The Alfa Romeo Giulia is the only new car I would buy

For other new cars, of the hundreds of models on offer, only a small handful really appeal to me, bizarrely most being offered by manufacturers beginning with an ‘A’.

The Abarth 695 hot hatch (preferably with manual transmission, if you can still find one) has strong appeal, despite its firm ride and limited practicality, as does the Alfa Romeo Giulia, the best-looking new car you can buy today in my humble opinion, and great to drive. The new Alpine A110 also floats my boat, having owned and run a couple of examples of the ‘classic’ 1970s original many years ago when they were still largely unknown and affordable in the UK. The original A110’s down-side of having a rear-mounted engine (something else I tend to shy away from) has finally now been corrected over 60 years later by placing the motor in the centre, where it should be for the finest handling qualities.

Away from the Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Alpine, not many of the other new cars we can now all buy (budget willing) appeal to me. A Caterham Seven still takes some beating for excitement and a sense of involvement, but I’ve already been there and done that with creaking bones and a bad back to help remind me of all of those joyous moments I’ve had driving one. In a similar vein, but still too limited in what it can do in real world motoring, I find the tiny new Citroen Ami EV very appealing, despite it being two-seats only, with a 30mph top speed and restrictive 30-mile range.