I have had one for about two years now that has been either a main car or secondary car. I can tell you right now, The deal being offered right now is RETARDED!. Its so good I considered trading mine in (247$ a month tax in) and getting one of those since the amount I would spend for an extra 18 months of driving would be dirt cheap!
The car is great for someone like me who lives downtown, has short commutes and is constantly blasting around different areas (multiple offices downtown, school, gym, tutoring). Highway is not bad as I have taken the car to NYC and Toronto a few times already for fun. It is a tiring experience though as the car is not super stable at those speeds. None the less it isnt bad and I would gladly challenge anyone to say the car is dangerously slow. I regularly drive 400++hp cars and have no problem with my smart being slow for every day driving
Maintenance is REALLY dirt cheap on this car. Its almost scary how cheap it is. Brake pads for both sides are 60$, air filter 22$, List goes on. All Oem I may add.
Where the car gets annoying is in winter. YOU MUST RUN FULL ESP,ABS,Traction off to go ANYWHERE with the car. How do you do that? You have to pull the fuse! No choice when you get stuck. It also makes the car rather hard to drive if youre an average idiot driver. Also winter tires are not cheap for this thing as they are a specific size. None the less after two years, I couldnt really complain about the car being a drag to own. It just works, parks easily and is cheap as hell to run.
Two way insurance is 647$ a year for me (cheap too!)
Oh and if anyone buys one. My lease is up in 5 months so if you want my Black wheels, you can have em for 80$ if you give me your OEM hubcaps. No point in giving the dealer a set of wheels that cost me 250$ to make. I rather someone on here gets em. Ill also be getting rid of my winters come spring if someone wants em. They are brand new (still have the color cords on em lol)