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When I was asked about my star of the London motor show I had no hesitation in opting for the Alfa Mito. 

 Okay, so it’s not a high-performance icon like the Megane R26R or Focus RS. And, as it’s already in production, it lacks the show-stopping capacity of concepts like the OSM. But after meeting it in the metal for the first time, I really like it.

So why do I feel the need to justify my choice? Well, Alfa’s baby hatch seems to be polarising opinion in the office at the moment, with the majority definitely not feeling the love for the Mito.

I can’t comment on the driving experience, but what made my mind up was the interior of the Mito, which to me seems to exude the same kind of high-quality finish as a Mini or any of its premium rivals.

There are many myths about the Japanese car market. One is that it’s a formidably tough market to crack and even if you get in, it’s difficult and expensive to sell cars here.

Tell that to the Germans. Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes are making a killing here and have been for years. Add Audi to the mix and the Teutonic big four have 60 per cent of an import market now worth a quarter of a million units a year. Nice work if you can get it.

It must say something about the Motor Show that the only model I actively tried to purchase on press day had two wheels, a chain and some pedals.

I wasn’t being deliberately obtuse or fashionably envirofriendly. Indeed my usual chronic cynicism was being tempered by the company of my wide-eyed eleven year old daughter. As a result I spent much of my time hanging around the hands-on stuff at the event while she got on with the business of enjoying herself...

Best bit of yesterday’s press day at the motor show? Seeing how much better in the flesh Lotus’s new 2+2 sportscar looks than in the photographs.  

All my old worries about this car disappeared the moment the covers came off only to be replaced by one new one when I heard it they were going to call it ‘Evora’.

Sadly few people I spoke to at the show thought it a good name for a Lotus. A great one for an early 1990s Korean concept car, a tropical disease, sandwich spread or a pharmacological ointment my colleagues opined, but not a Lotus.

Would you know what a Hyundai Grandeur was if, for example, you fell over one on a stand at the London motor show? No; neither would I. Nonetheless it exists, and there's even one here at ExCel this week.

It happens to be the Korean brand's flagship saloon. It's just had a bit of a facelift, which is why Hyundai's making a fuss over it at the moment. And I've even taken a picture of one, just in case you think I'm making it up.

Hyundai has been selling this car for the last two years.

Gordon Brown dropped into the motor show this morning but he had only one thing on his mind: the environment. He marched straight to the Opel Flextreme concept nodded approvingly and then disappeared off to the Act on CO2 stand to get tips on greener driving.Odd considering he doesn't actually have a driving licence - but there you go.