Audi A3

It stows in a kind of complicated 'Z' hinge, so that the furthest panel - the one that attaches to the windscreen header rail - sits on top of the bootlid. It's rigid like the TT's, so it doesn't flap and doesn't expose any crappy hinges or split roof rails. Neat. Fast and neat. Fast and neat and not embarrassing.

Once down, the A3 looks stylish, a little bit like a stumpy A4 Cabriolet. It certainly doesn't have that horribly chainsawed look that marked out the convertible hatchback a few years ago, and avoids the elongated arse of most Coupe Cabrios that need to provide enough bootspace to store a large metal roof panel.

It looks remarkably good in white, which is not the sort of thing I was expecting to hear, this side of a Sergio Tacchini convention, unless accompanied by the heavy clack of a gold sovereign against the stock of a sawn-off shotgun nestling in my ear. I know white is supposed to be cool, but I thought that only counted in supercars; humdrum kit generally just looks like you bought it cheap.

Driving it feels light and relatively precise. The body is 54 per cent steel, with subframes and other sundries made of aluminium, but the way the car is reinforced strategically, rather than just fattened up, makes all the difference to the driving experience.

The 200bhp, 2.0-litre TFSI is revvy and lag-free, there's very little wobble despite the extended sunshine top and the six-speed manual gearbox (there's 'S-Tronic' dual clutch if you want it) works like all Audi/VW 'boxes - well enough that you simply don't notice it.

Poling around in the sunshine, it makes a lot of sense and actually ends up being proper fun. If it starts to rain, up comes the top, and you've got an acoustically sorted bubble that doesn't really change the handling balance - try that when you move upwards of 40/50kgs around the C-of-G in a coupe cabrio.

There'll be four engines; two TDi's (a 1.9 with 105bhp and a 2.0-litre with 140) and a pair of petrol TFSI units (a 1.8 with 160bhp and a 200bhp 2.0-litre). Either of the 2.0-litres does an admirable job, though there's something slightly nicer about having a quiet petrol buzzing away up front. Just seems to suit better.

So don't buy an A3 Cabriolet because you think it's going to make people think you're a bit ker-a-zee. Don't think that it will make you look 'on trend', über-fashionable or - God forbid - young. If this is as unruly as you're likely to get this year, then you're currently undergoing the korma of mid-life crisis, the milky latte of moneyed rebellion.

Do buy it if you want an exceptionally well sorted small cabrio that makes everything else look a bit fussy and try-hard. Do buy it if you want a driving experience that isn't sullied constantly by the dynamic hamstring of a folding hardtop. Do buy it if you want a car that doesn't make it look like this is as close to flash as you could afford.

Because the A3 Cabrio has managed to shake off the starter-convertible feel that makes the competition look dull. And it's also the first time I've looked good topless in years

Tom Ford