Life in the Cute Lane

But she's not convinced that the Smart car is safe, so she's keeping her Lexus for highway driving.

Safety is a common concern among potential Smart car buyers. But the car fared well in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests in May, earning for its size top marks in front- and side-crash protection and acceptable ratings for rear-impact protection against whiplash. Earlier National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tests had raised concerns about passenger safety in front-end crashes and doors swinging open in side crashes, though the car had received top marks on side impact.

The ride isn't smooth -- the car jerks over speed bumps in her parking lot even after Alper's slowed to a crawl -- but she says it's a delight to drive in the city.

"It's like a Chihuahua must feel, you just feel so powerful in that little car," said Alper. "And you don't know from the inside that it's so tiny looking."

At 8.8 feet long, the three Smart car models -- the entry level Pure Coupe, the Passion Coupe and the convertible Passion Cabriolet -- are indeed tiny. But there's a surprising amount of leg space and head room. And driving without a back seat doesn't require much adjustment, except that drivers have to use side mirrors to check for traffic when changing lanes rather than the rear side windows.

Swatch watch inventor Nicolas Hayek approached Mercedes-Benz with the idea for the ultra-urban Smart car in the early 1990s. Just as Swatch watches had interchangeable bands, the two-seater Smart cars would have interchangeable panels, allowing owners to change the cars' colors without a new coat of paint. And Smart cars have an optional analog clock bauble poking out of the dash board.

For some SUV owners, the car's conspicuousness will help it earn its keep.

Rob Wood, co-owner of real estate agency Top Tier Properties, intends to turn his Smart car into a mobile billboard to advertise his Richmond business.

"The novelty of it is kind of part of it," said Wood, waiting to test-drive a Smart car in Alexandria.

And, in addition to free advertising, he'll save on gas driving around town for work and have an easier time parking. But he's keeping his Hyundai Santa Fe SUV, which will be the family car.

Others just like the attention.

Driving around on a recent Saturday, pedestrians turn and stare at Szewczyk's car.

"Nice car," exclaims a woman walking with her family on the Washington Mall.

A man carrying a hot dog looks at the car, smiles, shakes his head and asks: "Do you have space for me?"

Outside her Eastern Market apartment Szewczyk offers to let onlookers tour the car.

One takes her up on it and sits in the passenger seat. It's bigger than he expected. "I'll swap you my Saab for it," he says.

Szewczyk -- who collects model cars, does her own basic auto maintenance and displays art she made out of a charred Land Rover door she scavenged from the set of the upcoming movie "Body of Lies" -- relishes all of her newfound opportunities to talk cars.

"People point and stare," Szewczyk said. "I might not get the Lamborghini that I want, but I know what it would feel like."