AUDI'S TT Roadster has long been one of the most desired convertibles, but the price has excluded a lot of would be buyers.
Now the German manufacturer has introduced a bargain priced version of the trendy car - giving it a totally new group of customers to tap into.
The newcomer is some £4,800 cheaper than the previous cheapest TT soft-top and so obviously something has to be missing.
What you lose is a certain amount of performance and the quattro four-wheel-drive system.
The entry level car retains the lively 1.8-litre turbo-charged engine but in this model it produces 150 bhp compared to the 180 and 225 of its bigger brothers.
At a respectable 8.7 seconds you lose just half a second in the 0-62 mph sprint compared to the 180 bhp TT Roadster, and, with a top speed of 133 mph, it is just four miles per hour down on its bigger brother. Hardly a big price to pay for a saving of almost £5,000.
You also lose the benefit of four-wheel-drive in favour of front-wheel-drive, although to be honest most drivers would not notice except in the most extreme conditions.
And the lack of four-wheel-drive does have some advantages. For a start this car is around 100 kg lighter than the dearer models which is a big advantage to its overall performance. It also means you get better fuel consumption, around five miles per gallon more to be exact.
Abandoning the quattro system for front-wheel-drive also means abandoning a lot of gadgetry under the rear of the car, which has allowed Audi to make the boot much deeper than on other models.
Unlike with other TT Roadsters where packing for a holiday meant cramming as much into one decent sized soft bag as you could, this new model has enough boot space for a reasonable sized suitcase as well as a couple of good sized bags.
It also means grocery shoppers - and a lot of TTs are sold to women - will be able to get all their requirements into the boot and not rely on the passenger seat.
Since the up-grading of all existing TT models to a six-speed gearbox the new entry-level model becomes the only one with a five-speed box, although the ratios are such that you never feel as if anything is lacking
Despite its more sensible price tag, the new TT looks more or less identical inside and out to the more expensive models - retaining the same stylish cabin that has made it such a success.
Equipment levels too have been retained - you still get the same power hood, an electronically controlled wind deflector, climate control, on-board computer and Audi's impressive Electronic Stability Programme.
On the road this car does not feel quite as sharp as the others in the range but it still has enough performance to give plenty of wind-in-the-hair driving fun.
There is a nice throaty roar from the exhaust but in general it is a very quiet car to live with. And although the road holding is excellent you do not have to pay the price of a very solid, hard to live with, suspension that comes with some two-seaters.
All in all this looks like being a smart move from Audi - and one which is sure to pay dividends in TT sales.
FACTFILE
Audi TT 1.8T Roadster
Price: £21,450
Mechanical: 150 bhp, 1,781cc 4cyl turbocharged petrol engine driving front wheels via 5-spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 133 mph
0-62mph: 8.9 secs
Combined mpg: 34.4
Insurance group: 16
CO2 emissions: 197g/km
BiK rating: 23%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 12yrs anti-rust; 3yrs paint