Smart’s latest all-electric rival to the VW ID3: RAY MASSEY rides shotgun in a near production-ready prototype of the Smart #1 crossover
I’ve just been riding shotgun as a passenger on UK roads in a near production-ready prototype version of the brand new Smart #1 crossover.
And impressive it’s, too. Swift, airy, comfortable, with an upmarket interior, and it feels greater on the within than I expected.
Stylish: The brand new Smart #1 crossover – Swift, airy, comfortable, with an upmarket interior,
It’s perfectly suited to zipping around town, cruising on the motorway or navigating twisting country lanes.
On sale from the tip of the yr from about £32,000, it should rival the Hyundai Kona EV and Volkswagen’s ID.3, but there are still some teething issues on wind noise across the windscreen seals to fettle.
It is a three way partnership between Mercedes-Benz and China’s Geely, powered by a 200 kW (272 PS) motor with a top speed of 112 mph. Weighing just 1,820kg, the low-slung battery helps maintain stability.
The claimed range is as much as 273 miles, and it guarantees AC charging as much as 80 per cent in three hours, and lower than half-hour with a DC super-fast charger.
LEVC battery-powered cabs in Platinum Pageant
Electric taxi maker LEVC has created three battery-powered platinum TX London cabs to participate within the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant tomorrow.
The taxis will chauffeur VIPs to their seats ahead of the beginning of the show.
Platinum power: The taxis will chauffeur VIPs to their seats ahead of the beginning of the show
The London Electric Vehicle Company, which makes electric taxis and vans in Coventry, said: ‘LEVC is proud to be a part of the Pageant because the makers of the enduring black cab.’
The firm recently celebrated 7,000 global sales of the electrical TX taxis since its launch in 2018.
They now make up greater than a 3rd of London black cabs.
There’s a fitting link to the Royal Family — the late Duke of Edinburgh used a black cab to drive incognito through London.
The firm is owned by Chinese motor giant Geely which since 2014 has invested £500million into its UK plant.
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