Smiling has been scientifically proven to make you feel better, and it is widely accepted that more facial muscles are used to frown than to smile.
Life is full of things that bring a pleasant upward arch to the lower half of your face, and for us, cars have been a reliable source of happiness since we can remember.
So to commemorate World Smile Day , here are just a few cars guaranteed to make you smile.
Mazda MX-5
Mazda’s two-seater roadster may not be the most powerful car here but it is one of the most shamelessly exuberant and accessible.
Originally introduced in 1990, it has been around long enough to the point that there’s bound to be an example out there to cater for any budget.
Joyful handling, cheeky styling and carefree top-down action, all at a price to suit, what’s not to love?
Caterham Seven
Who needs roofs? Not the Caterham Seven. If you want true wind-in-your-hair good times, this stripped-down sports car provides by the bucketload.
This Sussex-built lightweight tips the scales at just half a tonne so combine that with power outputs ranging from 80bhp right up to 305bhp (for the 620R variant) and you get one of the finest lightweights around right now.
Ford Fiesta ST
There are faster Fords, there are faster Fiestas, but we’re going with the standard 179bhp ST which, with a manual six-speed gearbox, does 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds.
As with the MX-5, the Fiesta’s handling is the real star of the show, lending more credence to the argument that real motoring is more about the journey than the destination.
BMW M4
Picking up where the M3 Coupe left off, the M4 takes the standard 4 Series and plonks in a 425bhp twin turbocharged three-litre engine, all the while reducing its overall weight with the use of carbon fibre. The result: 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds.
Things like handling, suspension and brakes are tightened up and the exterior shell gets aerodynamic body tweaks and some stylish accents like the tri-colour M badge.
Smart Fortwo Cabrio
This glorified two-door tin can got a bit of a slatting from us recently after it appeared in our ‘cars that need to be dropped’ feature but maybe we owe the Fortwo Cabrio an apology.
It may be deceptively slow (0-62mph in 13.3 secs), hopelessly impractical (two seats, 220-litre boot) and laughably overpriced (best part of £12k), but the droptop Fortwo is so daft that if you’re not grinning from ear-to-ear within seconds then you are quite possibly a statue.
Better still is the electric version that feels like it could take-off under hard acceleration.
Renault Twizy
Speaking of air-bound electric rollerskates, we had to toss a coin on whether to include Renault’s battery-powered supermini Zoe or this truly bonkers two-seater quadricycle.
We’re glad the Twizy won because it feels good to champion a vehicle that doesn’t have any windows in a country where rain is more prevalent than oxygen.
Its lack of windows doesn’t matter, neither does its inability to reach 62mph, and neither does the fact that your rear passenger will develop claustrophobia during your short drive and emerge at your destination a quivering wreck. The Twizy is pure undiluted fun.
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