Smart #1 Brabus faces Moose Test, fails miserably

The Moose Test became a golden standard when it comes to assessing a car’s handling after Mercedes A-Class failed it dangerously back in 1997. Over many years, it wasn’t the only car to fail it, and the test has improved handling of many cars.

It is surprising then, to see the Smart #1 Brabus performing the Moose Test in a shockingly poor way. Its performance is bad enough, the fact that this is a vehicle wearing the prestigious Brabus badge makes you wonder how thinly the name is spread – a couple of stickers at most it seems. Well, enjoy the video – it is in Spanish but the subtitles are half-decent:

Isn’t it upsetting that a performance oriented AWD electric car just doesn’t want to turn? This is a €49,600 car we are talking about here, a 434 hp electric car capable of 0 to 100 km/h sprint in 3.9 seconds. People who will buy the Smart #1 Brabus would prefer the assurance that the car will turn when required.

So what is happening exactly? Why do we see the Brabus attempt to go straight when asked to turn, in a style of Opel Vectra from the late 90s? The answer is simple – budget and physics. The journalists who performed the test identified at least one reason for the car’s bad performance – the suspension is identical as on the standard version of Smart #1.

While that may not be an issue in everyday driving conditions (both cars have the same weight), the comfort-oriented suspension gets into trouble at higher speeds. We need to remember that Smart #1, despite only measuring 4.27 meters in length, weighs a whopping 1,870 kg when empty. Why is that important? It is important because being short, its rotational speed is higher – to put it simply, it spins faster and once it gets going it is harder to control.

The soft suspension doesn’t only mean soft springs – you can see in the video there is a lot of compression from the rear left corner when the car tries to counter the turn. That compression is followed by much faster rebound which clearly upsets the balance. There is a lot of lateral movement in the suspension as well suggesting that suspension bushes are marshmallow soft which is great for comfort, not so good for handling.

Then there’s a choice of tires. Smart opted for the eco-friendly and EV-friendly Continental tires which perform great in a straight line. What we see in the video, they simply offer no grip whatsoever once the weight of the car tries to push…