SHOOTOUT: smart #1 vs Kia Niro EV vs MG4. A shock winner? | Electrifying
Hello there electrified for today’s episode I have sent my fellow presenters a little challenge I told them I was bringing this car the smart hasht one and that they needed to choose and bring the competition rules are very simple has to be spacious enough for a small family and under £40,000 like this
£39,000 smart hasht premium yeah that is why I brought this the kiano EV which starts at £ 37,2 it’s actually bigger then the smart hasht one it’s got sensible looks and sensible range I mean it doesn’t get much better than that does it well it doesn’t does it no until you see what
I’ve b along the mg4 trophy extended range now I know it’s been around a while but this provides so much value it is very family friendly indeed at just under 365,000 which means I think we are probably do a bit of a family argument a sisterly argument yeah a polite argument you really
[Laughter] before we get into any family rounds uh please do subscribe to the channel and as always switch your notifications on because we have loads of fantastic episodes heading your way Please okay I think we should start with how they look nothing else at all just what do we make of their styling outside okay and come on let’s all try and be objective about this okay rather than just going for your own car okay all right I’ll start and obviously I I will
Go with the smart you can’t do that you can’t say they’re like we can’t be biased and then you immediately start with your own car I can cuz it looks the best and the re look it’s the most the reason is it’s the most recent in terms
Of design and I do think it’s got a quirkiness about it which I really like but it also has some really cool premium features so I think it’s got these lovely fancy Posh um headlights with that lovely um light bar that goes across the front which is nice it’s got
Frameless doors that’s um I love the smart logo um I think if they’d have made that logo at the back into a charging port oh I would have loved it even more but I just think of the three it’s got a slightly more kind of considered up Market vibe to it yeah it
I mean it is it’s really lovely it’s right so you’ll be going for this then will you Nick going for this stay with me cuz I appreciate this is a very conservative looking car okay but there are things that I like about it I like the fact that the charge port is
Right at the front of the car that’s very convenient if you’re going on a driveway if you’re stopping to charge that’s fabulous I like the lighting design I think it’s very lovely it’s very snazzy it’s the snazziest part of the car and I also awkward a bit of a
Wi I I do quite like the lighting design thank you thank you and also I like the wheels so we got 17 in on here but it’s like a five petal design that is only for the Kia e V range that is so I think that the wheels are quite nice well I’ll
Take your 17 in and raise you to 18 in that I’m featuring here my mg4 um and speaking of these I do like are little LEDs that just kind of like splice you they’re kind of angular they give it this sort of quite sporty a little bit aggressive
But not too angry look so I think overall this has a very nice front you’ve also got the rear spoilers on the back and a quite like the roof in the dark in the black because it just again it adds to that kind of sportiness it
Gives it kind of makes it a bit lower to the ground yeah uh so overall it’s a beauty yeah but doesn’t it come with a pair of these as an extra okay it’s in volcano orange what is not to love about volcano orange your neighbors will never not see you coming
Down the road or or it will say that you couldn’t quite run to a Lamborghini but you know you pay your money you take your choice um so that was a again extremely you know objective completely independent discussion of what they look like from the outside cuz yeah we’re
Proving to be quite good at that aren’t we not really let us know what you think in the comments below okay so I know that my Kia isn’t the sexiest car here but the one thing that it does really well is in terms of space because it’s
Got a lot more than the other two we’ve got a very nice sloping Dash including twin 10 and 1/4 in displays I like the touchreen and all the driver information on the screen in front of the steering wheel that’s all very nice it’s a traditional center console with a start
Button you got the rotary gear selector and this is a four grade which makes it a smidge more expensive so it’s got all of the bells and whistles but they’re not badly equipped throughout the range so what grade you can have cloth part cloth part PVC leather or poo leather
The Poo leather is made from tensel eucalyptus tree wood but yeah it sounds like poo as in po pu the boot is 475 L that is so much bigger than the other two especially the smart with the seats down it’s 1,392 l so if you have an active
