London’s hippest and coolest were in Central London last night, at a launch event hosted by MINI. We were there too.

Promised a true ‘MINI product launch’, supermodel Agyness Deyn was hungrily avoiding the canapés, electropop star Little Boots was the DJ, with BMW design chief Adrian Van Hooydonk as MC.

The big unveil turned out to be not just one vehicle but three… electric scooters, no less. One was electric ‘MINI E’ green and yellow, another British Racing Green, with the third a special English ‘mod’ edition, complete with roundel. Strap on the beaver’s tail and Brighton here we come.

Tying-in to MINI’s cars, Mr Van Hooydonk focused on the latter two-wheeler, remarking on the scooter’s “Britishness”. In Quadrophenia terms he’s justified, although Vespa and Lambretta might have something to say about scooter origins.

Nonetheless, the three concepts all sport the typical design cues and retro touches synonymous with the MINI brand. And with ‘E’ badging and plug-in battery power, offer a ready route into electric mobility that the prototype MINI E car currently can’t provide.

In terms of brand ‘lifestyle’ then and as a cheaper route to MINI ownership, the scooters are likely to see production.

The inevitable ‘Issigonis will spin in his grave’ brigade will be along in a moment…

I was lucky enough to be a guest of Renault at its Z.E. roadshow in London earlier this week.

The first two (of four) electric zero emission, or Z.E. models were formally introduced, along with a detailed presentation of the company’s battery-powered strategy.

Later, we had the opportunity to drive the Fluence Z.E. and Kangoo Z.E. van around the streets of London.

Renault is certainly upfront about the advantages and disadvantages of going electric, and is honest enough to admit that “EVs won’t be for everyone.” Yet the company believes up to 10% of car buyers could be tempted into plug-in battery powered cars by 2020.

To facilitate this, a key part of the Z.E. strategy is pricing electric cars the same as their combustion-engined equivalents (the Fluence and Kangoo both have conventional siblings.)

Neither loses anything for being electric – the Kangoo ZE has the same loadspace (commercial fleet managers take note), and the Fluence is an utterly usable 5-seat family car. The only compromise is that old EV bugbear: range. Both cars have approximately 100 miles from full, and are fast charge capable in 30 minutes.

So electric cars won’t be for everyone - but to be fair nor are motorbikes, bicycles, or trains. Our travelling lives of the future will be inexorably shaped by crowded cities, pollution and dwindling oil supplies. As this becomes ever more apparent, a mildly compromised car will seem a no-brainer.

In that context, Renault has delivered the most compelling case for electric car ownership yet.

I was at the Silverstone Classic the other week, watching (among others) Sir Stirling Moss, in his first race since breaking both ankles in a fall down his lift shaft earlier this year. Not many 80-year-olds would have survived the fall at all… let alone be back racing a few months later.

Thing is, everyone was going to say he drove brilliantly, whether he did or not. But believe me – he DID drive brilliantly. Fast and precise at the wheel of his little red OSCA, he and his co-driver climbed steadily up the field until Sir Stirl was leading the class. Then, with just 10 minutes of the hour-long race to go, his gearbox stuck in fourth and he pulled into the pits (gifting the class victory to rock star Chris Rea). “We were flying and I really enjoyed it,” said the indefatigable Moss afterwards.

We need more blokes with this sort of spirit.

A British man called Matthew Comer has just driven Route 66 in a Corvette.

He got his kicks on the famous trans-US highway by visiting drive-ins and eating hot dogs as he went.

He also gave the borrowed 436hp yellow Corvette Grand Sport a good spanking.

All things considered then, a damn fine car on a damn fine road. A bit like a Jaguar XKR through the Wye Valley…

What’s your favourite car/road trip combo?

Skoda has practically cornered the market for small, functional high performance hot hatchbacks with its new Fabia vRS.

I choose the word practically carefully. It’s certainly not because there is any degree of doubt as to the vRS’s cornering ability - far from it – but more of that later.

No, it’s because while most hot hatch superminis can lay claim to a degree of practicality and versatility by merely possessing an upward opening rear door and folding rear seats, the Fabia vRS trumps them resoundingly with a very useful extra pair of doors for rear seat passengers.

If the rear doors really matter to you, your supermini hot hatch shopping list is a very short one indeed. In fact it seems you really need to step up to the Golf/Focus C-segment to avoid clambering through two larger front doors to gain access to the rear seats.

It seems the Fabia is Hobson’s choice here, but should you come up with a viable alternative, Skoda, in poker terms, will see you and raise you with its estate version which adds 180 litres of load-lugging ability to the hatchback’s 300 with the seats upright. Folding them will open up a cavernous 1460 litres.

Whichever bodystyle you choose, the 180bhp 1.4TSI engine delivers neck-snapping acceleration off the line covering the 0-62 sprint in just 7.3 seconds.  Aerodynamics dictates that the estate has the higher top speed by one mile per hour at 140.

I got to try the Fabia vRS at Prodrive’s Warwick facility so was able to explore its considerable talents in a safe environment before taking to the public highway for some real world motoring.

