We rented a Smart on our last trip to Germany for 9.99 Euro/day. It proved more than satisfactory. It had all the power and room we needed, and handled beautifully under all conditions, including gusting sidewinds and driving rain. Through large and small towns, on Autobahns and narrow country roads, all through the Rhine and Mosel valleys, we averaged about 45 MPG. On an autobahn, I once got the Smart up to nearly 100 MPH on level terrain (per speedo). Needless to say, we were sold on the Smart!
But US Smarts, we're told, top out at 90 MPH and get less mileage. Is this due to US emissions controls, or tuning issues? Or was our speedometer off?