I always thought Smart was the friendly face of Mercedes-Benz.
Sure, the original dinky little City Coupé two-seater was a better idea in principle than I felt it was in reality, but I loved the idea of it, the cleverness of it.
If we all drove sub-tonne Smarts rather than 2.5-tonne SUVs, the world would have thanked us for it. And we would have had more fun along the way.
Above all, though, I liked the Smart’s friendly vibe. Where other Mercedes were austere and sensible, the Smart – first conceived as a joint-venture between Mercedes and Swatch, famous for bringing trendy Swiss watches to the masses – was funky and attainable. And even when it started to lose its mojo, it was forward-looking; Smart has been an all-electric brand since 2019.
Now there’s a chance that, even though it’s a compact SUV maker and Mercedes-Geely mash-up, it will remain at the forefront of trends. Only this time, a rather more concerning one…
The Smart #1 can, like nearly all new cars, receive over-the-air software updates. At some point, early customers will find their car’s touchscreen is suddenly able to mirror their phone, thanks to a free download.
Then will come another update, which Smart UK hasn’t yet decided how it will handle.
The #1, see, has a heated steering wheel. At the moment, its functionality hasn’t been turned on. When the time comes, it could just arrive like a surprise present. Or, more worryingly, customers might be asked for pay for it, either permanently, one-off, or as a subscription: you pay it in winter but not in summer.
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Mind you, there are drivers(?) out there who do really need all the help they can get, they pass the driving test and then promptly forget all they were taught!, so, a driving nanny with an annoying voice and sarcastic too could be built in with no way to turn it off!?, would that work?
I think Tesla are one of the worst for it, dont they still charge to have auto pilot turned on every time the car is resold.
Code red, rude bwoy. Sounds good to me, where don't I sign.