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 (front for the Opel and rear in the case of the Smart). The first one has a General Motors-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 3-cylinder, 12-valves 115hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 70hp engine designed by Renault.

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. 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. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Adam offers a potentially life-saving difference of 32% 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 official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Opel with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Smart badge with 4.3 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Adam rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Opel is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 4.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 196 kilometers per hour, 45km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be ForTwo, averaging around 4.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (69 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 20% difference compared to Adam.

Opel 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, Adam offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. It all continues in the same direction, with Opel outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Opel. 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 thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.