Lifestyle or a big old dog it’s the perfect choice it’s got a 20 L frankk as well or neros get vehicle to load charging and at 3.6 KW that’s quite powerful so you could charge another electric car as well as plug in any Home Appliance got a three pin plug in the
Back there one thing to note though which is a bit of a disappointment the Nero EV only gets four stars on the Euro endcap scale but don’t tell the others shh and so to my smart we will not mention the name because frankly I’ve gone on about it quite enough so silly
Name but it does have the best interior here in my humble opinion you see smart is now 50/50 Mercedes Mercedes-Benz and gy and Mercedes did the interior which is a very good thing as it feels refined in here with a few bits and pieces from the shared Mercedes part bin you get
Some nice touches like the 64 colors of ambient lighting you can choose from along with a head-up display and a central 12.8 in touchcreen a standard beat sound system comes with 13 speakers the car sinks wirelessly to carplay although you do need to go through the whole routine every time you start the
Car which is a bit dull the material quality and the design and the feel inside is Just A Cut Above the mg4 and the Kia however it’s got no vehicle to load so no handy charging of anything that doesn’t have a USB the boot is also pretty tiny in comparison
To the other two 323 L and only 986 L with the seats down so it’s not quite as practical although it gets a decent decent size Frank however it does beat the Nero with a five-star Euro encap rating ah my turn okay now I know this isn’t the sexiest of Interiors in here
But it all works really well I like it and it’s the cheapest even in this topspec trophy trim so I’m willing to forgive a few things now because this is the trophy you get tinted windows heated seats and wheel yes a heated steering wheel that has a big thumbs up from me
And a 360 digital camera you also get a Bluetooth digital key which you can use with the i smart app and that allows for keyless entry no faffing around looking for your car keys what a waste of time there’s a wireless charging pad and decent storage a floating center console
And it has v2l vehicle to load so you can plug stuff in with a household plug BS at 2.2 KW it’s actually not powerful enough to charge another car so you can’t do car car charging like the Kia can but like the smart it beats the Kia
With a five-star Euro end cap the boot is a kind of Midway point between the smart and the Kia at 363 L and with the seats folded you get 1,165 l so all in all that is pretty decent sadly though no frunk for the cables so you’ll just have to keep that
Boot neat and tidy now as much as we try to focus on the positives we want to bring you a clear balanced argument for each car so time for some of our dislikes our pet peeves uh the things that Annoy Us the most um I’ll kick off with the old mg
It’s not horrendous but the boot size is a little bit smaller uh than your hasht one and your Nero EV is massive over 460 L I think compared to 360 in this um and then I think just overall it just feels smaller I love the sportiness but with
That it’s just a bit more cramped inside you’re lower so when you’re getting the kids out of the car you’re bending down access to the rear car door is not as good it it’s kind of angular when you want to get in whereas again with your hashtag one it’s lovely and open and
Square when you open the door you don’t bang your head yeah so when I said bring a car for a small family you were aiming for some kind like a miniature family sylvanian family is what she thinking about okay yeah maybe maybe this is the perfect for
Your sylvanian family I have a few few things that bug me about this car uh obviously the fact that it’s Tad on the boring side but okay um it’s the heat pump thing it’s got cold we’re we’re filming this in Winter and I’ve lost quite a lot of miles in this thing so
That has bugged me ever so slightly um I’m also annoyed by the fact that you have to um plug in my phone every time because it’s only wired apple carplay and I just think that’s really irritating it’s a it’s 2023 and also it’s 2023 this is a new
Car but it feels older I get that yeah no I get that it does um yeah and as much as I do like the um hashtag one it has a few really big flaws the main one being the fox the fox is lazy and the
Fox he doesn’t listen and the fox is not in sync to his own voice that’s a good Fox he just wants to play with the ball and flip and flop the animation of it I mean if they can make Toy Story in 1997 why can’t they make
That a slightly better animation in 2023 it’s a very valid point and it’s also there kind of weird wishy-washy colors the infotainment system is in generally and it’s quite busy and the interface glob yeah gimmicky I think it’s all a bit gimmicky and and at the moment you
Know you’re stuck with a fox but it wouldn’t surprise me if there is an overthe a update at some point that allows you to have a more normal kind of usable infotainment system or at least I would hope there would be so that is a
