Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by electric engines and utilizing the 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Smart and front in the case of the Renault). The first one has a Geely-engineered powertrain under the hood, a PMSM Electric unit in formation 0 / 1 with 272hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a PMSM Electric unit in formation 1 / 0 with 150hp engine designed by Renault.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the Smart being a slightly better choice apparently. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the German car offers a considerable difference of 23% more metal.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Smart with an average rating of 4.3, and models under the Renault badge with 4.2 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Smart is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 180 kilometers per hour, 30km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, especially if you take into account all the free charging points provided by the manufacturer and/or the local government's environmental programs. One of the essential things to consider when it comes to this type of vehicles would be range, although here it's more or less the same, orbiting around 400 kilometers on a single charge.

Smart appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the German car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Smart outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. The French car offers somewhat better range. All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Smart. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.