It's all well and good to have a large SUV for when it's time to transport the whole family in comfort and safety. However, such a large vehicle can be frustrating if you have to go somewhere with tight roads. Trying to wind through narrow streets and awkwardly placed traffic in a sizable SUV or minivan not only takes what feels like forever, but there's the ever-present stress that you might take off some paint on that annoyingly angled taxi ahead of you. Then, once you've finally managed to survive that, good luck finding a parking space that doesn't demand the precision of a Formula 1 driver to nail.Having a small car as part of the household fleet can help alleviate these issues, as it can be used for less heavy-duty jobs that don't require a large machine. Still, even some of these modern cars are pretty big compared to what they used to be. This is where the Smart ForTwo comes in, as the tiny Mercedes-built city car is just a fraction of the size of most modern SUVs. They're also pretty cheap on the used market. The ForTwo Proved Surprisingly Effective In The US SmartHaving been sold in Europe since 1998, the ForTwo was designed as a city-based car that could zip in and out of traffic without a care in the world. This was achieved by making it just 98.4 inches long – not far off from half the length of a Corolla Sedan. The Fortwo was so short that it could be parked nose-on to the curb along a typical European road, whereas most cars had to park in the traditional parallel fashion. The advantage was that the Smart could sneak into tiny spaces you'd never thought usable, alleviating the worry of not finding a slot in a crowded area.Small cars have traditionally struggled to succeed in the US, but Smart believed the ForTwo had the potential to do well across the Atlantic. The model made its stateside debut in 2008, just after the second-generation model had been unveiled in Europe. It immediately did pretty well for such a specialist machine, with Smart shifting over 20,000 of them during the first year on sale.Smart/ Mercedes-BenzSmart hoped there would be a place in the market for such a car, given that American urban areas were getting ever busier. This dream ultimately failed to come to pass, though, as by year three, the brand was struggling to shift more than 5,000 examples. In hindsight, the car being unleashed amid the 2008 financial crisis may have boosted its early chances, but buyers flocked back towards their traditional models once everything sorted itself out. The ForTwo was sold in the US until 2017, when it was discontinued. The Little ForTwo Provides Excellent Efficiency smartBeing so small, the Fortwo was bundled with an equally tiny engine. The second-gen car got a naturally aspirated 999cc inline-three engine that produced 70 horsepower and 69 lb-ft of torque. In contrast, the latter, short-lived third-gen machine got a turbocharged 898cc unit that kicked out 89 hp and 100 lb-ft of torque. That meant the car wasn't fast by any metric, even if it tipped the scales at around 2,000 pounds, depending on which model you opted for.Crucially for a city-focused machine, though, it was impressively fuel-efficient. Both the second- and third-gen versions averaged 36 miles per gallon, which was a few MPG better than the Toyota Yaris hatchback at the time. The Japanese hatchback is the sort of thing you'd usually buy if you wanted a compact city car, but the Smart immediately promised reduced fuel bills alongside extra agility. The ForTwo's Size Makes It A Great City Slicker SmartThe low weight and impressive fuel efficiency of the ForTwo are handy, but its best attribute is its ability to zip around city streets thanks to the small size. Even the larger third-gen version is a full 50 inches shorter than an equivalent Yaris hatch and also an inch narrower. This means you can fly between tight spaces with ease, and find parking spots you'd never thought were possible if you were driving anything else.The tiny footprint makes city driving so much less stressful, making the ForTwo a great choice for a second car if you only need to head into the city frequently. The ForTwo's Usability Is Limited Smart/ Mercedes-Benz Of course, due to its minimal size, the Smart's usefulness only stretches so far. The tiny body means it's only a two-seater, making the cabin impossible to use if you have more than one child to bring with you. In addition, the trunk is extremely small, with just 9.2 cubic feet of total space. A comparable Yaris hatchback offers more than 15 cubic feet of cargo space, plus two rear seats for carrying passengers.This means that, while the Fortwo is great for things like heading into town for an impromptu work meeting, or picking up your child from school. Anything extra would require a more practical vehicle. A Used Fortwo Is A Cheap Proposition smartShould the lack of space offered by the Fortwo not put you off, and its city-navigating ability sounds like a party you'd love to attend, then you should be glad to know you can pick one up cheaply on the used market. The CarBuzz Marketplace reports that the average value of a 2009 example is a lowly $5,500, with higher-mileage examples frequently listed for around $3,500. A $6,000 budget would get you a tidy car with middling mileage, while a larger $10,000 spend could net you either an extremely low-mileage early machine or a later second-gen car with decent mileage.If you want a third-gen ForTwo on your driveway, you'll have to hand over closer to $12k. This will get you a nice specimen with middling miles on the odometer, whereas a lesser-traveled car can cost upwards of $20,000. High-mileage machines can be found for less than $10,000, though you'd need to make sure it's been well looked after if you want it to go the distance. Smart's Tiny Hatch Is Generally Reliable Smart/ Mercedes-BenzFor the most part, the ForTwo has proven to be a dependable servant since it first made the trip across the ocean, though the earlier second-gen cars have been more problematic. The main issue lies with the automated five-speed manual transmission they use, which can suffer from premature clutch wear and rough shifting if you don't properly lift off the throttle when shifting. The third-gen model used a vastly slicker dual-clutch unit, which provided smoother shifting and improved reliability.The thing is, being largely reliable doesn't mean the ForTwo is particularly cheap to run. The car can be pretty tricky to work on due to its small size, especially if you take it to a mechanic who hasn't worked on one before. The situation pushes labor costs up, and it goes hand in hand with Mercedes-Benz-built components being pretty pricey.Things don't get any better if you take it to an official Smart or Mercedes-Benz dealer, as the German brand tends to charge more than other manufacturers to work on your vehicle. These setbacks are illustrated by RepairPal, which estimates you'd need to spend around $751 a year to keep the car running sweetly.The maintenance costs are pretty steep for such a small, efficient car, especially considering a Yaris should cost your wallet less than half that. In all honesty, something like a Yaris offers plenty more versatility as a good city car. While it's not quite as efficient as the ForTwo, the Yaris is faster, more practical, and much cheaper to maintain. Used examples are also, for the most part, cheaper to buy.That said, you can't park a Yaris nose-end on the street, and those critical seconds you'd save by not having to hunt for another space leave you time to do other things. Like looking around that shop you'd been meaning to waste time in for ages. Or perhaps something more productive, your call. Plus, nothing else looks like a Smart car, so you're sure to get long looks in your tiny ForTwo.
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