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It’s funny when your eyes set upon a car, and then you start seeing them everywhere. This car: no not some sporty coupé, but a diminutive hybrid SUV, the Toyota Yaris Cross. Appealing because it’s both fuel-efficient and affordable. Too small for a family of four, with two growing teenagers in the back? Possibly. A step down from what we have now? That too.

We owned a Yaris derivative years ago: the peculiar Verso, which was basically a Yaris with a conservatory on the back. But despite its weird looks — at work I was derided as Postman Pat — it was a great car, so spacious and convenient for a young family. The Yaris Cross seems a little less wacky, and rather more stylish than that goofy car, but undoubtedly it too comes with similar compromises.

I suspect that when it comes to it, we’ll just have to settle for the more practical Kia Niro hybrid, second-hand, a car much more comparable to our own, or its big brother, the Kia Sportage hybrid, the latter a bit more stylish. Either way, sensible will likely win the day, mindful of family holidays, shopping expeditions and the obligatory trips to the tip.

Not an all-electric model? Well, there is the Hyundai Kona, also second-hand, but that’s a whole new voyage into the unknown, that would probably necessitate us knocking down our prefab garage, putting up a carport in its place and installing an EV home charger. Hardly a small investment.

Decisions, decisions, but really it’s not urgent. All of this pondering aloud as a result of following a Yaris Cross through Cockfosters yesterday, then passing one in Palmers Green, spotting an advert while waiting at traffic lights in Edmonton, and passing another on White Hart Lane. Oh stop following me, you stupid little car!