Phew! That was a busy weekend.

My parents came over on the Friday and stayed to Saturday; my daughter Sarah had a singing exam on Saturday; there was international rugby on Saturday; and Harlequins
v Sale Sharks
on Sunday. Oh, and it was Mothering Sunday.

I had a Fiat
500 to test over the Friday and weekend. It got the seal of approval from me. And the rest of the family. My wife and co-director, Alison, used to go to work in one of the originals. “It’s a bit bigger than it used to be!” reckoned Alison.

Mind you, it’s hard not to like the Fiat 500. It’s just the perfect urban runaround. Everyone was fighting for a piece of the action.

My old man drives a Fiat Panda. He had a good look around the 500, spotting the common parts with his Panda, but nevertheless giving it the thumbs up. In fact, our family one way and another has now owned Panda Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3.

It was interesting on Sunday walking to the Quins rugby game at the Stoop, Twickenham, with my son, Matt. Matt’s nearly ready for driving lessons and has some interesting observations on cars, which we discussed on the way to the match.

Among his peer group these are some of the cars that are in: Fiat 500; original Mini; new Ford Fiesta; old Ford Ka; Ford Focus RS; Smart; Mercedes C-Class; Ford Mondeo.

And these are some that are out: new MINI; Vauxhall Corsa; Mercedes E-Class; virtually all Peugeots.

It’s interesting as a snapshot of what future business car drivers consider desirable – and the interesting mix of mainstream cars and premium models.

There was deep joy at Quins by the way. We beat Sale comprehensively with a four try bonus point. Hugely satisfying. Especially after England’s
performance across the road the day before to lift the Calcutta Cup.

Cute 500 a big hit