MONAMI

Lifestyle oriented cars come in all shapes and sizes, but what's it like to really embrace it for a day?

- SAM BURNETT

I have always felt very strongly that if you have a convertible and it's not raining, then the roof should be down. It would be part of the first package of measures I would introduce as prime minister (including the introduction of fashion police on the streets - £50 spot fines for middle aged men in shorts above the knee, etc).

It's not just talk, I have lived it out - I used to have a Saab 900 convertible with heated seats and I had hair to keep my head warm and it was delightful. Who's unable to spare 18 seconds at speeds of up to 30mph? Drivers with the roof up lack the imagination to enjoy life, they're not embracing the convertible lifestyle. In fact I recently took part in a very scientific experiment by Fiat to prove that driving a convertible makes you happier. And it did - although not for me, my happiness stayed the same. I think I was already just pleased to be out of the office for the morning to be honest.

Although I do have another hypothesis if anyone wants to rerun the experiment with Ferraris.

When I saw the Citroen Ami Buggy hit the market (technically the Buggy II, the first one was a run of 50 units just for France and it sold out in 17 minutes - this one has 40 allocated to the UK, also sold out), I wondered how stretchy that rule could be. It can't be right to buy a lifestyle car and not use it in the manner for which it was intended, can it? Quite what lifestyle the Buggy is gunning for I'm not sure. Certainly not the usual improbable sporting activities that only sexy people in adverts do, like gliding or surfing or driving through glassy city centres devoid of traffic.