If austerity is all the rage, someone forgot to tell the manufacturers of city runabouts. Aston Martin's much-maligned £35k Cygnet -based on the humble £10k Toyota iQ- is just starting to hit the streets. It's also available in an even more exclusive Colette edition.

The amusingly named Fiat Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari has been terrorising residents of Belgravia since late last year at an unamusingly steep £30k.

And the £11k Fiat 500 on which the Tributo is based is now available in a Gucci edition for a £5k premium.

Even Citroen is in on the act with the Orla Kiely-fettled edition of their quasi-premium DS3.

It doesn't stop there, however.

Having the last laugh -as is so often the case in the Automotive world- are the Germans.

BMW Group brands Rolls Royce and Mini recently had a pash behind the bike shed and produced the Mini Inspired by Goodwood.

What do you get for your £25k premium over a standard £16k Mini? Leather, leather (everywhere), walnut veneers made at the Rolls Royce plant in Goodwood, "deep-shag" carpets and the smug satisfaction that, if you hadn't worked it out already, you're one of 1000 willing to pay £41,000 for a Mini.

Downsized luxury is everywhere these days; nary a day goes by that a report doesn't my desk telling me that, despite the economic uncertainty, people are still enjoying luxuries, just in smaller portions. Now consumers can do it with their cars. Just don't expect it to come cheap.