Now that Cherie Blair, she's a one isn't she? I mean, there she is, successful barrister, Prime Minister's wife and all that, but what does she go and do? Spoil the whole sophisticated effect by getting caught on camera in a shell suit.

Much as I enjoy seeing Cherie's shiny plastic garment crease as she loads the kids into her 'people's' carrier, I have to say there are more stylish ways for the PM's wife to be unfashionable than this. So Cherie my dear, hang up that shell suit for the very last time, and let me introduce you to another out-of-fashion item - the BMW 328i Convertible.

As uncool as a set of red braces and a decade of wanton consumerism, the flash BMW might be a bit 'first division footballer' these days, but it doesn't stop it from a being a fine little drop-top. In fact, I can already picture Cherie outside Number 10, unclipping the catches at the front of the hood, pressing a button and letting the hood whirr out of sight in front of a gaggle of flash-happy snappers. She's got a smile on her face too, and that's hardly surprising because when she pulls out of Downing Street she'll be having a ball.

Unlike most other convertibles, the BMW doesn't suffer from the usual deluge of shakes and rattles that go with open-top motoring. She'll still notice the rear-view mirror vibrate when she goes over the roughest of bumps, but to all intents and purposes the BMW feels as solid as any tin-top.

Secondly, with the top down there's not much turbulence to disturb her delicate bouffant. Hell, with windows up and the heater set to hot, she could even enjoy winter drop-top motoring - a quick blast down to Chequers, perhaps.

But she'll have to be careful. Being a lady in the public eye, she can't just speed about the country willy-nilly and that's difficult not to do when there's 193bhp to call upon from BM's 2.8-litre engine. With a 0-62mph time of under eight seconds and a 143mph top speed it would take an even better barrister than she is to avoid a driving ban.

Still, even within the legal speed limits she'll be able to revel in the deep-chested noise the engine makes under full throttle and delight in the precise gearchange. I do apologise for the high biting point on the clutch though, Cherie. Admittedly the lack of space on the inside means she's going to have a problem squeezing all the kids in, because in this guise the BMW's a strict four-seater only. Though if I was one of her sprogs, I'd put up with no room just to ensure that her out-dated idea of fashion was a little more stylish

Zac Assemakis

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