Vauxhall Astra

Road test

Compromise is the name of the game when it comes to coupe-convertibles. You, the buyer, have to decide how much practicality you are willing to sacrifice for a little tonsorial tussle when it's sunny, and car makers have to work out where to put the roof when it's not needed.

Vauxhall hasn't come up with any new answers to the latter question, but it's refined the present solution of gathering it up in the boot. The roof curls into a more compact ball by dividing into three parts that then slither under the rear canopy in 26 seconds, even when the car is moving at up to 18mph.

It's a neat operation, leaves a fuss-free profile to the car's looks and means the Astra does not suffer from the fat-arse syndrome that afflicts many other coupe-convertibles. Keep the roof retracted and the Astra also finds a better answer to the question of boot space than its current crop of rivals.

There's no hiding the large lump of metal and glass now occupying much of the luggage compartment.

However, there's still enough space underneath this to fit two suitcases and some soft bags, and Vauxhall has made it easier to get at them - there's a red button in the boot's aperture that lifts the folded roof by 25cm, easing access to the 205-litre loadspace. For more storage, you'll need to forego topless motoring.

Roof up, the TwinTop takes on a rakish, coupe look, though the rear does become the sole domain of children due to restricted headroom.

Regardless of whether the roof is up or down, the best choice is the 2.0 Turbo. It's the most powerful in the range with 197bhp, which it needs to overcome the roof's extra weight. Even with 197bhp, it's more nippy than rapid, with 0-60mph taking 0.4 seconds longer than the less powerful SRi Sport Hatch's 7.9 seconds.

Still, the fundamental balance of the Astra's handling has not been too upset at the loss of the car's roof. The TwinTop is keen to hang on through corners and lets the driver make the most of its power.

Driven hard, there is an inert feel to the steering and the body begins to shimmy, but this is missing the point of a coupeconvertible. Take a more relaxed approach and the 2.0 Turbo's strong mid-range allows decent progress.

The 1.9 CTDi 150 turbodiesel makes a decent case for itself thanks to its refinement and broad spread of torque, but even Vauxhall admits it's aimed at company car drivers.

Decent residual values should make the Astra TwinTop a sound buy, but it may be compromised in the near future by the arrival of the VW Eos and Ford Focus CC, both of which pitch up later this year.

Alisdair Suttie