Smart #1 Brabus FULL review (+ MG 4 XPower drag race!!) | What Car?

#WhatCar #Smart1Brabus #MG4XPower #DragRace
The Smart #1 Brabus might look like an innocent electric family SUV but it is in fact a crazy 422bhp £40k straight-line weapon.
What could we possibly test this strange and unique EV against?!
Oh, wait. The MG 4 XPower is actually very similar. So, let battle commence.
Save thousands on your next new car with What Car? at www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals/
New videos are uploaded to What Car? each week. Don't miss a single one. Subscribe now: bit.ly/2Obgxjd
Visit our website at www.whatcar.com/
What Car? is the UK's biggest car-buying brand and has been helping Britain's car buyers make purchasing decisions for more than 40 years. Our tests are widely regarded as the most trusted source of new car advice.
This channel brings you trusted reviews on all the new models on the market, all the latest first drives, reader reviews, and great car-buying advice.
All reviews are available in full online at Whatcar.com - the UK's leading car-buying website, offering trusted reviews and data on every new car. The website also offers advice on car leasing, new car deals and new and used cars for sale.
Follow What Car? here:
LIKE What Car? on Facebook: goo.gl/yv5jF8
FOLLOW What Car? on Twitter: goo.gl/SJzmT8
Check out our full video catalog: bit.ly/2W81iu9
Video chapters:
0:00 Another performance EV!
1:00 What is the Smart #1?
1:37 Performance enhancements
2:22 Exterior styling changes
3:22 More changes?
4:23 Interior makeover
5:14 #1 Brabus vs MG4 XPower
6:58 ROUND 1
7:45 ROUND 2
8:37 ROUND 3
9:16 The results
10:27 #1 Brabus driving impressions
12:51 Is the #1 Brabus worth it? (verdict)

[@ciybersal3499]

Geely vs SAIC

[@renz2.060]

Very happy with my (green) MG4 XPower here. 😊

[@MILKYBAR1969]

Team 🟠 here 😂

[@danielhulmes8880]

Just ordered team blue 😂

[@pppam]

Nice! Can you give as an estimate of real mileage? Are you commuting in town or in highways?

[@MILKYBAR1969]

@@pppam winter about 180 to 190 mostly motorway, could get more with silk slippers on but pit boots it is .... Too tempting when the opportunity comes around.

[@pppam]

@@MILKYBAR1969 thanks, it should be really hard to get hold of yourself 💪 having all this power!!

[@e46teddy]

will take the mg4 because its name is not stupid sounding and it looks better and its cheaper IMHO 🙂

[@The77Game]

I agree on the name and the price but i do think the Smart is a bit better looking. But that name is just so stupid. Had they just not mentioned how it should be said and you could call it "Number 1" i would have been ok with it but i'm not getting a car that has "hashtag" in the name.

[@dadycommunity2784]

deffo think the xpower looks better especially in the wild.

[@ipb1966]

“So what actually happened” © Mat Watson

[@lacetkewc]

Im really considering the #1, its big enough for daily commute and school runs. Im not sure about the rear of the mg. It personal preference but the #1 looks better.

[@reanult457]

Yes, the Barbus just overkill it.

[@tamasszabo3177]

The rear seats are really good, and comfortable in the MG4.

[@dadycommunity2784]

think the MG looks better by far.

[@_Atomic_impact]

2:51 damn panel allignment 😂😂

[@ashb8572]

🤢

[@KevNpton]

So MG put in an extra engine, put better brakes in an improved the suspension. Smart put in and extra engine and adjusted the suspension for the extra weight. One of those seems lazier than the other but costs £7k more. It’s seems they are playing fast and loose with the Brabus badge.

[@marcolforoso4001]

What about brakes of the two?

[@KHANGALE.T]

Interesting and fun drag race

[@tommyolsen8224]

The #1 Brabus is a really impressive car! Big fan

[@neilpepper1957]

The Smart #1 reminds me of the first jelly mould Ford Sierra. Not very easy on the eye whereas the MG4 XPower looks more aggressive and purposeful and Hello £8000 cheaper no contest

[@WatchGingeOfficial]

Company leasing currently puts the brabus £15 a month more than the xpower. I’m not sold on the looks of the brabus but it’s well kitted out inside and feels less budget. Tough choice

[@dadycommunity2784]

to be fair I've been impressed with the interior quality of the Xpower. no where near as cheap as you would think and the xpower was a fair bit cheaper when I looked on salary sacrifice. plus it would smash the brabus on twisty country roads and be much more fun.

[@Baldy444]

Much prefer the MG4 XPower. Looks better and cheaper

[@pranshulchauhan]

Would love to see the EX30 in this drag race as well!

