SHOOTOUT: smart #3 vs MINI Aceman. A surprise result!

Where is the practicality in this review? Beige? [does it only come in one colour or something?] Not eye-catching? [eye of the beholder, but yes it is bland in beige] And that round screen emulating the original Austin Mini speedo is just ridiculous. Me, I'd go for neither as well. Over priced, and the new cars from BYD, Xpeng, Nio [and too many other Chinese cars to mention] and Hyundai/Kia are on their way, so make room. And also, Smart is not owned just by Mercedes, but by Geely of China, where the cars are made. You'd be better off just buying a wholly owned Geely brand.

Great video. As an avid mini fan, Aceman wins for me anytime. Interesting point about the Tax changes, wonder how this will be affected on the used markets. Because the price out have been depreciated

Mini's have been overpriced for so so so so long

Low profile tyres in the UK a complete waste of time unless you love pot holes and scraping your mag wheels on kerb's

That wasn't the BMW vs Mercedes-Benz video I was expecting to watch today but here I am.

Mind you, big wheels tyres are more expensive to replace. Prefer ordinary trims made for Japanese cars are better for pocket.

The MINI looks great but can't believe how poor it is in most other areas. That range is shocking.

It’s the little things. The pass through in the smart should be in every car, so should sunglasses holders and the spot in the middle for handbags. I’m a bloke, so i dont need it but my wife does.

Had a few Minis and enjoyed them, but I think the Smart #3 has it all over the Mini.

Smart is much better but Mini has character. Since I haven't own a mini yet, I believe I would buy a mini although I know Smart is a smarter choice

I think, on the UK roads you will see more than a thousand Minis before you see - or recognise - a Smart.

Yeh but the smart just looks crap - that counts

Could these be the ugliest cars in the market?

"Aceman" is a character in West Side Story. I really don't like the name

you should explained what SMART stands for, Swatch , Mercedes , ART

The 'a' hole is a clever touch but pressing it seems wrong.

The Aceman is genuinely hideous. That front end is just SO bad. It's also interesting you compared it to the #3 - I think the #1 is a better fit as it's similar in size to the Aceman.

Had an Aceman as a loaner whilst the Cooper SE EV was in for some work. Hated very minute of it. Banged my head getting in as the roof line is low over the door. Motor sounded like an underground train. Ride was awful. Such a relief to get the Cooper back.

I bought a brand new Smart in 2000 for £5,800.

Brilliantly funny video - more like this please. But you're comparing chalk with cheese. I recently test drove both these cars. The Smart is a car for grown ups and very comfortable with a luxurious interior. But I hated the screen and having to access everything through it including the door mirrors. Depending on how you look at it, the Aceman is a large Mini Cooper or small Countryman with nothing new about it. It also has a very firm ride and overly fussy screen. In the end I chose a car which has the best of both cars - the Alfa Romeo Junior Speciale. The drive blew me away. It's acceleration is not as fast as the Smart or Mini but it feels just as quick the Dynamic mode especially with the sound effects on!

The hashtag is rank. Cheap, plastic, rank interior. Merc on the exterior, thats it. It's got all the crap you don't need or use.

The Mini is so so so UGLY

Anyone get the feeling that this was all a video metaphor for whether you could live with Tom or Nikki on an everyday basis? 😅

Basically this is great wall motors( mini ) vs geely (smart )

Sorry, Mini all the way, there's a reason why Smart isn't in the US anymore. It just looks like Mercedes's ugly sibling, or ugly child. 😂 🤣

Wouldn't have either of these. The Smart's bongs and silly infotainment mascot would make me wretch every time I got in, and the Mini's central screen is too in-yer-face distracting and a pain to use.

I wouldn’t buy either.

I can agree that the Smart is comprehensively better than the Mini - the real-life range of the Mini is inadequate and the formula of "Mini" is getting very overworked.

are these luxury cars? i think not.

FYI, Smart is now a joint venture between joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Group and Geely and it's built at the Geely factory

The Mini, it have soul and character and it’s made by BMW

Great video guys , never laughed so much " I put my finger in the A hole " and the very safe Trojan wheels on the Aceman . 👍

I cannot believe the ridiculously high cost of these cars

Both over £40k, and range less than 300 miles. Why bother?

The mini is taking the p*ss with that price tag for what you get. Why do people keep buying them?! It's a 20k car! Either way, there's something going on here with manufacturer's list prices of just a little over 40k that pushes it over the government more expensive car tax for premium cars. 🤔

Defo the Smart. Looks far classier; much more Mercedes-esque... The between-seat cubby in that Chinese Mini is set up for LHD and seems to open the wrong way for RHD. But that's to be expected; its main markets are not RHD.
I drive a 1995 Polo and a 2002 S-Class. When I hire a modern car the thing that annoys me most is that there's often no easy way to switch off the screen or dim it sufficiently so that I can't see it out of the corner of my eye, especially in the country where there are no street lights. Whatever happened to a Saab-style black panel? I dream of just having a dim speed reading and nothing else at all unless I need it.

I've had 3 Mini Clubman's, the Aceman is a poor replacement.

The Mini wins every time for me!! You buy a Mini because you’re a Mini fan, not because it’s practical (for everyone). My first car was a Mini back in the 90’s; my Mum had a Mini, my Grandad had a Mini then a Mini Clubman. It’s in my DNA 😂

both are hideous

Good opportunity to fire her!! She clearly know nothing about what she is saying! Are those the best arguments she can find to justify why she would pick up the mini instead of the Smart? really?!

MINi for me

Can’t believe at that price having such ugly wheels on that smart!

The complaint about "information overload/too many screens" is a bit odd. The main screen presents many options via a single tap, and then the next commonly used adjustments are available via a secondary minimalistic screen. The HUD displays much more than just speed, it gives navigation cues (turns and distances) and what's happening regarding Active Cruise Control. If anything, reviews like this show how difficult it is to review a product that is all about software-based technology; you have to live with them for a little while to understand and appreciate the subtleties...

I would have thought that the Smart #1 was a closer equivalent to the Mini Aceman..!?!? I'm just coming up to my one-year anniversary of owning my #1 and love it.

I'm a modern mini fan but the latest generation of Mini's are hideous!!!

Top 2 reviewers! 👌👍👍

What a bargain..