KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — The Smart #1 is expected to launch in Malaysia in Q4 2023 and the first batch of these fully electric SUVs are said to be arriving by the end of this year. Smart Malaysia (managed by Pro-Net) has recently offered an exclusive test drive and pre-booking for prospective customers who have registered their interest online.

Smart Malaysia begins Smart #1 test drive and pre-booking

The Smart #1 that’s coming to Malaysia will come in two variants — Premium and Barbus. The Premium Smart #1 gets a single RWD motor pushing 200kW (268hp) and 343Nm of torque, which can do 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds. It gets a 66kWh battery which provides a rated range of up to 440km on a single charge based on the WLTP cycle.

If you’re looking for more performance, the Smart #1 Brabus version gets an additional electric motor in the front. With its twin-motor AWD setup, the Brabus version delivers an insane 315kW (422hp) and 543Nm of torque. It does the century sprint in just 3.9 seconds but the rated range suffers slightly with up to 400km according to the WLTP cycle.

Smart Malaysia has recently invited interested customers for an exclusive preview and they provided both Premium and Brabus versions for test drive. Customers were also invited to secure their Smart #1 by placing a RM1,000 fully refundable booking fee. At the moment, they have not revealed the pricing details just yet and we reckon that the official Malaysian launch is happening around November. We are told that the first batch of customers who place their bookings will be able to receive their EVs by the end of this year.

As a comparison, the highly anticipated Tesla Model Y was already open for booking since last month. However, the RM1,000 booking fee is non-refundable and stocks for the Model Y are only expected to arrive in early 2024.

Smart #1 Brabus colour options in Malaysia

The Smart #1 Brabus comes in seven colour options which has different two-tone colour combination. The Digital White and Laser Red come only with the Eclipse Black roof, while the Meta Black only comes with a Radiant Red roof. Meanwhile, the Atom Grey (Matte) and Cyber Silver come with either Eclipse Black or Radiant Red roof.

In the interior, the Smart #1 Brabus gets a black and dark silver interior with sporty red accents which include the seat belts. The seats and the steering feature a combination of leather and Alcantara materials.

Smart #1 Premium colour options in Malaysia

If you’re looking for the "standard” Smart #1 Premium, you have a total of seven colour options — Laser Red, Digital White, Quantum Blue, Lumen Yellow, Cyber Silver, Future Green and Atom Grey-Matte. All versions come with a black roof.

Whichever colour you pick, you get a Black and White interior as shown above. Besides the colour combinations and the extra motor, both Smart #1 variants are identical when it comes to storage, safety tech and features. The Smart #1 is packed to the brim with safety features including autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and automatic lane change assist.

The Smart #1 gets an illuminated front grille and side logos, a panoramic glass roof with an electronically controlled sun blind, dynamic LED taillight and frameless doors. Both versions also get a 12.8″ floating touch-screen display, a 9.2″ LCD instrument cluster as well as a 10″ full-colour Head-Up Display. It also gets a 13-speaker Beats Audio System that has a sub-woofer in the boot. The Smart #1 also gets front-ventilated seats, Vehicle-to-Load (V2L), a chiller in the armrest storage and support for faster 22kW AC charging.