Silly but brilliant

DOES anyone have £20,000 I can borrow?

I only ask because I've completely changed my opinion on Aston Martin's forthcoming city car - no, really - codenamed Cygnet. It's not so much as ugly duckling as an utterly brilliant idea.

Behind the blu-tacked DB9 grille and silly bonnet vents is actually an IQ, Toyota's 67bhp solution for anyone who wants to look stylish in a traffic jam. Its boot is laughably tiny and it costs more than its (far roomier) Aygo sister, but it's brilliant.

The IQ, with its full foursome of seats, is so much smarter than a two-seater Smart, and there's something about its silly dimensions that makes it more fun to hoot about in than Ford's Ka or Vauxhall's Agila. In fact, the only thing that would come close to me writing a cheque for ten grand is Fiat's 500, but for very different reasons.

The Cygnet, though, costs twice that, and blending the IQ with Aston's DBS is like putting roast beef and sushi on the same plate. Either that or a very bad hand at Scrabble. The working title's not exactly racy either; DBQ, anyone?

Yet somehow, in a slightly chintzy sort of way, I still want one. It's just a shame then that even if I did have £20,000 I still can't have one, because they're all going to existing Aston owners.

Never mind. I'll just look forward to seeing Bond chasing baddies in Fiat 500s at the helm of his DBQ...