Our Car, Seat Leon: Turning me into an anorak since 2013

This vehicle does have one definite problem, and that is that its turned me into an annoying drone of a car salesman. I've never felt a need so strong to convince family and close friends as to the brilliance of a vehicle, but there's something about the Seat I just love. I've watched the festive light wane and expire in loved one's eyes as I tell them that an average fuel consumption of 40mpg is stunning considering the way I have to drive (shooting cars means lots of accelerating and braking and not much else).

The unluckiest person was my brother-in-law, who's currently thinking of upgrading from his Citroen DS3 to a car with more space, which has sent my Leon frenzy into hyperdrive. I will not rest until he is sold. "What more could you possibly want?" I asked. "What do you want it to do that it can't? TELL ME CHRIS, WHAT?!" His response was that he wanted something German.

A ha! Checkmate! It is German...technically, its a VW Golf GTD! This makes perfect sense to me, but from the look on his face I realised how far I've sunk, what I've become. A nonsensical bore. Because on the outside, to him, this isn't German, and nothing I say can change that.

Incidentally, the only person who was seriously impressed by my increasingly desperate whinging and blustering out useless facts was my Dad. And the less I say about his taste in cars the better.

Back for the New Year though and our very first shoot of 2014 put the Leon back in action alongside the BMW i3. Yet this time, having been whizzing around London like it was a level of Mario Kart, hopping back in the Leon it felt too loud, the torquey diesel suddenly so sluggish. I actually thought I'd broken the thing. I guess its all perspective. Let Chris have his German car. He'll be back. Probably just for another lift. And he shall get it.