Road Test: Citroen DS3 Cabrio 1.6 THP 155 DSport

Price as tested:

+ Cute styling, eager chassis, neat roof, refinement, engine
– Very little really
= Small, fun, affordable. Lovely.

There is not enough fun in our lives anymore. We sit at home, commute to work or shop at the weekend surrounded by the worst kinds of depression. A constant barrage of promissory notes, of legal or political controversy. Joe Duffy, 6-1 and Vincent Browne have sucked the very laughter from our lungs, and when we peek out onto our driveways, there's usually little enough joy to be had there, either. A succession of grey, sliver, black and dark blue hatchbacks and saloons, all purchased with an overriding obsession for low Co2 emissions and frugality. Of fun, there is little or none.

It doesn't have to be like this. It was once the case that fun cars were either too expensive, too impractical or too unreliable to be bought by the majority of us but that has long since changed.

Take, as an exemplar, this new Citroen DS3 cabrio. Citroen's revival of the DS badge has been a huge success for the French firm, a rare glimmer of such at a time of retrenchment and falling sales for the big three French car makers. In 30 months, 300,000 DS models have been sold globally, 200,000 of them the perky little DS3 hatch.

In Ireland, the success is rather more muted, if it's there at all. Citroen's sales have been nibbled away by the German premium boys at the top end and by the Korean warranty-wonders at the cheap end. The DS brand and the DS3 have failed to capture Irish hearts much, hardly a surprise when you remember both were introduced in the middle of 2009, when no-one was buying cars much at all, and few enough of them would even consider a quasi-premium sports hatch from a French manufacturer.

Let's get the Frenchy-ness, if that's what bothers you, out of the way with first. The DS3 feels distinctly Germanic inside thanks to high levels of quality and big, comfy seats. There's more space inside than its main Anglo-German rival, the Mini and outside, it's little short of gorgeous. Those chunky looks, that shark-fin b-pillar and the new 3D-effect tail lights all live up to the promise of the DS brand being the motoring answer to France's great luxury brands like Louis Vuitton or Hermés.

And it really is fun. OK, so we've been testing the 150bhp 1.6 petrol turbo engine (a unit actually co-developed with BMW) which will only be available to special order in Ireland, but the DS3 cabrio brims over with fun. It's light on its toes and agile, and if it gives in too easily to lurching understeer (especially in the wet) when pushed, then at lower efforts it's bubbling and fizzing with enthusiasm for the drive.

The convertible roof is a neat installation, and given that it's really a glorified sunroof (the pillars and side rails of the roof remain in place) then it's rather well suited to Irish conditions. A 16-sec retract or replace time and the fact that you can lower or raise the roof at speeds of up to 120kmh means that you can take advantage of the scattered bright spells.

The boot, at 245-litres, is more practically sized than that of the Mini cabrio or the Fiat 500C, and the boot lid opens with a delightfully quirky motion, cantilevering up almost flush with the body. A shame that the actual boot opening is so small, meaning larger items won't go through to the space beyond, but it is an inevitable compromise for an open-top car.

Top down, and there's plenty of wind and fresh air to enjoy, but even at motorway pace, buffeting is kept to a minimum. Top up and refinement and insulation are excellent, aside from a tendency for road noise to echo up through the rear wheel arches. The optional roof colours include a deep indigo blue and a version woven with the DS logo, that stands millimetrically proud of the cloth and can be traced with your fingers.

You can't even use the excuse of purchase price or running costs to count yourself out of the fun fest. The basic 1.2 VTi petrol model will cost from around €21,500 and the main-selling 90bhp 1.4 HDI diesel, with its Band A 94g/km Co2 output, will be around €24,500. So if you're in the market for one of those dingy diesel hatchbacks (and don't strictly need the cabin or boot space) you can afford one of these.

The launch of the DS3 was a new beginning for the DS name, resurrected from its legendary 1955 origins. The follow-on launches of the DS4 and DS5 haven't captured the same critical acclaim of the DS3, but perhaps can be best described as the end of the new beginning. The DS brand's future will snap more firmly into focus at this April's Shanghai motor show when a Mercedes CLA-sized three-box saloon, a compact SUV and a large executive model will all be shown off.

Will any of these new DS cars make more of an impact in the Irish market? It is, possibly, doubtful but that would be a crying shame. We can continue to buy the same grey, silver, blue and black hatches, we can continue to listen endlessly to Cooper, Hook, McWilliams, Kenny and Duffy. We can keep firm on our slide into national apathy.

