After weeks of hot, sunny weather, the heavy rain arrived at the same time as my test car – the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet.

But whatever the weather, this is a great little car – and luckily there were a couple of nice days, when I could take the roof down and have fun in the sun!

This is definitely an ‘old-school’ classic that makes people smile.

There are a range of engines available – all are direct-injection, four-cylinder turbocharged units. The three petrol engines are a 1.2-litre TSI 105 PS, a 1.4-litre TSI 160 PS and a 2.0-litre TSI 210 PS. The two diesel engines are a 1.6-litre TDI 105 PS BlueMotion Technology and a 2.0-litre TDI 140 PS.

Gearboxes are five or six-speed manuals or six or seven-speed DSG units. Beetle Cabriolet, Design and Sport are the three trim levels on offer, and three special edition models were created for the launch – the stylish ‘50s Edition’, the cool ‘60s Edition’ and the ‘70s Edition’, which come with bespoke styling elements.

Specification levels are high – all models come with air conditioning, an RCD 310 CD system with a DAB radio, rear Isofix points and a rear spoiler.

It wasn’t an easy task to fit both my child seats in the back, but it was achievable and my three-year-old loved the car ‘with the broken roof’.

The multi-layer hood with glass rear screen folds automatically in just 9.5 seconds – even while driving at up to 31mph – and can be raised in 11 seconds. A cover is provided to protect the roof when folded.

The entire roof system folds into a very compact space, meaning that even with the top down the boot volume remains at 225 litres, bigger than Mini convertibles.

Inside are black and red leather seats and a sports dash with three dials above the centre console.

The quirky vase to keep flowers on the dash has long since gone – it is all slick and functional now, but this is still a car with bags of character.

Safety equipment included standard electronic stability, brake assist, a full complement of airbags and a hill hold function.

It has a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty and it also comes with a year’s membership of Volkswagen Roadside Assistance, which provides home and roadside recovery if you break down in the UK or Europe.

Factfile
Car: VW Beetle Cabriolet 50s Edition 1.4
On the road: £24,895
Top speed: 128mph
0-62mph: 8.6 seconds
Fuel: 41.5mpg (combined)
CO2 emissions: 158g/km