The XDS electronic limited slip differential ensured a tight turn-in for accurate cornering with less steering input when you’re wringing out the exhilarating performance of the supercharged and turbocharged motor via the wheel-mounted paddles of the fabulous 7-speed DSG gearbox.

Out on the road, slipping the DSG into auto mode allows the Fabia vRS to display a more mild-mannered demeanour. It rides 20 mm lower than regular Fabias and sits on rather fetching 17″ alloys with low-profile tyres but the ride quality is still quite acceptable.

You can see why Skoda felt quite comfortable about abandoning the diesel unit of the vRS’s predecessor as combined fuel consumption of 45.6 mpg is quite remarkable for a car with this level of performance.

The Fabia’s rather upright, tallboy design doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a hunkered down, sporty look, but its recent facelift has improved things somewhat while a host of personalisation options will allow buyers to choose different combinations of roof, body and alloy colours.

The Fabia vRS is on sale now priced at £15,685 on-the-road for the hatchback and £16,480 for the estate. What are you waiting for?

I used to work with a race team that was sponsored by a top-shelf men’s mag. One of the (many) things I learned is that the most popular models are not the most beautiful, nor the ones with the biggest… statistics. It’s the ‘girl next door’ image that sells mags – because they seem almost within reach. Ultra-glamorous models are clearly just fantasy.

Which brings me to the Ford Focus RS500. Never mind its 350HP, which – despite being front-wheel drive – sees it bullet from 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds, it’s the stealth-bomber, matt-black body that sets this outrageous little machine apart. We borrowed one to drive back from the Le Mans Classic last week. Thing is, I have never, ever known so much attention from onlookers – not in a Ferrari, not in a Porsche, not in anything. At the péage on the French autoroute, the blokes were coming out of their booths to take a look.

At £35k, the RS500 isn’t cheap, but it’s still an almost-attainable ‘car next door’, rather than a billionaire’s Ferrari. Except, of course, it isn’t attainable because they’re all sold out. Rumour tells us that the 500 cars built were sold out in five hours…

Earlier this week, I attended a Peugeot dealership in West London for the launch of ‘Mu by Peugeot.’

In essence, it’s a ‘mobility solution’ idea imported from France for trial here.

Uniquely placed amongst its peers, Peugeot can not only hire you a lion-badged car or van, but also a bicycle or 50cc scooter, Coupe-Cabriolet, and much more.

Mu members order online their transport of choice (with the promise of receiving that EXACT vehicle, and not an ‘or similar’ substitute.) The prices are competitive and vehicles are dropped back to the dealership afterwards.

So, can it work? Peugeot stresses that it is not trying to compete with Avis, Europcar et al for the tyre-kicking segment, but can provide a genuine alternative for hirers.

The trial is due to last six months in London and Bristol, after which Peugeot will evaluate the scheme. To see for yourself, visit www.mu.peugeot.co.uk

A Peugeot RCZ for the weekend? Sounds good to me…

Renault’s new compact coupe-roadster aims to put the wind up the Mazda MX-5 and Peugeot 207CC.

Renault describes the Wind as a compact, inventive, fun-to-drive coupe-roadster.

Let’s break it down:

Compact. At 3.83 m long, you can’t argue with that. It slots neatly between the Twingo and Clio.

Inventive. Hmm, I think this may be stretching it a little.  Although the folding roof mechanism is clever, it’s fairly close to the solution pioneered by Italian designer Fioravanti which saw production on the Ferrari Superamerica some years ago. Apparently, Renault has added a cover to the pivoting lid which earns the French carmaker the right to a separate patent. So I’d say more evolutionary than “revolutionary”, as Renault puts it.

The key benefit of the flip-top lid is that it takes up very little storage space so the Wind’s boot capacity remains constant at 270 litres with the top up or down. Its arch-rival, the Peugeot 207 CC offers just 187 litres with the roof stowed. Opening or closing the roof is a push-button affair and takes just 12 seconds.

Fun-to-drive. The car was developed with assistance from the Renault Sport Technologies division so the prospects for an entertaining drive were quite promising.  These are the guys behind the Clio 2 Renaultsport platform, upon which the Wind is based.

We set off in the 100bhp 1.2 TCe model in Dynamique S trim which features the larger 17” alloys as standard. The car was finished in a very modish shade of brilliant white paint, the only non-metallic option available.

Our test route took us along a mix of motorways and twisty mountain roads which allowed us to explore the Wind’s road manners in some detail. Most open-topped cars suffer from a lack of torsional stiffness which often translates into soggy handling but the Renaultsport gurus have reinforced the Wind’s bodyshell to endow it with very tidy road holding and precise turn-in.

The 153 Nm of torque on tap were found wanting a little as we climbed through some of the sharpest hairpins but they proved more than adequate as the hills flattened out.

The 1.6-litre version offers an extra 33bhp but just 7 more Nm of torque so I would probably plump for the peppy and more frugal ‘blown’ Wind.

