Smart #3 review: The latest electric Smart car which has a hidden cheetah on the dash

Apart for the smart name and the links with Mercedes-Benz and some bright design the Smarts are quite different. The ForTwo was a squished two-seater with a petrol engine and later the option of battery electric power.

It went out of production this year, latterly made by Ineos which had bought the Smart factory in eastern France from Mercedes to make the Grenadier 4x4, the antithesis of that Smart and thron off rtrack when its seat maker went bust.

No such mistakes seem to intrude on Chinese vehicle makers like Geely which in a joint venture with Mercedes makes the Smart #3, a roomy four-door liftback, about the size of a Vauxhall Astra.

It comes to life when it detects the key — actually a 6mm disc the shape of a gents’ pocket watch. Step in and it’s ready to go, once you have interpreted the bizarre information display which looks like a child’s-eye world globe with one or two live tabs but mainly lots of inert fancy graphics.

To add to the mystique a cheetah sits in the left screen corner, occasionally lying down, without any apparent relevance to the way you are driving. Distracting maybe?

Adjusting the climate control shows it sitting stage-right in a white chair in the airflow vectors. Changing the ambient lighting sees it hanging under a parasail.

The relevance is puzzling. I chose Cuba Fresh, which added a vogue amber glow to the more vivid neo-neon banding which spreads into the tweeter speakers on the screen pillars. After dark their glare may annoy you.

Distractions continue. The info screen is invaded by pop-ups, such as the tyre pressure display. I was yet to move, recalling the advice of Dr Michael Mosley to learn just one thing to expand the brain.

The handbook was of scant use, with not even a picture of the display and no mention of the cheetah. On-line reviewers seemed just as baffled.

I got there and actually liked the car a lot, though aware that it and other imports from China were exposing the higher costs charged by western carmakers.

There are no apparent shortcuts in quality. Mercedes-Benz would be careless to sign-off anything less. The slippery body is exciting and practical.

There is a large luggage area, the floor a minimum of 39 inches wide by 33 inches deep, easily expanded to 56 inches when the rear seats are folded away. There is more cargo space under the floor and in a lidded compartment under the bonnet.

The front seats have integral head rests with openings. The cabin per se has numerous placings for things plus a large tray under the console pier. Sliding covers do so sweetly.

The leather-like upholstery mostly in dark umber with yellow stitching is decorated with four metal studs in the bases and backrests. Moving swiftly on….

Smart #3 pricing starts at £32,950 for the Pro, £36,950 for the longer-range Pro+, £39,950 for the Premium - all with 268bhp and rear-wheel-drive — and £45,450 for the 422bhp four-wheel-drive Brabus which is faster than I need. It reaches 62mph under four seconds.

A left-field pricing check shows that the much smaller (Fiat) Abarth 600e with 237bhp of electric power will cost you £36,975 and the 276bhp Scorpionissima a stinging £41,975.

Ergo, the plusher Smart shows the pricing advantage achieved by China’s factories. It is a joint project between Germany’s Mercedes-Benz and Geely. It is made by Geely in Xi’an, near the border with Mongolia in Western China.

The same factory produces the slightly smaller and marginally cheaper Smart #1 hatchback and soon the larger Smart #5 SUV. Geely also makes the electric EX30 for Volvo, which it owns, and uses the same platform as the smaller Smarts.

My notebook is crammed with its good or quirky things. In random order: “usually low noise from the Dunlop tyres and good ride comfort on the 19-inch disc wheels.”

Its prolific spoken notifications about speed cameras and red light cameras and upcoming schools, road intersections, traffic merging and even when entering a new county were helpful. On some sections it was wrong about speed limits.

“This morning it told me a mandatory 60 zone on the M62 was ending when in fact it was beginning and once in it was telling me I could travel at 70.”

The navigation worked. It has a rear screen wiper, full length clear roof; a one touch button for speed control, distance and lane guidance. There is a 360 camera The voice commander failed to get the requested radio station. The battery was quick to recharge.

Being unable to charge at home makes electric cars up to 10 times more costly per mile.

Adding 40 per cent of range acquired 109 extra miles. It took 26 minutes on a 150kw fast charger and cost £22 (78.8p kWh). To spend that on petrol (at £1.35 a litre) gives the equivalent of 29 miles a gallon. On an EV home tariff a kWh can cost as little as 8p — a ten-fold saving or 290 miles a gallon.

Smart #3 Premium: £ £39,950; Battery 66 kWh NCM; 268bhp; Torque 253 lb/ft; Transmission one speed; Top speed 112mph; 0-62mph 5.8 seconds; Economy on test four miles per kWh; Claimed range 283 miles; Weight 1810kg, 1600kg towing; CO 2 zero; Length 173 inches/4.4m; uk.smart.com