Or we, some of us at least, could buy a cute French convertible, possibly painted in a bright, happy shade of yellow. We could open the roof on a rare sunny day and get some vitamin D. We could listen, on a rainy day, to the evocative sound of raindrops on the canvas roof. We could do all that safe in the knowledge that our motor tax and fuel bills will remain low and sensible. We could, in a vehicular sense, if nothing else, cheer up.

Facts & FiguresCitroen DS3 Cabrio 1.6 THP 155 DSport
Price as tested: €26,545Range price: €21,195 to €26,545Capacity: 1,598cc

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 240Nm

Top speed: 212kmh

0-100kmh: 7.4sec

Economy: 7.4l-100km (37.8mpg)

CO2 emissions: 137g/km
VRT Band: B2. €280 road tax

Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 87% adult, 71% child, 35% pedestrian, 83% safety assist

News: Opel cascades us with new Cascada photos

These are the first official pictures of Opel's replacement for the Astra cabriolet, the new Cascada.

With this being the fourth new model that Opel has launched this year (following on from the Ampera, Mokka and Adam), clearly GM thinks that the way out of the firm's current cash crisis is to keep hitting us with more and more new models.

And the Cascada is certainly rather gorgeous,with some seriously sexy styling thanks in part to a folding fabric roof that doesn't need a butt like Jennifer Lopez' to store it when folded. Opel seems to be retreating from the weight and complication of folding steel hard tops and it's a move we applaud.

It looks  a lot like an Astra, but with a 70mm longer wheelbase than the outgoing Astra TwinTop, it's leaner and sleeker, and should be a bit more roomy inside too. That roof can be raised or lowered in just 17 seconds, and at speeds of up to 48kmh. Plus, when it's down, it only robs 70-litres from the 350-litre boot, so the Cascada remains reasonably practical.

Opel's existing range of 1.4 petrol turbo and 2.0 turbo diesel engines will be available, and the Cascada will be the debut vehicle for a new 1.6 petrol turbo with 168bhp, fitted at first only with a six-speed automatic gearbox.

While Opel claims a 43% improvement in torsional stiffness over the old Astra cabrio, prices will the stiffer too, with the Cascada tilting at the likes of the Audi A5 convertible and BMW 3 Series carbio. Don't expect much change from €40k, if any.

"The midsize cabriolet segment is only occupied by very high-priced cars from premium manufacturers," commented Thomas Sedran, Deputy Chairman of Opel. "With the Cascada, Opel offers all the typical features and premium qualities of a midsize convertible, but at an affordable price."

One thing though; the name. Cascada? Sounds like a dodgy 80s perfume...

News: VW Beetle goes topless in California

Volkswagen has released the first details of its all-new Beetle cabriolet, appropriately enough in sunny California.

 It's thankfully sticking with the traditional fabric roof, rather than a complicated folding hard top, but in true Beetle tradition the windscreen is still bolt upright and the roof, when folded, sits pram-like on top of the rear deck.

Impressively though, it can be opened up in as little as 10secs and and works at speeds of up to 48kmh. Handy for non-Californian downpours that.

Entry levels cars will get the 105bhp 1.2 TSI turbo petrol, while 105bhp 1.6 TDI diesel, 140bhp 2.0 TDI diesel, 160bhp 1.4 TSI turbo petrol and a range-topping 200bhp 2.0 TSI (effectively a Golf GTI engine) will be available too.

Now, if only we could get a little of the weather from these photos...

Road Test: Mini Cooper Roadster

Price as tested: €28,165

+ Better looking than the Coupe, fun, agile, engaging
– Crashy ride, limited practicality
= Sweet and fun but we still prefer the standard Mini hatch

I am, I will admit, somewhat baffled by the existence of the Mini Coupe. Why? Because the Mini hatchback is already a coupe. No it's not, you will say. It's a hatchback, clear as day. Not so. Take this simple list of the standard Mini's attributes. Two comfy seats in a stylish (if archly retro) cabin up front, a pair of cramped, tight-fitting, only fitfully useful seats behind and a small boot. A car bought almost entirely on the strength of its style and personality. That's a shopping list that brings you immediately to the door of EuroCoupe – coupe supermarket to the stars.

So, by taking out the occasionally useful pair of rear seats, plonking an offensively ugly roof on the top and calling it a coupe, Mini has created one of the most singularly pointless and unattractive cars I have ever driven, quite apart from its poor ride quality. It does nothing on the road that the Mini hatch doesn't do at least as well, often better, yet is more expensive and less useful. Avoid.

This, the Mini Roadster, I have to say I find significantly less troublesome and its cleaner, crisper styling is only the half of it. Because it has a folding fabric roof that stows neatly away behind the two seat cockpit, there is at least a compelling reason for the excision of the hatch's two rear seats. In doing so, it actually manages to look better than its four-seat equivalent, the Mini convertible (with its awkward rear headrests and pram-like hood) and manages therefore to deftly sidestep the Coupe's inherent pointlessness.

