What's the difference?
Smart is back.
Not with the classic ForTwo two-seater city car, oddball four-seater ForFour hatch or dinky Roadster targa top. Those were yesterday’s cars.
Today, Smart – as a 50/50 joint-venture between Germany’s Mercedes-Benz (the brand’s originator) and China’s Geely – is all about SUVs. Electric SUVs.
The boxy #1 (pronounced “hashtag-one”) is a small SUV and the sleeker #3 is the coupe-esque performance crossover version. Both are made in China and use Geely technologies.
We take a long, hard look at the range-topping #3 Brabus, the speediest, sexiest and exxiest of the lot. Let’s go.
Do you like swimming against the tide? Do you like to zig when everyone else is zagging? Are you unafraid of making the unpopular choice?
Well, if you align with the above, I have just the car for you.
The Volvo ES90 pushes against most current trends. The luxury sedan used to be the measure of a brand, but not anymore. These days the luxury market is defined by SUVs and sedans have been reduced to an afterthought for many.
But if you’re willing to think outside the SUV-shaped box, there is a lot to like about Volvo’s new luxury offering. Whether it’s a true sedan or not is open to debate, but what it isn’t is an SUV and for those willing to live that counter-culture lifestyle this may be right for you.
The #3 Brabus is very nearly one of the great bargains of 2024, with the sort of style, luxury, features, performance and grip you’d expect from the much-more-expensive GLA AMG 45. It’s that good.
What would make it great is a sunblock for the hot glass roof on a sunny day, Australian road tuning for the infuriating ADAS tech and a revised steering tune that didn’t make it feel inconsistent at times.
See past these, though, and the #3 Brabus exceeds expectations.
We’re glad Smart is back.
More stylish than ever before, as quiet and refined as you'd expect from a luxury car and yet the stand out feature might once again be safety. Despite seemingly every new car being loaded to the gills with safety features, Volvo has managed to demonstrate industry best-practice and leads the way again.
I would encourage engineers from every other car brand to drive the ES90 to learn how to better integrate the modern suite of active safety features like forward collision warning and lane departure warning.
But beyond that, is the ES90 a car worthy of consideration? Well, pretty much everything it does the EX90 does too, so if you prefer an SUV that’s definitely worth consideration. But if you don’t want an SUV, if you prefer a sedan or just love to be different, the ES90 is a very attractive proposition in more ways than one.