25/04/08

• Price20,750-£27,060
• We like...Looks, style, the way it drives
• We don't...Legroom is tight in the rear

Audi's new baby cloth-top looks peachy and drives beautifully. It's not cheap, but it's still terrific: prepare to want oneDespite our come-rain, come-shine climate, we Brits love soft-top cars, buying more than other Europeans. And that’s even though cabrios invariably cost more and offer less space inside than the steel-topped cars they’re based on. Weird isn’t it?

All the same, the arrival of a new cabrio is something to celebrate. Especially when it is so handsomely made as this one: Audi’s new A3 cabriolet. Audi’s not made a cabrio this small before, although it’s earned itself soft-topper fans with its roomy A4 and its TT, which is strictly two-seats, focused and sporty. The A3 splits the difference between the two, offering space (just) for four and plenty of big-car treats in a small-ish package. Style with such cars counts for pretty-much all, and so it is that this A3 is even prettier in the metal than our pictures suggest.

Clap eyes on one in the white-paint, red-hood-and-seats colourway of ours and you’ll want one: guaranteed. Fortunately, it ds also drive very, very well. The key thing with a cabrio (and a major reason why they are often more expensive than their hatchback cousins) is that taking off the roof removes stiffness. Which the designers must then put back by strengthening remaining panels. If they don’t, you have a car that shimmies and hops. If you’ve ever driven an older Saab 900, you’ll know what we mean.

But Audi’s team deserve a bonus for this car: top up or down, it just feels so solid. The ‘Sport ‘ models rode firmly but still sponged across bumps with nary a jitter. The steering puts the car where you want it but has a relaxed manner: it drives briskly but isn’t a ‘sporty’ car. The cabin looks terrific, understated in the way Audi ds best and assembled from quality bits, good-looking and tough.

While Ford, Volkswagen and umpteen others have given cabrios metal roofs that fold and stow in the boot, Audi’s stayed with a traditional cloth top, arguing that it takes up less boot space and raises and lowers faster. Both true: it lowers in just 9sec to the Volkswagen’s Eos 22sec and raises almost as quickly. And while the boot opening is slot-like, there’s good space for holiday bags and the chance to add load space by dropping the seat backs.

Audi reckons two-thirds of buyers will want a diesel motor up front and there’s a choice of a 105bhp 1.9 or a 140bhp 2.0. Both engines already show in numerous Audis, Volkswagens, Skodas and Seats. For now, we’ve driven the petrol alternatives, 1.8 and 2.0 turbos. Both spin freely and punt the cabrio along at a lick. If anything, the smaller of the two felt the livelier.

Prices start at £20,750, running across three trim levels to £27,060. But, tick a box or two on Audi’s long and inviting list and it’s too easy to nudge £30k. But, if you want a top-drawer cabrio on the small side, your other option is BMW’s 1-series, which is model-for-model a touch pricier and also dearer per mile to run. For us, for now, this cabrio’s the one.

• Engines1.9 TD, 2.0 TD, 1.8 TFSI, 2.0 TFSI
• Power101-197bhp
• 0-60 mph12.3sec, 9.7sec, 8.3
• Economy55.4mpg, 5
• CO2g/km134, 139, 174, 182
• Insurance groups11E, 12E, 14E, 16E
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags4
• Seats4

Motors.co.uk value verdict: