Ever since Audrey Hepburn rode side saddle on a scooter through the streets of Rome on a Roman holiday with Gregory Peck, the Italian designed Vespa has enjoyed a certain chic.

It's also a bike that you either love or hate. Bikers have always been somewhat ambivalent to the so-called hairdryers on wheels. Are they really bikes? Of course they are, and they are neat pieces of design. I've owned both motorbikes and scooters, and enjoyed them for different reasons. Scooters are very economic to run but don't like cold-planed roads, while bikes are better with the lumps and the bumps but can drink their fill of petrol. So when Vespa offered me a chance to experience their special edition Vespa Rosa, I jumped at the chance. That was, until I saw the colour. It's very pink. I prefer to think of it as "colourful". Certainly every female I know who looked at it took rather a fancy to the cute curves and chrome of the 125cc machine.

At every set of lights men in vans would pull up beside me and lean out with a look of expectancy on their faces. As they realised to their horror that I was a bloke and not a busty Barbie-type model, they shrank back inside their cabs. It's certainly a bike that gets you noticed. To ride it is as easy as riding a bike can be. The twist and go automatic gears and throttle means you only have two things to do: accelerate and apply the brakes. It ticks over beautifully, and will out-sprint most cars at the lights. I took it out into the Somerset countryside and had no difficulty keeping up with the traffic at 50-60mph.The Vespa Rosa is the first pink scooter to come from the iconic Vespa brand and offers a blend of classic style, practicality, safety and agility – so the blurb reads. It goes onto say the all steel body offers unmatchable rigidity and steering precision.

Features include 200mm front disc brake with a calliper with two opposed pistons, chrome plated handgrip, automatic transmission, electric start, round headlamp and rear view mirrors in chrome plated steel.

Compared to many motorcycles it has a very wide and comfy seat with plenty of space for a pillion passenger.

I gave my daughter Milly a ride on it and there were no complaints. It also has a matching pink helmet if you want to stay colour coordinated.

It really comes into its own when nipping round town.

It's very light to push around when parking or wheeling into narrow back yards to park. Despite its weight it is also stable and corners well due to its low centre of gravity.

There's no comparison to a motorbike for manoeuvrability in traffic.

You can weave in and out and squeeze through gaps to beat the static car queues. I can see why females prefer its neat and feminine looks to a bike and why they like its lower weight.

If you are a size 10 femme then this is the bike for you.

Accessories include luggage storage boxes and racks as well as windscreens to keep the weather out. Scooters also have optional all-weather skirts which fold back from the forks to allow you to ride in winter without having to dress up like an Arctic explorer.

It's a bike that's pretty, pink and perfect. And there's not many things you can say that about.

The Vespa LX Rosa will also do 200 miles on a 8.6 litre tank full of unleaded.

The 50cc version will set you back £2,319 while the 125cc version is £2,969.

For further information about Vespas locally visit Fowlers in Bristol. fowlers.co.uk.