Bit of a bugar there’s also a camera um monitoring you know driver’s attention to the road and if you block that slightly by turning it beeps and it bongs and it’s I’m I’m still looking at the road it’s just my hand on the steering wheel there’s quite a few cars
That do that that really bugs me because I I am that person that if I’m on a long journey I will occasionally drop to having my hand on the top of the wheel and then it will block it and then it will bong all the time but can we agree
That the biggest flaw with all of these three is the name of this one I know we’re going to go on about it all day but I can’t bear it please drop the hashtag is it just going to be known as the one do
We think I the one one yeah the one it’s so simple and it sounds better you’re the smart one you’re listening are jinny the smart one right let’s park interior to one side for a minute because no matter what you think about the interior there is
One place I guarantee you the mg4 really stands out and that’s from this position position driver seat foot to the floor and well this as the exterior suggests is sporty now interestingly despite the smart hashtag one having more power this is actually the fastest not 62 mph in
Just 6.4 seconds thank very much and although it has a bigger battery it’s actually lighter and I think consequently you actually do feel that it’s quite agile it’s um a really responsive car the steering sharp this is rear wheel drive which you do notice and occasionally if you’re cornering
Quite hard you feel the weight of the heavy battery but not that much of a difference um I think overall big thumbs up uh one of a favorite feature of mine is it has a very neat little tight turning Circle which I think for City Driving well for any driving but
Particularly for City Driving is very useful now this particular model has 241 brake horsepower and 258 lb per fo of torque now it’s had a bit of an upgrade to its electric motor so that’s how you’re benefiting there and it is clearly the most sporty car in this
Triple test don’t think the competition is particularly tough in that category but if you want to show off to your neighbors there is the very fast X power all-wheel drive and 429 brake horsepower now at this point I’d like to say blink M miss you but that’s probably unlikely if you’re in
This in volcano Orange no one’s ever going to miss you I’m going to kick off with one of my favorite characteristics of electric car break regeneration so you do get a couple of different options in this along with one pedal driving mode unfortunately you’ve got to fiddle
Around in the menu to activate them yes there is a button that brings it up but it would have been great to have had it right here on the steering wheel perhaps with some paddles particularly cuz you’ve got to reset it every time you start the car which becomes a bit
Tiome and whilst I’m moaning the setup of the regen just isn’t good enough so I’ve got it in maximum now and it it’s just a bit weak and wishy-washy I wish there was a bit more grip to it um and the foot break not a massive fan of that either
It’s it’s a bit spongy at first I’m touching it there and it’s just not quite kicking in it really does need a good firm stamp on it other than those moans this is a very pleasant car to drive um I really like the suspension setup it’s pretty
Goldilocks not too hard not too soft and it soaks up bumps and lumps in the road pretty well it definitely has the best ride out of the three of them handling into Corners isn’t much to write home about but there’s very little body roll and for the most part it does feel quite
Composed and balanced it’s also the most powerful here with 286 brake horsepower and that power is definitely delivered more smoothly than in the mg4 it do not to 62 in 7.4 seconds just .2 seconds behind the mg4 but you would barely notice it to be honest and it has the
Same top speed as the mg4 of 112 milph and if you want even more pump then there’s a rather nuts brabers Edition for that look this isn’t a sporty car but it does feel more than capable of pulling out of a junction swiftly or overtaking when you need it
As with the mg4 the motor is packaged at the back so that rear wheeel drive adds to the sense of sportiness that you get in this it’s easy to get the nose of the car going where you want it to be and if the wheels spin slightly in wet weather
You don’t feel it tugging at the steering I think when it comes to which car I would rather drive every single day out of this three it would definitely be this one it just feels the most considered and the most balanced and just the easiest to live with
Oh you also get driving modes uh on here oh you get a nice little whiz and sound effect when you change them um honestly can’t feel a massive difference between Sport and comfort it’s meant to tighten things up I guess the throttle is a little bit more urgent a bit more
Aggressive on sport but not so you’d notice it it is more noticeable though when you stick it into Eco which it definitely slows down all the responses um and of course if you want a full review on this car and all the others in this test then we’ve got them also right
Here on the YouTube channel okay fine in terms of uh driving Thrills I’ve probably picked the worst one of the three look this compared to the other two this isn’t fun this is more you know it’s it’s perfectly adequate what it is this is very much a family car this is front-wheel drive
Gentle driving I’ve got the kids in the back I’ve got my dog in the boot and I want to just be nice and relaxed and have a nice time that’s the kind of car this is it’s also the slowest of the three this has got
21 horsepower and we’ll do not to 62 in under 8 seconds which is not horrendous it’s not horrendous but it does mean that if we were to line up at some traffic lights I would lose that race I would and it does get noisy there there are some noisy like
You hear the road you hear the wind especially at speed it can get quite noisy but there are some positives yes there are look it soaks up the lumps and bumps in roads pretty well I think I’ve been driving this for a few weeks now and I’ve kind of got to know
The character of it and it’s perfectly Pleasant there is a bit of weight to the steering when you throw it around the cor I I can’t say you throw it around the corner cuz you don’t throw it when you gently take your Corners there’s a bit of weight in the steering
And it is the best of all three when it comes to region breaking hey my one pedal driving fans listen up because this has the Flappy paddles Which we love so we’re going to turn that all the way up boom full one pedal driving I can
Lift my foot off the accelerator and I will come down to a complete stop without having to touch the brake which will naturally put more power back into the battery which makes it nice and efficient wonderful more of that please more of that the other two don’t do that this
Is far superior in terms of regen breaking that is probably the only part where this car wins though we do have different drive mode so we’ve got uh normal which is what I’m using at the moment there we go I’m in Normal and then you have sport mode which gives it
A little bit of extra oomph and turns everything red and funky and then you have eco mode which I’ll be honest I’ve mostly been driving this thing in eco mode because I feel like it suits the car just that little bit better it’s a family
Car right so when it comes to range and charging the Nero EV is pretty much as I’m discovering the rest of it to be it’s good but not great there is a 64.8 kwh usable battery that should see up to 287 M of range on the wltp cycle that’s
Good right but when you only get a heat pump as an option for £900 on the three and four grades that’s bad but you can get a driver only airon option which can save you 10 m of range so that’s good there’s also standard 11
KW AC charging but only 80 KW of DC charging so that means 10 to 80% will take around 41 minutes on a public charger now Kia says that it goes for a better average charge speed rather than a headline Peak so the average charge speed will be about 70 KW which is still
Only okay oh and that’s 10 and 1 half hours on the average home warbox so is fine but it won’t be winning any charging competitions if there are such things the Smart looks pretty efficient it’s got the smallest usable battery at 602 Kow hours but this premium will get
A possible 273 Mi of wltp range only 14 less than the Nero interestingly the Pro Plus version below this one gets the same battery size but a different motor and inverter so it only gets 260 M of range still there is a heat pump as standard on all
Grades from premium and above and they all get 22 kwatt AC charging which is really really high handy if you can find one of the faster public AC Chargers Peak DC charging comes in at 150 KW with 100 kilowatt average and that makes a huge difference you’ll be
Putting roughly the same range into the smart in half an hour 10 or so minutes faster than the Kia and those minutes they all add up it takes 10 hours to charge fully from the average home wallbox which is fine but I have to say that compared to some of the charging
Speeds on some of the more modern electric cars the smart is only okay I’d really like to see charging times of 10 to 80% in the 20 to 25 minute Mark as standard so you want value for money and convenience well I’ve got it right here because the mg4 extended range really
Does have extended range it has a whopping 74.4 KW usable battery tucked up under the floor to give a possible 32 23 M of wltp range which is awesome and should see high 200s even in Winter and less charging is more convenient don’t forget what’s less encouraging is only a
