I always thought Smart was the friendly face of Mercedes-Benz.

Sure, the original dinky little City Coupé two-seater was a better idea in principle than I felt it was in reality, but I loved the idea of it, the cleverness of it.

If we all drove sub-tonne Smarts rather than 2.5-tonne SUVs, the world would have thanked us for it. And we would have had more fun along the way.

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Above all, though, I liked the Smart’s friendly vibe. Where other Mercedes were austere and sensible, the Smart – first conceived as a joint-venture between Mercedes and Swatch, famous for bringing trendy Swiss watches to the masses – was funky and attainable. And even when it started to lose its mojo, it was forward-looking; Smart has been an all-electric brand since 2019.

Now there’s a chance that, even though it’s a compact SUV maker and Mercedes-Geely mash-up, it will remain at the forefront of trends. Only this time, a rather more concerning one…

The Smart #1 can, like nearly all new cars, receive over-the-air software updates. At some point, early customers will find their car’s touchscreen is suddenly able to mirror their phone, thanks to a free download.

08 Smart hashtag 1 fd 2023 dashboard 1

Then will come another update, which Smart UK hasn’t yet decided how it will handle.

The #1, see, has a heated steering wheel. At the moment, its functionality hasn’t been turned on. When the time comes, it could just arrive like a surprise present. Or, more worryingly, customers might be asked for pay for it, either permanently, one-off, or as a subscription: you pay it in winter but not in summer.