The Fortwo isn’t especially expensive to buy, though if buying new options can bump the price up. After the initial outlay, the Fortwo’s pretty cost effective to own. Fuel economy is excellent, returning up to 57mpg, it’s cheap to tax and insurance is reasonable, too. The Fortwo holds its value exceptionally well and – unsurprisingly – is especially sought after in town cities.

In fact, the only downside is that servicing at Smart dealers can be a little on the pricey side. Luckily there are plenty of independent Smart specialists around who won’t charge as much.

Few cars have as little impact on the environment as the Fortwo. The biggest CO2 output comes from the Brabus model and that’s only 124g/km – far lower than other small performance cars. The rest of the range fares even better and the mhd models from 2008 emit just 103g/km of CO2 while averaging 66mpg. A German environmental institute has praised Smart for how environmentally friendly it is in the way it builds the car, awarding it an environmental certificate.

Smart doesn’t have a faultless track record on reliability with electric problems on earlier cars such as the first Fortwo and the Roadster. To date they have only come with a two year warranty, however there is no mileage limitation.