The new Audi A4 Cabriolet is going to cause an awful lot of commandment breaking. Hopefully it will just be the ninth one, but no doubt there are some who will also break the seventh one, or at least attempt to. Most people won't try and steal it, but they are likely to find it rather difficult not to covet, as it is, after all, a handsome and expensive looking bit of hardware.

There is a solidity and quality about the body which might even have the people at Mercedes-Benz wondering: 'So, how have zey managed zis?' It does not look overtly sporting, but there are some sexy touches like the aluminium finish around the windscreen and along the waistline. The double radiator grille and the triple headlights are other neat details and there's a huge range of alloy wheels to choose from. Yet, however you spec your A4 Cabriolet up, the finished result will still look more like a classy grand touring convertible than a raw-edged roadster.

Inside, the quality theme continues. There's more than a hint of luxury about the interior. In fact, it verges on the absolutely fabulous and is easily one of the best in the class. It's not up there with the smaller TT in terms of outright funkiness, but the quality, look and texture of the whole thing still make you feel pretty good about life. As long as you haven't been confined to the rear seats, that is.

Despite Audi's claims to the contrary, this car isn't really capable of carrying four adults in full leg-stretching comfort. There's not a massive amount of luggage space either, not once the hood has completed its 24-second electronic lowering cycle and glided out of sight. However, with the hood raised, there's an extra 69 litres of boot space available.

But enough of all that. Let's go for a blast over that wild volcanic landscape. Although the three-litre version is 150kg heavier than the equivalent version of the old model, it sure don't feel slow Joe. Top speed is 150mph and, while we didn't quite see that, the speedo needle swings up into three figures very easily indeed. The six cylinder engine sounds gorgeous, too, with the hood down.

Raising the roof rather dulls the experience, but the hood itself is very impressive, a triple layer affair with a heated rear glass screen. Driving back down through the mountains in the darkness it was jolly quiet and civilised at speed. Even with the hood down the cabin stays fairy ruffle free, especially with the easy-to-fit deflector in place, although that's only possible with the rear seats unoccupied.

Apart from the occasional glitch in finding reverse, the five-speed gearbox is near perfect - although a Multitronic, continuously variable transmission is available at a premium of £1,450. The brakes are pretty good and so too is the steering. Our car was fitted with sports suspension and, not only was scuttle shake or body flexing almost impossible to detect, the handling also felt fluid and fun. A grand tourer it may be, but that doesn't stop one having a grand time on a mountain road.

But we should finish with a word of caution here. Usually on car launches we haul our over-fed asses away from the lunch table to ensure we drive as many models as possible. But due to a combination of early starts and late finishes and generally not being in the right place at quite the right time, I only managed to drive the range-topping, £28,220 3.0 Sport. I didn't get a chance to sample the base £24,620 2.4-litre six cylinder or indeed the Multitronic gearbox.

Pudding-trolley gossip had it that the non-sports versions, with softer springs and dampers, lost something in the driving, whilst the Multitronic gearbox generated mixed opinions to say the least.

For now I'll give the 3.0 Sport a firm thumbs up and will report back as soon as I've driven a 2.4. It's on sale in the UK in May, so they'll be on the London streets before too long. Hopefully my side-arms certificate will have come through by then.

Angus Frazer

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