I said often that one of the things I liked about living in New York was not having to own a car. Public transport there was so good that I seldom felt the need for a car, and in any case, I couldn't afford the parking costs. But Sydney isn't New York — a car is almost a necessity here. The trains are OK for getting to and from the city, and there are buses and taxis (and ferries for journeys across the harbour), but for most travel nothing beats having your own car.

And now that I'm working in Canberra, a car becomes even more essential. I could fly there and back, but that would be very expensive, and would leave me reliant on taxis to get around while I was there.

So I bought myself a Citroën C4 diesel, and I'm very happy with it. It does 4.6 litres per 100 kilometres — that's over 51 miles per U.S. gallon, or almost 64 miles per U.K. gallon. Even with the high cost of fuel in this country (compared to the U.S.) I can get to Canberra and back for about $30, and I still have half a tank left.

It's a pleasure to drive, it's stylish, and it's mine. I took it to Centennial Park for photographs on the day I picked it up …