I didn't actually get this new, because I did want to but my mum said that it was a brand new type of car so things might go all wrong with it and I'd be disappointed in the end. I waited a couple of years and found one off ebay for quite a bit less than the new price, so that was good, although in the meantime my old Astra had cost me almost a thousand quid with various repairs before I sold it to get the Smart Fortwo.
Now, the reason i scored it only half way for build quality is the engine. I'm not convinced it's all that well designed. It's almost 8 years old now, which isn't all that long, and I haven't put that many miles on it, but it's got an oil leak somewhere which is getting ever so slowly worse. It doesn't quite warrant getting it taken to the garage just yet, but then I might have to in case it suddenly gets a lot worse, or if it's something that I should get now in order to save a bigger bill later. It's just kind of annoying because otherwise the Smart Fortwo Cabrio has been really reliable for me.
Apart from that one problem it's been fine really for all my needs. Obviously the first thing to say about it is that it's really teeny tiny so you can easy squeeze it into pretty much any spaces anywhere. I often drive round London and especially when I first changed from the Astra I found it just fantastic to be able to get round all sorts of gaps that I previously would have struggled with. The visibility is great too because it's such a tall car - that was another big problem with the Astra by comparison.
There are some aspects of the Smart Fortwo Cabrio that are a bit 'cute' and not quite befitting of an eligible bachelor like myself! Like the way the dials poke out of the dashboard, but those are actually quite useful for hanging things off. It's a bit confusing the way the ignition key goes in just next to the gearbox. I mean I always feel like I might knock it, or spill my bottle of water on it or something. It hasn't happened yet but it seems like it could happen. Also it does feel like the space in front of the gearbox is a little bit wasted, could be used for storage spaces, but it's just empty floor. Needless to say the boot isn't huge but it isn't tiny either. My mum and I went to visit her sister at Christmas and got a week's stuff in there, with a few things stashed behind the seats.
I think I've left the best thing to last which is the frugality. Apart from the oil leakage, the engine just works off the faintest sniff of petrol, can't imagine there's a cheaper car to run out there. Oh and the heated seats are a major plus especially in a soft top!