Charis Whitcombe recently road tested the Clio fitted with the same 1.2-litre engine and shared my opinion on the virtues of the unit.

Renault officials said that no diesel variant is offered or planned since there is no diesel competitor in the segment but a glance at the Peugeot listings shows an HDi version of the 207 CC and MINI is also planning an oil-burning convertible – so Renault may wish to reconsider its position on this point.

Prices start at £15,500 for the 100bhp 1.2 model and rise to £18,200 for the 133 bhp 1.6 VVTi Collection limited edition.

The Wind is not a hard-edged machine for typical Renaultsport fans, but it is a stylish and accomplished little coupe-roadster.

The name may cause you a few sniggers initially but once you get over that, you’ll find it’s a breath of fresh air.

Click here to check out the photos from the launch of the Renault Wind.

Along with 174,999 other people, I enjoyed the Goodwood Festival of Speed immensely. For a flavour of the day, check out my Goodwood Festival of Speed feature, or view the pictures.

The only question asked since my return:

“Which car was the best?”

“Which car was your favourite?

“Which car would you like to own?”

How to answer… based on what - Rarest? Most usable? Coolest? Most sensible? A modern Lamborghini such as the 570-4 comes close to completeness for me. But I’m sure some purists must hate it.

Much as they are to be admired, not sure I could bring myself to drive a vintage-era Bugatti… and it’s an expensive paperweight.

Goodwood is so extensive there’s a car to fall in love with parked around every corner. So for me, the answer is: “I don’t know.”

Over to you, which car would you choose?

There’s no getting away from how important the Giulietta (joo-lee-eh-tah) is to Alfa Romeo’s future as it attempts to reach out beyond its ever-faithful Alfisti to achieve real mass-market appeal.

But can the car’s ability match Alfa’s ambition? I went along to the UK press launch at Goodwood to find out.

Alfa says the Giulietta has been ‘designed to beat the best in the mid-size C Segment’ which accounts for a quarter of all new car sales in Europe and the repeated comparisons of specs and prices to equivalent models of the VW Golf, suggest that the Italians mean business.

During the presentation, we were treated to a slightly gimmicky ‘Minority Report’-type video depicting Fiat Group Design Chief Lorenzo Ramaciotti explaining the care and attention that has gone into the design of the Giulietta as he dragged, flicked and sketched images of the car onto a huge transparent screen. Video gimmickry aside, however, I firmly believe this Alfa stands up as one of the most elegant executions of the 5-door hatchback genre (no 3-door version is planned).

Replacing the aging 147, the Giulietta offers more space, refinement and equipment as well as a vastly improved Euro NCAP safety rating, achieving five stars and an overall score of 87/100 - the best ever for a compact car.

A range of five new turbocharged Euro 5 compliant engines ‑ three petrol and two diesel – are on offer, the smallest of which being the 1.4-litre petrol unit which pumps out 120bhp.

But I tried the top of the range 1750 TBi Cloverleaf version which emits 235bhp and endows this particular Giulietta with a 0-62mph sprint time of 6.8 seconds on its way to a flat out maximum of 150 mph.

Getting behind the wheel I felt that the interior didn’t quite match the high expectation set by the sculptured exterior. There were some neat touches like the Alfa-branded pedals and quality was generally good but I felt it lacked a little polish for a car costing almost 25 grand. Rear headroom is also tight, especially if you opt for the glass sunroof fitted to the test car.

On the move the Giulietta delivered its power smoothly and progressively. The DNA system which allows you to choose from different driving modes to suit your mood (and pocket), seems to work better than it does in the MiTo Cloverleaf. The Dynamic setting delivered sharpened throttle and steering responses without the unruly, terrier-like snapping-at-the-leash of its smaller sibling.

And this was typical of the Giulietta’s deportment throughout my time with the car. It came across as very grown-up and refined. The seats looked sporty and sculpted but the foam density suggested that comfort was prioritised ahead of grip.

Perhaps this is just an example the kind of subtle compromises that Alfa needs to make in order to move on from being a popular ‘niche’ brand with a small group of dedicated followers and begin shifting product in large quantities.

Another important part of the process is encouraging buyers who may not previously have considered an Alfa, to see the brand in a new way. To that end, we were given a sneak preview of the glamorous new TV ad campaign which features Hollywood A-lister, Uma Thurman, sliding behind the wheel and declaring, “I am Giulietta”.

Ms Thurman was apparently chosen for her unique blend of talents and cross-gender appeal and Alfa will be hoping that the Giulietta’s similar skill-set will translate into sales success.

I think Alfa has got the mix just about right with the Giulietta. It may not quite match the Golf on outright quality, but its combination of style, safety and on-road poise deserves to win new fans for the Milanese brand.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta goes on sale on July 24 with prices starting from £16,995.

I subsequently tried out the 170bhp variant and have to say that, given the price differential and the improved economy and CO2 emissions, I’d go for the still perky, lower-powered model and use the cash saved to raid the options list.

Check out some great photos from the Alfa Romeo Giulietta UK Launch at Goodwood.