[@TsLeng]

That's going to be same same as the Smart. Same dar underneath

[@sbomorse]

@@TsLengits faster than both to 62MPH.

[@dadycommunity2784]

​@@sbomorsenot in real world driving from what I have seen.

[@mrmawson2438]

MG4 wins again

[@martinwe9454]

I really enjoy my #1 Brabus. I love the inside look of the #1 ❤

[@danielho9753]

In Hong Kong the Smart Brabus is actually a little bit cheaper than the MG4. I think it’s not very smart to get the MG4 in that case.

[@patpong5873]

Thankyou What car this is what we was waiting for very close these two great cars have to add the Volvo Ex30 when its on the road soon thanks again

[@richardcobern6287]

What a lot of power for not a lot of dosh

[@David-kl4kn]

GJ. Nissan Sentra review pls

[@marcolforoso4001]

Why the hell we have only Brabus driving impressions, here?! there are sons and stepsons?

[@j3xk72r9]

I can't help wondering if providing ordinary family cars with this level of power and performance will generate problems. On wet, poor roads, drivers unused to such power could easily get into trouble, and in a few years when these are cheap enough for the boy racers to buy, it really could be quite frightening.

[@user-wz8hp2ix9f]

Both models have much slower and cheaper trims. So, if you have a family, get the regular and slower version. Like in the old days, regular Golf or Golf GTI.

[@j3xk72r9]

The point I am trying to make is that I am concerned for all road users if there is to be a proliferation of relatively inexpensive cars with the power and performance previously only available in quite rare cars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis etc. I suppose if it becomes a real problem, the insurance companies will kill them off like they did with hot hatches in the 1980's.

[@renz2.060]

@@j3xk72r9You mean only the rich deserve to drive powerful cars. Unlucky for you.

[@MILKYBAR1969]

Was you sat on the toilet 🚽 when you wrote this comment? Really?

[@dadycommunity2784]

to be fair they drive themselves. as soon as one wheel slips out the car just wants to stop it from moving. the concern is stopping people doing 0-60s on normal roads!

[@petrolhead023]

Is the Brabus worth it? Is Brabus really a better marque than MG? I think no on both accounts. The MG4 is better looking, better warranty, quite a lot cheaper.

[@FranzJStrauss]

i like the brabus

[@JetsetDruid]

A very valid question. I think the MG4 looks better (but that's subjective) but the Brabus has a nicer interior, the Brabus is likely to be better built - are the nicer interior and better build quality worth an extra 7k? as an outright cash purchase, probably not. Things might be different on the leasing side though, I'm guessing the Brabus will have better residuals so the monthly price between the two might not actually be as much as you'd think (given the 7k price difference), if the Brabus was only 50-80 more a month I'd probably go with the Brabus

[@WPxDominion]

ATM, the Brabus is even cheaper to lease than the xPower, at least here in Germany. And after test driving both of them, I must say there are worlds between those two cars when it comes to interior and built quality. The MG4 looks and feels way cheaper than the Smart in pretty much every aspect. And let's not even talk about the much better feature list of the Smart, like proper audio system, matrix head lights...

[@schaki05]

Here in Germany it's 47k Vs 49k. So it's kinda the same price range. But the smart has much more to offer and has much better interior quality. And leasing of the smart is often even cheaper than the xpower.

[@FranzJStrauss]

@@schaki05 i ordered the brabus 🤣🤣🤣🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️👍👍👍

[@talpolano4549]

Change Drivers! 3:)

[@tommyjakobsen5504]

don´t you forgetting a fact that smart1 is about 20K dollars more expensive.. maybe compaire it with same price tag.. that Means MG4 Xpower and Smart 1 with lower spec. so price match.

[@schaki05]

Here in Germany it's 47k Vs 49k. So it's kinda the same price range. But the smart has much more to offer and has much better interior quality.

[@HornieCow]

missing the EX30 here. :)

[@UltraLigero1]

Same Car effectively under the skin. China very busy these days!

[@mrakronyahoo]

@@UltraLigero1 same car, and yet somehow much faster apparently?

[@kevinrich5222]

Smart=EX30=Zeekr X

[@nitraM321]

it's simply incorrect to call it hashtag one, # has always meant "Number", so it's simply Smart number 1, 2 and 3 a hashtag is a # (also called hash) followed by a word, the tag !, hashtag is not the character itself as 1, 2 3 are clearly numbers, not words, the original meaning of the # sign, NUMBER (just check wikipedia) prevails, whatever smart say, they can't change the meaning of letters even if they want to, and i doubt that they intended the car to be called hashtag ! something might have been lost between departments at mercedes, but that is irrelevant, it's NUMBER 1, PERIOD ! (oh no, no period, sorry, exclamation point !)

