NOT all that many years ago, if you wanted a car with an automatically opening roof you had to be James Bond and needed to have a quiet word with Q.
More recently, in an advance for democracy, push-button roof removal has become available, not only on the pricey Mercedes Benz SLK or the much more affordable, and gorgeous looking, Peugeot 206 CC, but also on the pound-stretching Vauxhall Astra Convertible.
These days, if you're taking the top off your car by hand, then you're obviously working too hard.
However, the popular revolution is not yet complete and the true Bondian smoothness of these mechanisms depends on how much you are prepared to pay for them.
The roof on the Mercedes slides quietly into the boot in the time it takes to put your seatbelt on. On the Peugeot, things are smooth enough, if a little noisier, but if I was an ice skating judge, I would be detracting marks for artistic interpretation.
With the Astra, let's just say that it does the job. It takes 30 seconds from start to finish which would seem like forever if you were trying to shut the roof in a sudden downpour.
It also seems to pause for a tea break about half way through which could be seen as a touching reminder of the car's origins in the British industrial workplace, except that the Convertible was designed with considerable input from the Bertone styling house in Italy and it is built near Turin.
But let's not nit-pick. The roof gets into, and out of the boot - eventually, without you having to lift a finger. Or rather, not having to do anything else except lift a finger to push the button that operates the roof.
It is possible also to activate the roof by remote control from the ignition key. Very handy if, in your haste to get to the station platform on time, you forgot to close the roof when you parked the car in the car park. Not so handy if, as I am sure many people can attest, you are out of range of the control's infra-red sensor.
The Astra Convertible is the second car recently to have broken the mould for a company best-known for producing deeply uninteresting rep-mobiles. First there was the VX220 - a snarling, deliberately unfinished aluminium racing car that has barely enough room for the rep's jacket, never mind his briefcase.
Now there's also this Astra rag-top which revisits an ordinary, low-key compact and cuts it about until it seems to be bound for the Riviera.
Actually, it's bound in the main for Britain where the summer usually guarantees at least three hours of genuine top-down motoring every year.
Vauxhall isn't bothered because it's come up with the startling statistic that Britain is Europe's second largest market for convertibles. Only the Germans buy more.
So there is a market for Vauxhall to tap into. All they have to do is persuade us to buy one. I would guess that most people don't associate Vauxhall with the words 'sun' or 'fun', Rather they have tended towards the worlds 'drizzle' and 'a meeting with a client in Macclesfield'.
But this Astra deserves to turn a few people around. - what with its gun-metal trim, white dials, leather seats and eye-bursting exterior colours. It has a sporty, close-meshed gearbox and drives in a solid, undemonstrative way.
Like many compact convertibles, it looks wedgy and adventurous with the roof down but unlike some rivals, doesn't look like an out-of-order petrol pump when the canvas is put back on.
- Alistair Coull
IT WAS December, snow clouds were racing across the hills and the personal transport of the day was a soft-top Astra. But did I care? Not a jot.
I was travelling al fresco and enjoying every gulp of force-fed oxygen and, despite the chilly temperatures, I wasn't suffering from the early stages of hypothermia.
I was tempted to call the weatherman's bluff. Blizzards? Surely not, and besides, he has been wrong once or twice.
But on this occasion I decided to play safe before heading for the motorway and pulled into a lay-by, flicked a switch and, hey presto, the approaching elements were shut out and the cabin and occupants safely cocooned as the electronically-operated roof swung into place. No struggling with zips or studs while you stagger about in the wind, rain - or snow - and no risking torn finger nails or even a sprained thumb.
Even on the motorway, the three-layered hood of the dapper convertible manages to filter out most wind and tyre noise - so that you didn't need the radio on full throttle.
And, in its open-top form, you are still well-protected from buffeting cross-winds, thanks to clever sculpturing of the Bertone-styled roadster. There is the traditional high waistline, of course, which certainly aids protection and, together with the electric windows wound up, you are well sheltered.
This is not a two-seater, summer rag-top but a good-sized four seater cabriolet, with plenty of style - for all seasons.
Astras have long since proved their engineering mettle and the latest generation of cars have vastly improved in appearance over their somewhat solid but lacklustre predecessors, but they still lack personality and verve. The cabriolet has both.
Interestingly, manufacturers who carry out topless conversions of a particular model often compromise something in the design and appeal of the original shape, but in this instance the Astra cabriolet definitely profits in looks and commands far greater street cred.
The test version of the all-weather roadster was powered by a nimble and super-smooth 16-valve 2.0-litre turbo unit, which delivers a hearty 192bhp, guaranteeing inspired flight.
It may not be earth-shatteringly fast, but it gives you a good run for your money, propelling the car gracefully to a 0-60mph sprint in 7.5 seconds.
While we're on the subject of money, the cabriolet does offer a lot for your cash at £20,000. The 150-mph, two-door, rag-top feels as solid as a rock, handles with composure and the power-steering is weighted nicely to suit town and motoring driving.
My only carp is its two-door format, though access and egress to and from the back was quite reasonable. The car's waistline seems a little high and the steeply-raked A-pillars and windscreen do take a bit of getting used to but contribute significantly to the cabriolet's dramatic looks.
With the roof down, the cabriolet looks the business, but even with the hood up it still looks an attractive package.
- Val Jessop
FAST FACTS
Vauxhall Astra Convertible 2.0i Turbo
Price: £19,995
Mechanical: 192bhp, 1998cc turbocharged petrol engine driving front wheels via 5spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 150mph
0-60mph: 7.5 secs
Combined mpg : 31
Insurance Group: 16
CO2 Emissions: 219g/km
BiK Rating:25%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 6yrs antirust