The marque of a true diplomat

FEW would begrudge Pavel Seister his current "company" car. Befitting his status as Czech Ambassador to London, he is driven to his official engagements in a GBP 50,000 BMW, complete with personal chauffeur.

However, His Excellency can recall the times when any car was considered a luxury. In the late Sixties he was forced to become a window cleaner for 20 years, as Communist authorities in the old Czechoslovakia clamped down on leading academics.

After years of strife, Mr Seister saved up enough to buy a humble Trabant car to ferry himself around. To this day, he still keeps it under lock and key at his other home in Prague. "It was one step above walking but I just could not bring myself to sell it after the political situation changed. The BMW is a lovely car, although I enjoy cycling and walking here too. We have a Czech flag to go on the BMW for ceremonial occasions." Now, however, he and his trusty chauffeur are about to feel the wind of change blowing in from the homeland. After years of enjoying the luxuries of a top German saloon, the Czech Government has announced a major shift in policy. It's just been decided that the Skoda Octavia is to become the official car for Czech ministers and state officials worldwide. The first of 200 "stretched" Octavia Laurin and Klement hatchbacks have already been delivered by Skoda to the Government seat in Prague. And the ruling goes all the way to the top the Czech Deputy Prime Minister himself is setting a good example by using one. Laurin and Klement were the founders of Skoda back in the 19th century, but the car named in their honour is equipped with everything an ambassador might need for the new millennium. The official car is a stately 80mm longer than the standard Octavia Laurin and Klement hatchbacks, ministers can put their seal to documents using the worktables attached to the rear of the front seats and there's a mobile phone in the armrest. And just in case the driver gets a little too close to the Embassy wall, there are parking sensors in the rear bumper too. Naturally, the specially commissioned governmental cars will be painted black and there's the VW Group 1.8 litre turbo-charged engine under the bonnet. That's all very well, but does Mr Seister relish the prospect of waving his BMW goodbye? "I haven't heard anything from my own government about when it might arrive. I am more than happy to have a Skoda because they are a good car and a pleasure to be in," says Mr Seister, ever the diplomat. Chris Hawken, Skoda's Head of Marketing in the UK, said he was delighted with the Czech Government's decision. "It's a Czech-built vehicle, after all, and they should be driving them to support their home economy. I am sure some of the more high-ranking officials might look poorly on having a Skoda, but the stretched cars are even more comfortable than the standard models. I don't think Mr Seister would notice a great deal of difference between the BMW and a Octavia. Our car has climate control, leather seats and some lovely wood." A standard Laurin and Klement Octavia would cost around GBP 20,000 in this country. Mr Hawken said the price of the stretched version had yet to be confirmed but Skoda could make the car to special order if required. "I don't know if companies will be queuing up to buy them but they are exceptionally good value. I think anyone would consider them as luxury motoring and more than suitable for an ambassador," he added. MOST European ambassadors in London are faithful to the flag and drive a car built in their home country. However, car connoisseurs might consider the African representatives get one of the best deals; they don't have a national car, so most are given a BMW or Mercedes. Tongan Ambassador, Mrs Akosita Fineanganofo, goes one step further - her BMW 7 Series has the registration 1 TON. Despite regular appearances on newsreels, the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square was reluctant to admit it loyally ran an official Cadillac for the Ambassador - although it is known they operate at least one Reliant Robin for top secret message-running in the capital. Tony Blair's official car is a Jaguar, which is complemented by a family people carrier. The Government also runs Ford and Vauxhall cars and Sunderland-built Nissans are now on the list, too. However, Foreign Office Minister Joyce Quin and Local Government and Housing Minister Hilary Armstrong are really leading the way. They have both taken delivery of the first Nissan Primeras in the UK to run on Liquified Petroleum Gas. Perhaps it's time for leading ministers in Whitehall to consider the next step - car-sharing with somebody who is not a chauffeur. Cars the ambassadors choose SWEDEN (Mats Bergquist) - Volvo S80 AMERICA (Philip Lader) - Cadillac FRANCE (Daniel Bernard) - Citron XM JAPAN (Sadayuki Hayashi) - Toyota Century FINLAND (Pertti Salolainen) - Volvo S80 GERMANY (Gebhardt von Moltke) - BMW 740 GHANA (James EK Aggrey-Orleans) - Mercedes E240 TONGA (Mrs Akosita Fineanganofo) - BMW 740 IRELAND (Edward Barrington) - Mercedes FIJI (Filimone Jitoko) - Mercedes S class

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