Charming Europeans for ages, the Smart Fortwo is finally taking to the streets in the U.S. The sub-subcompact is certainly eye-catchingly cute and it delivers relatively high MPG ratings (more on that in a sec), but not everyone is smitten.

The New York Times took the tiny car for a spin in LA and NYC and they walked away a bit underwhelmed. In short, practicality is not the car's strong suit--no shocker there--and power is on the meager side. But the biggest knock against it is that there are already cars on the road that deliver better performance and can fit at least two more people and their gear for around the same MPG and sticker price, even if they're slightly harder to park between two SUVs.

Author Lawrence Ulrich's spin around NYC reveals the following.

Sizing up the Smart against a subcompact you’d expect it to get at least 50 miles to the gallon. The Smart design certainly gets the basics right: it weighs just 1,800 pounds and its rear-mounted engine, a 1-liter 3-cylinder power plant of 70 horsepower, is the smallest in the market.

While the Smart has the best fuel-economy rating of any nonhybrid sold in America, you’d expect far better numbers from its bite-size body. Its E.P.A. rating is just 33 miles per gallon in town and 41 on the highway. I averaged an unspectacular 33 m.p.g. over a week of driving.

So, does the Fortwo have an uphill battle ahead or it is the right car at the right time?