The quickening

Instant acceleration is part of the appeal of an EV, but is it all getting a bit much for unwary and inexperienced drivers? JOHN EVANS investigates

- JOHN EVANS

With an Audi S6 for weekdays and a Toyota GR Supra for weekends, Philip Thomas could fairly be described as a petrolhead. At least that was until the IT specialist stunned his neighbours by recently adding a third car to his fleet: a Smart #1. How the curtains twitched, but this was no ordinary #1. Although the standard model has a Golf GTI-beating 268bhp, Thomas had instead opted for the Brabus variant with 422bhparound as much as his Audi. However, where the S6 is a low-slung saloon with performance engineered into it, the Smart #1 Brabus is a compact SUV that, aside from its additional, front-mounted motor, is almost identical to the standard model, right down to its tyres and suspension. "The Brabus is certainly quick, but it's not very elegant," commented our road testers when they got their hands on the model.