Now, dear readers, you know how much I love the Smart Fortwo. After all, I own four of them. So it’s going to surprise you to read what I’m about to say.

The iQ drives better than a second-generation Fortwo.

I got to drive the iQ when it hit the streets in the U.S. in 2011 and honestly, it made my 2012 Fortwo feel like a tractor.

Where my Fortwo’s hard front suspension would break your teeth on Chicago potholes, the iQ felt like a normal car. Where my Fortwo’s clunky transmission polarized drivers, the iQ’s CVT is smooth. And where my Fortwo’s 70 HP 1.0-liter inline three requires 91 octane or better, the iQ’s 94 HP 1.3-liter inline four is fueled with regular.

The iQ’s handling is even sharper than a stock second-generation Fortwo.

My only real complaint about the iQ is that the fourth seat is pretty useless at being a seat for adults. I still prefer the go kart feel and striking looks of my Smart, but the iQ does just about everything better.

I expected — just like Fifth Gear did — for the iQ to take off in sales. But it didn’t. Positive reviews and being good on paper didn’t translate to great sales in the U.S. or Europe. In 2012, Scion sold 8,879 iQs in the U.S. where Smart moved 9,264 Fortwos.

A problem was the iQ’s $16,000 price. While the Fortwo was the cheapest way to get under the Mercedes-Benz umbrella, the iQ had a larger sibling that cost less money.

A 2012 Toyota Yaris had a base price of around $14,000 and its fuel economy figures weren’t much worse than the iQ. It was a similar story in Europe, where the larger Toyota Aygo was cheaper.

Toyota axed the iQ in 2015, ending its experiment to build a better city car. Even if it didn’t sell, the iQ is a brilliant little car. It’s as if Toyota saw what Smart did and decided that they could do even more.

Nowadays an iQ can be had for cheap. So if you’re looking for a tiny runabout and a Smart isn’t for you, give the iQ a chance, it might hit the spot.