Of course, it is a bit of a silly car for Ireland, and that is only partly down to our regular climactic conditions. It's not even not very practical, it's not practical at all, with a tiny boot and little in the way of extra stowage space in the cabin. Not only that, but the rival Mazda MX-5 easily shows it the way home in terms of driving position, handling balance and even boot space.

Still, the Mini Roadster is at least a fun little thing. Front-drive it may be but the standard Mini's up-and-at-em chassis is still a delight, more than a decade on from its original re-invention. The steering still feels meaty and rewarding when pointing the stubby nose into a corner and in terms of grip and agility it's hard to fault. A shame that the seemingly standard too-hard ride is there; it does rather spoil the mood when tackling some of Ireland's more entertaining back roads. Someday, car makers will realise that an ability to shrug off bumps and lumps is actually more help to making swift progress than all the low profile tyres and stiff springs in the world, but I suspect it will take the carpet-bombing (or impending financial destruction) of the (in)famous Nurburgring race track to do so. The fewer car makers that sign off their stiff chassis settings on that legendary strip of tarmac, the happier I am...

The 1.6-litre 120bhp petrol engine proves that diesel needn't have things all its own way in the Mini range, and indeed reminds you that you don't need to upgrade to a Cooper S just to enjoy yourself. True, performance is hardly electrifying, but then it's more fun to spend the time winding something like the Cooper up to brisk speeds than to simply stamp on the pedal of something more powerful and arrive immediately at licence-threatening velocity. Well, I've always thought so at any rate. That it's a crisp and smooth unit, eager to rev and decently refined is all icing. As is the low Co2 figure. Who would have thought, half a decade ago, that you’d be able to buy a fun, agile, revvy, gutsy Mini convertible and pay just €225 a year for road tax? Brilliant.

The electric folding hood is a good one, belying the need for a heavier, more complicated folding steel roof, providing as it does all the insulation and security you could reasonably ask for, at a fraction of the weight and complication and without the detrimental effect on styling. The little pop-up boot spoiler is a nice little gimmick, but rather a bit of a giveway to the law that you're pressing on, unless you remembered to flick the cockpit switch to raise it manually of course, officer.

It must be noted that the Roadster finds the Mini at something of a crossroads. A decade ago, we just had the standard three-door hatch in Cooper and Cooper S forms. Since then, the Mini family has grown from a sub-brand into a proper car maker in its own right, with the Clubman, Countryman, Roadster, Coupe, Convertible and forthcoming Paceman (a Countryman coupe of all things) all vying for space. BMW is currently working on the successor to the Mini, which will use a more versatile chassis that will allow, for the first time ever, the creation of a five-door version of the standard car. Hopefully, the current car's sense of simple, honest fun will transfer to the new one, as will its palpably good cabin quality, distinctive layout and pleasantly cheeky styling. A bigger boot would be nice, and please Mini, drop the Coupe altogether, OK?

Oh, but you can keep the Roadster. A nice little car, that.


Mini Cooper Roadster
Price as tested: €28,165
Range price: €25,660 to €58,860
Capacity: 1,598cc
Power: 122bhp
Torque: 160Nm
Top speed: 200kmh
0-100kmh: 9.2sec
Economy: 5.7-100km (49.6mpg)
CO2 emissions: 133g/km
Tax Band: B. €225 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

Road Test: Mercedes-Benz SL500

Price as tested: €170,000

+ Awesome engine, comfort, quality, refinement, image
– Soft-ish chassis, size, chintzy cabin
= Expect it to be sporting and you’ll be disappointed. Expect it to be an SL           and it’s perfect.

So, the questions that has to be asked is; is the Mercedes SL actually a sports car? Has it ever been?
The original gullwing 300SL was certainly sporty, in fact a race car in all but name and some creature comforts. But the “pagoda roof” SL that followed was much more about grand touring (GT) comfiness and the models that followed were not what you’d call trackday specials. Yes, you could have the mental AMG versions of the last-generation SL, which were sharp to drive and blisteringly quick but actually, truly sporting? Hmmmmm... You see, sporting has to do with being light, agile, fast to change direction. Bludgeoning power is all well and good, but if you have too much mass then you’re just not in the sporting ballpark.

Now with this new model, the SL has a chance to reclaim a touch of its birthright. It’s certainly light now, at least lighter, thanks to an aluminium body and chassis that cuts its kerb weight by as much as 140kg. That allows it to be laughably efficient, with our 4.7-litre V8 test car rated at an average fuel consumption figure of 9.1-litres per 100km.

