– Brooklyn, New York

An all-new droptop variant joins the Smart lineup with the 2017 ForTwo Cabrio and its starting price of $18,900 makes it the most affordable convertible on the market. Neat. But I still don’t understand its existence. Sure, it’s cute and color-customizable in more than 100 ways, but beyond that, meh. Are there cars that offer more fun, practicality, affordability, and value? Yes – pretty much all of them. Yet will someone still buy a Smart ForTwo? Of course. A whopping 220,000 Cabrio models have been sold globally since Smart hit the scene, meaning the car that seemingly makes a small amount of sense continues to have big appeal, both in America and abroad.

Pros

• It’s a real-life Micro Machine. Gimmick or not, at just 106.1 inches long (roughly 8 feet, 10 inches), the Smart ForTwo Cabrio is about half the size of a standard pickup truck and can squeeze into the teeniest of spaces. Small is a big asset in any metropolis as street parking can be hard to come by. And should you get boxed in by a couple of jokesters, just grab a few friends and lift the car out – it only weighs 2,094 pounds (or 2,150 with the dual-clutch transmission).
• At 19.4 square feet, the roof's flexibility lets you pick exactly the configuration you want for each trip or weather condition. Occupants can enjoy either a vehicle-length sunroof or a true cabriolet experience by folding the canvas top further down and removing the roof bars. Letting the sun shine in during these dwindlin...