[@Stepheny15]

❤❤❤❤❤❤2 cars are good

[@donaldtucker4914]

A # is an abbreviation for "number". I'm pretty sure Smart intended it to be called the"Smart Number 1" not "Hashtag 1".

[@SniKKaz]

Nope, they call it Hashtag not Number.

[@c3po1986]

now MG4 vs #3

[@brianallan9035]

Doug always wins…

[@drjonze]

No thank you

[@oris247]

Literally no excitement with the lack of a sporty soundtrack. Soulless....

[@SniKKaz]

I would take the #1. It looks better and it drives better. The interior in the #1 Brabus is much more premium.

[@dadycommunity2784]

what? you crazy.

[@uktech]

The insurance on the MG4 XPower is a rip off.

[@MILKYBAR1969]

£40 more than we were paying for a BMW i3S that we replaced. Not saying it's cheap but it is not £1400 like I was quoted for a standard range model 3, 18 months ago. Which at the time was 3.5 times that of the i3S. Clean license no accidents etc.

[@EXSKIN]

£18 more than my Merc CLA 35 this year so 135bhp more and 600nm £689 Merc £707 X power.

[@markdean3217]

Quick milk floats with no desire ❗️computer says nooooooooo 👍🏻

[@seppadam1532]

9.8 seconds for 0-100 mph is too slow and not plausible with the other data. Is it a typo? 8.8sec or 0-105mph would be plausible.

[@xoio]

Smart = A more premium badge than MG?? 🤣🤣🤣 MG = Saic, Smart = Geely .. Both Chinese... But Smart being a 'superior' badge?... Compared to MG, Smart = "Who are ya?"

[@ash7990]

That smart Brabus looks awful

[@ulfw]

Two Chinese cars with European brand names.

[@davidhayes4814]

Hmmmmm…. I think that I would rather have an RS3 ……

[@1982craigyboy]

I couldn’t buy it just for the fact that I refuse to say the word hashtag in response to being asked what I drive. What a stupid name

[@geraldh.8047]

You can just say you drive a smart and leave people wondering 😂

[@michaelcocheci3696]

No one will buy those crappie electric cars if they will let us know battery consumption throughout the testing!!!❤❤❤

[@The-Salty-Bager]

I prefer the smart and suspect the build quality will be better than the MG ?

[@tommyjakobsen5504]

and expect that the price is 1.5x higher as well. I have the Xpower and the quality do match min old Mini Cooper F56. so no point for you there.

[@al-ih3ie]

same, both build in China.

[@The-Salty-Bager]

@@tommyjakobsen5504 it really doesn’t

[@miguelmarques7331]

Brabus #1 SUCKS !! Too much Expensive mates ...

[@geraldh.8047]

This is not a valid sentence.

[@miguelmarques7331]

@@geraldh.8047 😂🤣

[@Sidmi5utc]

Here is the big problem with EV's going forward. You can totally forget any claimed mileage range....why ?.....because these vehicles have instant torque and not a "curve" like an ICE car, this means that you will need to be VERY DISCIPLINED in how you drive it. The temptation of their performance will be so strong that it will eat into the range each and every time you are driving. To get the "claimed" range you will need to switch it to whatever green mode the car has, have no heating on, no air con, probably no lights on in the dark....and drive it like a nun. If you can do all those, then these cars are for you. I have just bought an EV and in the short time I have owned it, the whole problem is so obvious....

[@user-jh6vt8vx4v]

That is total valid point. Upon picking up the model 3. I found my foot is getting heavier and heavier. Now it is pretty much 50% thorottle when light turns Green and reaching speed limit. Let alons the ultra low rate for Charging at night time taken away the only constraint for hard acceleration. 😂

[@cbenson513]

Not really. My model 3 performance, quicker and more powerful than these cars, was fairly easy to modulate between driving fast and taking it easy, with no significant discipline required or change of modes or any other faff.

[@Alex-fu1jj]

And what is the difference with a gasoline-powered car? If you floor it all the time it will consume petrol. Heating and lights consume very little provided you are using a heat pump and LED's (like Smart does).

[@JimT-RCT]

I have to admit, when I was young, and had a 4.6 jag, I couldn’t even get between two filing stations without having to fill up, just because I played the traffic light GP all the time. No matter, EV, or ICE, if you drive like a drag racer, you don’t get good fuel economy

[@peakproofuk]

Same as ice.

[@80y3r9]

Crap nerdy carwow.. Please don't do this again

[@ndgmyr]

And on the Autobahn, every small underpowered car like a Ford Fiesta, will overtake all this stupid EVs, cause they are all limited, expensive garbage...