Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 3-door hatchback body style within the same 'Micro car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Smart and front in the case of the Volkswagen). The first one has a Smart-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 3-cylinder, 6-valves 61hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 3-cylinder, 6-valves 60hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the Volkswagen being a slightly better choice apparently. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the micro car segment, which is generally a misfortune safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Fox offers a potentially life-saving difference of 33% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Smart does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Smart with an average rating of 3.9, and models under the Volkswagen badge with 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed ForTwo as average reliability-wise, and Fox is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as ForTwo rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.8 out of 5.

Smart is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 135 kilometers per hour, 13km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be ForTwo, averaging around 4.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (60 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 28% difference compared to Fox.

Smart appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Fox beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Smart being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say Smart. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.