it migh t not look much, but how many cars will go 12,000 miles for just over £600 IN fuel? Adam Wakelin gets acquainted with the Smart Fortwo...

It looks like a Ford Focus reflected in a soup spoon. And that's probably being kind. Apologies if there's a Smart Fortwo parked in your driveway, but no-one would award this car first prize in a beauty contest. Easy on the eye it most definitely isn't.

So why should anyone in their right mind even consider getting one?

Because the Smart Fortwo is the motoring equivalent of Sandi Toksvig: short and dumpy, not much to look at, goes on and on and on…

Its miles per hour might not be up to much, but in terms of miles per gallon nothing can beat this stubby little marathon runner.

Fossil fuels

The Smart Fortwo is so frugal with the gas that you could drive 12,000 miles in it – from here to Australia, basically – for just £625.

With an mpg of 85.6, the Smart Fortwo puts the eco in economical motoring, burning less fossil fuels than any other conventional car, according to experts at The Green Car Website.

And because its CO2 emissions are less than 100 grams per kilometre Mr Darling says you don't even have to pay any road tax on it.

In these recession-troubled, globally-warmed times, that means the Toksvig has two major selling points, however much the Top Gear blokes might snigger.

It will get you from A to B cheaply and you can feel quietly superior every time a Clarkson-type cuts you up in his gas-guzzling 4x4.

The motoring world is changing, says Faye Sunderland, editor of The Green Car Website.

Once upon a time car companies were desperate to talk the torque, bedazzling potential buyers with reams of impressive sounding acceleration and horsepower stats.

Not anymore. Mph and brake horsepower are out. Mpg and grams of CO2 per km are where it's at nowadays – and manufacturers are desperate to squeeze ever more efficiency from the internal combustion engine.

"Petrol prices have changed the way a lot of us think out cars," says Faye.

"They have gone up so much that fuel consumption has become a major selling point of cars.

"The road tax exemption for Band A cars, those that emit less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre, has also made greener cars more attractive to buyers.

"The motor industry is not stupid. Revised laws on advertising mean they have to display figures for things like CO2 emissions, but those are things they want to boast about."