The Mercedes-Benz, Smart car sub-brand is no longer to be considered in the micro car market, as its new Smart #1 and Smart #3 have grown into a bigger segment of the market. The micro cars have gone and in their place is a range of bigger while still compact electric cars that use battery-only technology on a chassis structure that has a Chinese origin.

The look and feel of the new Smart #1 has an obvious Chinese car design influence. There are lots of sensors, plenty of touch screen controls and not so many tactile buttons to work with. The large central screen includes images of a dozing cartoon character fox, if there weren’t enough distractions already. And all the time, the car is warning you, the driver, to pay more attention.

Those might be the first thoughts that coloured my initial impressions of the Smart #1, but there is a lot more substance to the car. The look is of a small SUV in terms of styling, with a high roof line that gives good headroom and a feeling of airiness within the car. Leather seats are standard.

The car’s design is based on the Chinese-owned Geely Motor’s EV-specific SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) platform. The 2750mm wheelbase is long for a small car and it allows generous space on the inside, as well as reasonable boot space, even with the battery tucked under the rear end.

The Smart #1 design includes a floating halo glass roof, concealed door handles that emerge when you approach the car and 19-inch alloy wheels that give the car a high feeling. Smart claims that despite the upright look of the car, the drag coefficient is just 0.29 Cd, which is a measure of wind flow and contributes to good economy. This means that the car can easily achieve its rated acceleration of 6.7 seconds in a 0-100km/hr race. It’s impressively fast, in other words.

The Smart #1 is powered by a modest-looking 62kWh battery pack, that can deliver up to a 440km range on a full charge. It’s a powerful little unit that drives the rear wheels with 272hp and 384Nm of torque. And I found that it does what it says on the tin in terms of real driving range.

The charging process is efficient also, home charging is faster than some of the others at 7.5 hours from near 0% charge, to 30 minutes on the more expensive motorway stop fast chargers which cost me just €14.93 at an Ionity fast charger to bring the car from 40% charge to near 100% as I motored along the M11 near Gorey. The car has an impressive ability to fast charge and allow you back on the road quickly.

This car is so new it is difficult to establish its running cost, where today’s new cars carry a high depreciation cost, irrespective of whether they are petrol, diesel or battery powered. With a practical ownership and a sensible charging management approach, and links to farmhouse solar panels, I believe charging and running costs can be minimal.

At a 400km plus range, where you use the cruise control on larger roads and stay within a 100km/hr speed limit, this level of performance is easily achievable. And driving is easy, with a solid feel and balance to the car, that makes it pleasant and confident to handle on smaller rural roads where it takes to bumps reasonably well.

It is interesting that the car has an impressive 1.6t towing ability, but I’m not too sure how that would impact on the battery range, with a couple of weanlings ensconced behind. And I’m fairly sure that they will charge plenty for the towbar option.

There’s a lot of technology in this car, almost all of which is accessed through the 12.8-inch high-definition central control screen. Mirrors are adjusted though touchscreen controls here, as is the rear child locking system; both are easy to do when you know how.

You need to get used to the keyless operation of the car. The key fob is not required to open the doors, and there is no button to start the car, just hit the Mercedes-Benz style shift stalk on the righthand side of the steering wheel and go. There is no button to stop the car’s non-existent ignition either, so you just leave the car and zap the fob to close lock the frameless doors, and it quickly goes to sleep.

So, life with a Smart #1 battery electric takes a little getting used to. Your brain needs to understand where the vital controls are. That takes time, because newer battery electric cars such as the Smart #1, and the somewhat related and slightly more expensive Volvo EX30, also with a Geely Motors Chinese heritage, need a slightly new approach to car ownership and operation.

The Smart #1, with its Mercedes-Benz branding background, is not going to be a cheap car to buy, despite its modest size. Entry prices start at €37,479, or £35,950 in Northern Ireland for the Pro version, with a more modest 310km range, while it’s all too easy to jump up the specification table for more range and features, adding almost €10,000 to the price.

Spec: Smart #1