while the #1 is supposed to be softer, more comfortable and more city-friendly.
That’s the theory, at least. In practice, I have no idea. My time behind the wheel of the #1 was limited to its most fire-breathing model — the Brabus, which also scores its own suspension components — and soft is not a word that comes to mind once you’re strapped in behind its bright red seatbelt.
It begins with those bonkers power outputs, 315kW and 543Nm, which deliver genuine push-you-back-in-your-seat acceleration every time you stand on the go pedal.
Better still (well, I think so, at least), is that activating its sportiest 'Brabus' mode also unlocks a deep Abarth-style burbling soundtrack that rises and falls with your inputs.
But like most performance EVs, you can also dial the drive experience right back. In its softer drive modes the #1 Brabus feels calm and comfortable and not overly reactive, which makes sense, given the only thing the Brabus mode changes is accelerator sensitivity.
The result, though, is a car that you can tootle around in silently when you want to but hides a nuclear weapon under your right foot when you want to unleash that part of its personality.
Downsides? It’s got plenty of point-and-shoot power, but in the few corners we managed to find in it, it didn’t quite live up to the all-out-performance badge. There’s a bit too much movement in the body — a symptom of its near-2.0-tonne weight — and it doesn’t feel entirely engaging.
A couple of important caveats, though. We didn’t get long behind the wheel of the #1, and the dull-as-dishwater prescribed drive program revealed little about its true performance potential. So, we’ll have to wait until the model is properly through the CarsGuide garage to give you a deeper dive on this one.
The Sahara is quiet and well-behaved on-road.
Steering is light and responsive and, with a 11.8m turning circle, this big 4WD feels nimble in the bush, even on tight tracks or pinched approaches to hills or creek crossings.
The V6 offers up plenty of power and torque, and that’s smoothly managed through the 10-speed auto.
Ride and handling are well sorted but, this being a LandCruiser, it’s soft and comfortable, rather than dynamic.
Its suspension – double wishbone, independent at the front and live axle and multi-links at the rear, with coils all-around – manages to soak up most imperfections in the road surface.
The 300 Series' brakes – ventilated discs all-around – brought the big Cruiser to a controlled stop during two emergency-braking scenarios.
The Sahara does miss out on some of the handy 4WD gear featured in the two higher grades (Sahara ZX and GR Sport), namely Toyota's sway-bar-disconnect equivalent electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (included onboard the GR Sport), front and rear differential locks (GR Sport), adaptive variable suspension (Sahara ZX and GR Sport) and a rear torque-sensing limited-slip differential (ZX).
But ultimately, unless you're really going all-out to break your Cruiser while 4WDing, then the Sahara has enough old-school and new mechanicals and driver-assist aids to get you through the majority of off-road challenges.
Put it this way: we managed all obstacles at our testing ground without any strife.
The V6 produces more than enough power and more torque – up 27kW and 50Nm over the V8 – and that power and torque is consistently delivered across a broad rev range.
The 10-speed auto is a clever match for this engine, making for a smooth pairing, never floundering through ratios in an attempt to find the sweet spot; it’s always pretty close to bang-on.
High- and low-range gearing are solid in the 300 Series, and the Cruiser has a 50:50 centre diff lock.
There’s also a comprehensive suite of driver-assist tech onboard aimed at making your off-roading escapades easier and safer.
The traction control system has been well calibrated and is quite seamless in its application.
The 300's multi-terrain select system includes driving modes such as Sand, Mud and Rock to suit the terrain you're on. These modes adjust various vehicle systems – including throttle control, engine output, and transmission response – to give you the best chance possible of tackling every off-road obstacle safely and in a controlled fashion.
Off-road measurements and angles are decent: ground clearance is 235mm, wading depth is 700mm, and approach, ramp-over and departure angles are 32, 21, and 25 degrees, respectively.
As well as its dialled-in off-road traction control and all of those driving modes, it has handy tech such as crawl control, which works like a low-speed cruise control.
Its tyres are the only real flaw in the 300 Series’ off-road set-up, as its standard Bridgestone Dueler all-terrains (265/65R18) are better suited to dry-track, light-duty 4WDing in good weather than taking on any hardcore 4WDing.
In terms of towing capacity, the 300 Series can legally tow a 750kg unbraked trailer, and the industry-standard of 3500kg braked for large 4WD wagons.
Full credit to Smart on this one, because the #1 comes with a pretty stacked active (crash avoidance) safety tech list, and though our test drive was far from exhaustive, only the speed limit warning (which you can switch off) felt overly intrusive, with the rest just sort of humming away in the background.
The full package includes things like adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, traffic-sign recognition and the aforementioned speed limit warning. There’s also AEB, along with seven airbags, all of which has earned the #1 a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.
All of the 300 Series line-up, except the GR Sport, have the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in January 2022.
Safety gear includes 10 airbags, two ISOFIX anchor points, as well as AEB with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection, active cruise control (all-speed), Lane Departure Alert (with brake to steer), Road Sign Assist (speed signs only), Trailer Sway Control and more.
Off-road driver-assist tech includes crawl control, downhill assist, hill-start assist, multi-terrain select, multi-terrain monitor with panoramic view, active traction control and that aforementioned turn assist.
Warranty is a definite soft spot, with LSH Auto offering five years or 150,000km, whichever comes first. For reference, other Chinese newcomers include Chery (seven years) BYD (six years) and GWM (seven years), while MG has just shifted to a 10-year warranty.
Still, service intervals are 12 months/20,000km, and you should be able to take your Smart to any LSH Auto Mercedes dealership (in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney) or either of the Smart dealerships in Sydney or Brisbane.
Service cost for the first four years averages $611 per workshop visit for the Pro+ and Premium (worth noting the fourth service is a big one) and $780 for the Brabus. Not particularly small numbers.
The LandCruiser 300 Sahara is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is par for the course in the mainstream market. Owners may extend the engine and driveline warranty to seven years by adhering to service schedules.
Service intervals are scheduled for every six months or 10,000km, whichever comes first. Those timings are shorter than the more usual 12 months/15,000km.
Capped-price servicing applies to the first 10 services at a cost of $420 each (correct at time of writing).