7.4 KW AC onboard charger and although 144 KW DC charging sounds good it actually only manages 80 Kow on average meaning it’s more like the Nero than the smart so you’re looking at 45 minutes to charge from 10 to 80% though it is a bigger battery with more range so you
Wouldn’t have to charge as long to add the same amount of range as the other two but it does mean a full 12 hours to charge from Flat to full on the average home wall box which when it’s quite a lot I have um I have a confession to
Make um I may Have Cheated a little bit so this konero EV is actually the topspec 4 model which comes at just over £42,000 so I might have blown the budget but St no stay with me right because this car starts at 37 just over £37,000 right but if you go for the
Three model that’s just under £39,000 so that falls into budget and it’s perfectly fine and you still get seven-year warranty so it’s fine yeah I’m I’m I’m hearing you yeah however no I mean I heard none of that I just heard cheat and in the words of the fia the
Rules are the rules Nick I’m afraid you disqualified that’s it you got no uh anyway I don’t reckon a 70 warrant is all that these days is it I have everything You’ got seven-year warranty and in terms of Bargain Basement cars this has a time off filming of course
Make sure you check um an incredibly good value if you’re buying it on PCP deal or on zero finance and it also has an amazing residual value as well so if you’re looking for Value then really look no further because the mg4 is the car for you and I promise you you will
Have a few pounds in your pocket to treat yourself to something special you yeah this one isn’t looking quite as strong at the moment it’s got a threeyear warranty eight years on the battery does come though with some you know really good servicing plans roadside assistance no okay no I don’t
Need assistance if I’ve just bought a new car that’s true yeah that’s a good point I was clutching at straws there what can I say but at least I didn’t cheat or eat all the wats sits cuz you also weigh all the wat sits I did do
That so we’ve got a cheat we’ve got nothing really on offer here and then W the MV4 right there is a lot to UNP pick here the smart hasht one is the most interesting and feels the most expensive even if it does have the silliest name
The mg4 offers the most range for the least money but it’s also the fastest slightly sharper to drive and a bit more practical than the smart and the Nero EV is probably the most sensible and the biggest but it’s not really that funky or exciting to drive okay so basically I
Think it’s safe to say that unless you really need that extra space or utility unfortunately the Nero U is out of the competition are we agreed uh yeah definitely agreed and mean I think the Nero has been such a good car but I’ve seen the next generation of keys
Electric cars and they kind of make this look like a blackbery and a of iPhones that is Harsh true that is so harsh but also I agree with what you just said it breaks my heart to agree but look okay fine let’s let’s remove this from the equation so I think we’re
Now choosing between the smart we shimming over okay um I think because we’ve poked and prodded and driven and charted I think we can do this in a really scientific way now and I think we can decide between these two by just saying after three the one we would want to
Live in for a year oh live in W okay okay so not just take home for a week but one we would have to like form a relationship a loving partnership with for a year name it okay ready after three one 2 3 oh Nick I’m sorry I’m sorry but why
Just tell me why I understand why you would choose the mg4 for the range CU that makes sense well it’s important for me because I don’t have home charg so for me an extra 50 m range is nice it means I just have to charge I feel like
This has a bit more character I would probably enjoy living with it daily I would probably give it a name because that’s what I like to do with cars that I find that quite quirky it’s a bit nicer to drive and just all around a bit
A bit more lovely it is a lovely space to be I’m not going to deny you that anyway um congratulations go to the smart hashtag one uh well deserved I just wish we didn’t have to call it hashtag this such a stupid name it makes sound like you’re trying to get down
With the kids down in the pub what do what do you drive what do you drive oh the hash one anyway it’s a great car um and if you do want to see more from us St then please do like subscribe and follow and switch those notifications on cuz we’re
All into scientific methodology and electrifying definitely we got there in the end hopefully we gave some Advice
#smart1 #mg4 #kianiro
smart #1 review: https://www.electrifying.com/reviews/smart/1/review
Mg4 review: https://www.electrifying.com/reviews/mg/4/review
Kia Niro EV review: https://www.electrifying.com/reviews/kia/niro-ev/review
If you’re looking to go electric in 2024, there are some great options on the market – and we’ve just lined up three of the best for a shoot-out.