The more popular 3.5-litre V6 version can manage about 6.2l/100km, according to Mercedes. A stop-start system and class-leading aerodynamics play their parts, but the new SL is proof that if you want to be efficient, lose weight.

But sporting? Now that could prove a harder cheque for the SL to cash. For the past 60 years, SLs have been more Rodeo Drive than Nurburgring, and glancing at this new one’s folding metal roof and sybaritic interior, you instantly suspect more of the same.

And that’s precisely what you get here, at first. The SL is hushed and refined and even roof down at 120km/h, conversation is possible at normal volumes. The big V8 is all but silent, the ride pillowy soft and the sheer width and size of the thing, weight loss notwithstanding, dissuades you from pushing it too hard, especially on narrow roads.

Light, slightly distant steering doesn’t help and you soon rest deeply into the ample seats, happy to drive across continents in a single leap and not too bothered about what time you get there at. A classically inclined grand tourer then.

Except, if you have ticked the options box marked Active Body Control (ABC), there is another side to the SL. It’s not quite Jekyll and Hyde, more Jekyll and Hyde’s mildly annoyed brother, but there is some fun to be had. The ABC system tightens up the suspension, not to the point of harshness, but to a tauter setting than the default “comfort” allows.

Flick the gearbox (a seven-speed dual-clutch affair) into sport and let the V8 have its head, and a bit of a hot rod emerges. The twin turbos take a big gulp each and unleash the full 435bhp and 700Nm of torque on the rear wheels. There will be a roar, a snarl and, as it hardens to a NASCAR-esque bellow, you suddenly find yourself rocketing up the road.

Find some tight corners and . . . well, it doesn’t actually change very much. Yes, there is more control on offer, but the steering and body-roll soon make it amply clear that they don’t really like to be hustled and that, if you want that sort of thing, you should really probably wait for the tweaked SL63 AMG when that arrives later in the year.

It’s not that it won’t do the fast cornering stuff, it just finds it all rather tiresome, like an elegantly-dressed uncle forced into a game of backyard tag rugby.

Better to sit back and enjoy the comfort. Our car came in the delightfully tacky combo of pearlescent white paint and full red leather interior, but the default plain black cabin with silver coachwork should look significantly more subtle and suitable.

A shame that the main dials look a little aftermarket, but the glass roof panel (which reacts at the touch of a button like a pair of Reactolite sunglasses), the astonishing stereo with front-mounted bass speaker, and the heating, cooling and neck-warming seats should keep you distracted.

As for the styling, well, we’re really not sure. Mercedes cars these days often look rather over-egged and complicated, yet age and mellow beautifully as the years pass. Given that the new SL doesn’t look radically different to the old one, we’d say that’s likely to be the case once again. But it does look just a touch ordinary for a car with a six-figure price tag, with none of the drama or presence of the SLS AMG or the nigh-on perfect elegance of the W113 ‘Pagoda Roof’ SL.

Use it as intended, as a classy and effortless tourer and the new SL, especially with that mighty V8 engine, is as close to peerless as you will find. Expect it to be a sports car? You’ll be disappointed.

Facts & Figures

Mercedes-Benz SL500
Price: €170,000 (approx)
Range price: €130,000 to €170,000 (approx)
Capacity: 4,663cc
Power: 435bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Top speed: 250kmh
0-100kmh: 4.6sec
Economy: 9.1-100km (31.0mpg)
CO2 emissions: 212g/km
Tax Band: F. €1,129 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

Road Test: BMW 640i SE Convertible

Price as tested: €116,991

In brief: Really quite exceptional. Lacks the pin-sharpness of say, a 911, but smooth, agile, beautiful and with a toweringly brilliant engine.


God, I did not want to like this car. Fate just seemed to be shoveling barriers to me liking it in the way as I went to collect it. First off, with a few notable exceptions, I don’t like convertibles. I’m a coupe man, and that’s an end of it. I also have a natural Marxist aversion to cars with six-figure price tags. I know the bill for such technological mastery has to be paid, and if I had the wherewithal, I’m certain it’s a price I’d be happy to pay. But I don’t, so I’m bolshy about it.

Finally, as I set off from home and flicked on the radio, there was Depression FM (formerly RTE Radio 1) informing us all of the doom laden live register figures and further plummets in growth and consumer sentiment. Just what kind of attitude was I supposed then, to take to a €100k Beemer with no roof?

I guess that it’s the biggest compliment possible to the 640i Convertible that not only did it win me over, it did so within seconds. Sucking my Marxist ideals straight out of its open roof, it took just one hefty prod of the throttle and a quick listen to that gorgeous, creamy-smooth snarl to have me desperately assaying my kid’s college funds.

