Cars reflect their owners' personalities. We've said it before, but it's worth repeating here. As a quick look at the traffic on our roads illustrates, there are ample models for introverts.
However, a problem often arises for extroverts in that the cars they believe reflect their character are often priced as highly as the extroverts judge their own worth - far above the financial reality of extroverts' wallets.
They see themselves as the human equivalent of a Mercedes-McLaren SLR, but in reality are more likely to be adjudged by the bank to be equal to a 1985 Opel Kadett. So, when extrovert cars come along priced at €26,995, they sit up and take notice.
Smart is a relative newcomer to the Irish market. However, you'd need to have lived under a rock for the past few years not to come across some reference to the tall boxy city coupé, or Four-two as it is now to be called. It has become a bit of a fashion icon on European streets and Smart has been busy expanding its model portfolio.
Now they're here. Having driven the city coupé, we must admit to being less than enamoured by its overall ability, unless your world fits in a one-mile radius at the heart of the city and you never intend to venture further afield without changing car.
The Roadster is a different proposition altogether. As much as the city coupé is for funky town driving and little else, the Roadster is capable of more challenging tasks. It's the more sporting of the species. Where the city coupé is a funky shopping trolley (perhaps more basket than trolley), the Roadster is a go-kart.
Its looks are distinctive, reflecting a mix of shrunken sports car and more historic open-top motoring. Several motoring pundits have compared it to the Austin Healey "frog-eye" Sprite, but, at least in base roadster format, it also has hints of a miniature Triumph TR7.
It certainly carries on the two-seater tradition of fun motoring and zero practicality. With the engine hanging off the back, there's the smallest of parcel shelves at the rear, enough for a few newspapers and a magazine, but little else. Up front there's a small well of space beneath the bonnet, but it's a squeeze to fit anything more than a soft sports bag. Going off for a weekend in this means posting your luggage a few days before.
So, for looks and practicality it has all the characteristics of your traditional, if slightly shrunken, sports car. The theme continues behind the wheel. Turn the key next to the gearstick and a flatulent roar from the rear greets your aural senses, far noisier than one would expect a car of its engine size. It's a keen sound that matches the look - this car wants to be noticed.
In terms of performance, while it has an engine that would seem small in comparison to a regular motor bike, it packs a reasonably impressive punch. While the 698 cc three-cylinder unit manages only 80 bhp, it does touch 62 mph from start in a useful 10.9 seconds. True, it's not in the region of the Mini Cooper S - which incidentally is only €400 more. But then again it does manage 55.4 mpg against the Mini's 33.6 mpg, thanks to the fact the engine is nearly 60 per cent smaller and the body is largely composed of plastic panelling on Smart's Tridion rigid safety cell. The plastic panelling means that bumps and scratches are cheaper to repair and you can even change colour if you tire of the bright yellow or ocean blue. It also means power to weight ratio is very good.
The gearbox is a six-speed semi-automatic, which means no clutching in town and optional racing-style paddles on the steering wheel for quick Formula One-style changes. Unfortunately it's a bit jerky and gear-changes are lumpy and a bit lethargic and you need every ratio. Even using the paddles, you find yourself having to do a lot of work. If you're keen to get along you must keep a constant eye on the rev counter to ensure you're getting the most from every gear, while at the same time avoiding that awkward power fall-off when you hit top revs and there's nothing left out the back.
Handling is true go-kart, though on back roads it does get rather skittish. The springs are great for handling the bumps and potholes on Irish roads; it's far better than many larger "real" sports models.
Yet given it's a rear-wheel-drive car with the engine sitting atop the rear axle, it can get quite tail-happy. Thankfully the standard-fit Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) is there to mop up your mistakes and generally try its best to rescue you from the shrubbery or worse. You can, of course, turn it off and then the tail very easily obliges with a twitch, even at relatively low speed.
Invariably, even with ESP on, we also saw plenty of the flashing yellow warning light as the car bounced around on normal country roads and positively danced down bumpy by-roads.
One solution we considered, which used to be feature in the old VW Beetles - another rear-engined eyecatcher - was foregoing the luggage space and instead adding a few concrete bricks to the front to keep the nose down. Sacrilege to the engineers and sytlists at Mercedes, parent of the Smart, but it would add to the car's ability to stay on terra firma.
This is one of the key ingredients of its fun. The seeming surge of power, matched to the roar of the engine at the back gives the impression that you're decimating the speed limit. Yet you're often not going that fast at all; at one point we were racing along, we thought, but a glance at the speedometer showed that we were only doing 45mph. Sitting that close to the tarmac gave the impression that we were going much quicker. All the fun, but none of the points.
The downside, though, is that you have to be very careful overtaking, for you may get the impression you are capable of going a lot faster than you actually are.
The little cabin feels far roomier than it looks, and the two seats offer a remarkable degree of comfort. However, there seems to be a slight misalignment of the pedals, which seem left of centre.
Both the Roadster and Roadster Coupé come with a clever roof system consisting of a soft-top and hard-top that can be used together or alternatively. A quick flick of a switch and open-top motoring becomes a beautiful reality in just 10 seconds. The best bit about the soft-top is that it can be fully opened or closed while on the move, without pulling up and fiddle with clips and switches.
Overall, the Roadster is more attitude than performance. It really lets you experience the basics of driving dynamics, as if in a go-kart. If you're under 30 and single, or one of the growing number who've acquired more than five penalty points and are being told by your insurance company that it'll cost you €10,000 to get cover on a ride-on lawnmower, then the Roadster could be for you.
It could keep your driving passion alive while keeping your speed within check. Of course some insurance firms - with all their usual logic - have weighted the Roadster as a sports car. However, Smart's Irish importers, Motor Distributors Ltd, say that Axa are looking more favourably on the Smart range.
Regardless, the Roadster should keep you on the right side of the law, while making you feel like a real lawbreaker. If you're on the market for any sort of practicality though, probably best looking for one of the four-seater fun cars at about the same price.