The smart #1 might be lumbered with one of the daftest names in the business, but the car itself is a very impressive package. Built on the same platform as the award-winning Volvo EX30, it’s the result of a joint venture between Mercedes (the design) and Chinese giant Geely (the rest). Early drives suggest that the smart is a great all-rounder with a fun character and good efficiency.
But is that enough to lift it above the MG4? When it arrived last year, the Chinese-built hatch swept almost everything before it, undercutting its rivals by thousands and proving that going electric doesn’t always have to be the expensive option. Here we test the newest version on the block – the Extended Range model that comes with a 323 mile WLTP range.
Finally, we have another Electrifying.com favourite: the Kia Niro EV. Practical, well equipped and efficient, the Niro EV’s SUV form makes it a decent fit for family buyers and those who like a lofty driving position. Here we test the 64kWh model with a WLTP range of 287 miles.
Join Ginny, Nicola and Nicki as they compare all three. Which one would you choose? Let us know in the comments below.
Kia Niro EV
Price: from £37,295 (06/11/23)
Battery: Lithium-Ion 68.0kWh, 64.8kWh useable
Range: 287 miles
Performance: 7.8 seconds 0-60mph, 105mph top speed
Power and torque: 201bhp, 188lb ft
Drivetrain: Front wheel drive, single speed
Charging: 11kW AC, 80kW DC (AVG 70kW), 41 mins 10-80%, 10hr 30 min on 7.4 kW home wallbox
Boot: 475-litres, 1,392 + 20-litre frunk
Weight: 1,757kg
V2L; yes (3.6kW)
Euro NCAP 4 stars
Heatpump not standard until ‘4’ grade + option
7 year warranty
Smart #1
Price: from £35,950 Pro + to £38,895 Premium (13/11/23)
Battery: Lithium-Ion 66.0kWh, 62.0kWh useable
Range: 260-273 miles (added heatpump on Premium upwards)
Performance: 6.7 seconds 0-62mph, 112mph top speed
Power and torque: 268bhp, 253lb ft
Drivetrain: Rear wheel drive, single speed
Charging: 22kW AC, 150kW DC (AVG 100kW), 30 mins 10-80%, 10hrs on 7.4 kW home wallbox
Boot: 323-litres, 986 + 15-litre frunk
Weight: 1,863kg
V2L; no
Euro NCAP 5 stars
Heatpump standard on all but Pro+ base
3 year car/8year battery warranty
MG4 Trophy Extended Range
Price: from £36,495 (13/11/23)
Battery: Lithium-Ion 77.0kWh, 74.4kWh useable
Range: 323 miles
Performance: 6.5 seconds 0-62mph, 112mph top speed
Power and torque: 241bhp, 258lb ft
Drivetrain: Rear wheel drive, single speed
Charging: 7.4kW AC, 144kW DC (AVG 80kW), 45 mins 10-80%, 12hr on 7.4 kW home wallbox
Boot: 363-litres, 1,165 + no frunk
Weight: 1,826kg
V2L; yes (2.2kW)
Euro NCAP 5 stars
Heatpump standard
7 year warranty
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