01/06/08

• Price16,685
• We like...Excellent fuel economy
• We don't...Looks ordinary inside

Top-down two-seater looks great and costs sensible amounts to ownWho says a two-seat, top-down sports car needs to be fast? Vauxhall’s Tigra proves the point. It’s a car you can choose to come with a fair lick of power. But for us it’s best with a small engine. You can choose one even, weird as it may sound for a drop-top, a diesel motor.

The previous Tigra was a mini-coupe with a fixed steel roof. The current one keeps its metal lid, but doffs it at the press of a switch, when electric motors will pack it tidily into the boot within 20sec. The benefit of this is a secure, fully weatherproof top when you need it, a fully open car with no flapping fabric hood to secure when you don’t. So it’s all about rowing along, breeze ruffling your scalp, taking in the fresh air.

To drive, it feels just like the Corsa supermini. And that’s good, because Vauxhall’s small cars now have a wonderfully ‘grown-up’ feel about the way they steer and soak up bumps. There’s comfort and precision as you’d expect from bigger and more expensive cars. In fact, it’s doubly good when you reckon that Vauxhall must have strengthened the Tigra a fair bit for it to avoid the body shimmers that might be caused by its lack of a fixed roof. Top up or down, it feels solidly ‘planted’ on the road. The cabin’s snug and not a place for the very tall or heavy but the boot is a good size even though the roof takes up the top third whenever it’s folded.

And if you’ve driven the current Corsa, the dash and controls will look familiar, too, because they are pretty much the same. That’s good because they’re well arranged and so soon fall instantly to hand but it is less good that they look and feel ordinary in what Vauxhall wants you to think of as a high-quality sports coupe. It looks better on the outside than it ds in.

Then again, the Tigra compares well on price against the roof-dropping competition, such as Peugeot’s 207 CC, although its cheaper versions make a lot more cash sense than the top-end ones. And you should also remember that Tigra money would otherwise buy a Mini Cooper Convertible If you go for the 1.3 diesel Tigra we tried, there’s 61mpg on offer and low CO2 figures. For some, the idea of a diesel engine in a sports car seems a mismatch.

But it is reasonably smooth and as punchy from low revs as you’d want a little sportster to be. But it rumbles at low speeds and persists its noise until you get close to 50mph, whereupon it settles. And its exception fuel economy and low CO2 means it is frugal and green. It costs £990 more than the same car fitted with a 1.4 petrol motor that’s good for 46mpg. So, after this difference in prices you’ll need to drive the diesel for 20,000 miles before you’ll see a saving on your fuel bills.

The Tigra’s pretty, affordable and an easy way to drive roof-less. We like it, but not enough to sway us away from the Mini Convertible - our favourite small drop-top.

• Engines1.3 CDTi
• Power69bhp
• 0-60 mph16.8sec
• Economy61.4
• CO2g/km124
• Insurance groups8
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags4
• Seats2

Motors.co.uk value verdict: