Just after I got my licence all I drove for about 4 months was a battered 1975 Land Rover Series 3 SWB. Now that was safe, mainly because people just got the hell out of your way when they saw it coming! Also much more manly than a Smart. :lol:
And yes, I did drive it in urban areas sometimes, people gave me lots of room when they saw me driving over curbs without even thinking twice (It had a shocking turning circle, in some car parks I just had to do that rather than try jamming the monster into reverse).
The insurance on it was cheap too. Third party fire & theft, in the middle of nowhere, about £150 a year! That was with NFU Mutual (NFU = National Farmer's Union, was insured as an agricultural vehicle, lol).
So yeah, get an old Land Rover!
Hell, a Smart makes even my Punto look manly...
I don't trust anything that doesn't run on diesel and/or have a PTO on the back, lol.