As we’ve started with the engine, let’s start with the engine. The 640i does not use a V8, despite being so close in badge to the old 645i. Instead, it uses the 3.0-litre straight-six turbo that’s found, in slightly detuned form, in the 335i. The headline figures are 320bhp and 450Nm of torque. No, scratch that. The headline figures are the 185g/km Co2 figure (for a 3.0-litre engine, let’s not forget...) and a combined fuel economy figure of 7.9-litres per 100km. Don’t believe it? You can. In spite of my leaden right foot and in spite of keeping the aircon blasting on muggy, showery August days, we averaged 8.9-litres per 100km over a week’s motoring. Now that, folks, is how you do engine.

Tied into the excellent 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, it’s little short of a wonder. It reduces motorway slip roads to snarling, roaring 1/4 mile drags, yet it’s whisper-quiet and tractable around town. And it pulls like a mule from low rpm in a high gear. The only downside is that the Sport mapping of the gearbox still doesn’t give you total manual control when using the (wonderfully tactile) steering wheel paddles. The computer, infuriatingly, still overrides you if it thinks you’re wrong. Which it will. A lot.

And the body it’s wrapped around isn’t half bad either. The old 6 Series, distinctive though it was, always looked a bit blocky and lumpy. This one, although probably quieter in looks, is also cleaner, sharper and much more elegant. Much of that is doubtless down to BMW’s decision to eschew a folding steel roof and stick with good old fashioned fabric. So, no big arse needed to hide all the gubbins that go with a folding steel roof, and no obvious loss of comfort within the cabin either, thanks to exceptional levels of refinement and insulation. Plus, you get that lovely camping sound of raindrops on the canvas above your head. Security worries? Well yes, someone could stick a knife through your roof, but hey, they can just as easily shove a brick through the window of a folding steel roof cabrio...

In the cabin, though, you’d better be prepared for a couple of disappointments. The fit and finish is, frankly, wonderful (note; this is not one of the disappointments). From the way the outer edges of the centre console loop out and over the passenger’s knees to the crisp, clear, beautiful instruments this is a fabulous motoring interior. But for one major flaw which is the driving position. For a start, the steering and pedals are offset to the right by at least two inches. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’ll be enough to trigger bad back syndrome in more than a few of us.

Secondly, the seats just aren’t supportive enough if you have them set low down in the car (surely the correct location in a convertible) yet if you raise them up, then you feel perched up and exposed. And if you’re tall, your head will be above the windscreen header.

Still, it is spacious. Sufficiently so that I was able to take the entire family (wife and two small kids plus various bags, baby seats and etcetera) out for a lovely day’s driving and avoiding showers. If those seated in the front are prepared to sacrifice a little legroom then the rear seats suddenly become adequate. The boot, hampered slightly by the need to save space for the roof to fold into it, seems small compared with the massive space you got in the old 6, but you can still pack sufficient in. BMW reckons you can get a set of golf clubs in there, which is fine if you like golf, but seeing as I hate it, I’ll just point out that you can’t get a three-wheel Phil & Teds buggy in.

I’ve saved the best bit for last. The way the 640i drives. It could have just been a big, jelly-ish thing for the American market. All squishy suspension and no deportment. Or it could have been a stiff-springed Kommandant of the Autobahn Aggressors Klub, with astonishing precision but bricks for dampers. In fact, it treads neatly between these two paths, riding with firm-edged comfort, steering with unerring precisions (and better weighting at the wheel rim in Normal rather than Sport mode). Toggling between Normal and Sport does firm things up and theoretically improves the handling but the need for extra bump absorption on twisty Irish roads means you’re better off in Normal. Besides, this is not a gung-ho sports car, even if it can play that game when asked. It’s more a precision Corniche attack weapon, ideal for an exactly timed, laser-guided sprint along the Amalfi coast before arriving at your villa just in time for Martinis. Or just bombing down the coast road between Ballyvaughan and Lehinch. Whatever. Mary Poppins-like, it’s practically perfect in every way.

So then, Unemployment. US debt downgrades. Consumer sentiment. Eurozone crisis. Gay Byrne running for Prez. Marxist ideals. You can make them all go away with a 6 Series Convertible.


Facts & Figures

BMW 640i SE Convertible
Price as tested: €116,991
Price range: €97,480 to €133,040
Capacity: 2,979cc
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Top speed: 250kmh
0-100kmh: 5.7sec
Economy: 7.9l-100km (54.3mpg)
CO2 emissions: 185g/km
Road Tax Band: E €630
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested