Vauxhall scooped rival manufacturers Ford and Vauxhall by launching its medium-sized coupé-convertible shortly before they launched theirs. How the Astra TwinTop, the Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet and the Volkswagen Eos will play against each other remains to be seen, but there's no doubt that Vauxhall has made a strong start to the game.Unlike other cars of the type, the TwinTop - and you have to give Vauxhall credit for coming up with the funkiest name in the class - is impressively good-looking whether the roof is up or down. The process of changing from one mode to the other takes 26 seconds, which is pretty much how long it takes with everything else, give or take a second or two.That's quite impressive in itself, since the whole performance is among the most complicated you'll find in any coupé-convertible. Bits of metal and plastic whirr constantly into and out of view, and it's easy to view this with concern. How long would it be, you wonder, before something breaks or fails and requires a massively expensive repair job?The answer, according to Vauxhall, is about 27 years, assuming that you ask the roof to fold and unfold itself once a day for that entire period. This information comes after intensive testing, but don't come crying to me if you buy a TwinTop now and find that the roof doesn't work in a mere 23 years.One very odd thing about the roof is that you don't have to be stationary in order to raise or lower it. You can actually do either of these things when the car is travelling at up to 18mph. I'm not sure why anyone would want to do this, except when caught out in a sudden shower of rain - but is it any more convenient to drop your speed to 18mph than it is to stop altogether?I can also imagine a few potential safety issues here. Other manufacturers insist that the car has to be stationary (and sometimes that your foot has to be on the brake) before you start operating the roof, and I think Vauxhall would have been wise to do the same.In topless form, the TwinTop's luggage capacity falls from 440 litres to 205 litres, which is the sort of thing a coupé-convertible buyer just has to deal with. Cars of this kind also tend to lose out on rear passenger space; there is almost invariably an official claim that it doesn't, but this is generally a case of a manufacturer talking through the wrong end.Same here. A Vauxhall person told me that the TwinTop is a full four-seater, but it just plain isn't.There are several engines available for the TwinTop, as there are with the Astra on which it's based, but the one most likely to find favour is the 1.8-litre variable valve timing unit tested here. Although this develops a maximum of 140bhp, it does so at 6300rpm, an engine speed which most owners are unlikely to achieve more often than they need to have the roof repaired.The test car also came in mid-range Sport trim, which makes it look even better than other TwinTops, but the word "Sport" doesn't bear very close examination. This is not a hot hatch in disguise.Well, it doesn't need to be, of course, and in fact it proves to be a really rather enjoyable car to drive. There's a pleasant sprightliness to its handling, and it's particularly rewarding through a series of fast, flowing corners.If you're going to indulge in this sort of thing, you'd be better off keeping the roof in place. In topless form, the TwinTop is still quite a sturdy car - 30% stiffer than the old Astra Convertible - but you can feel a certain amount of flexing all the same.With the roof up, though, the car is perceptibly tighter, and it makes all the difference to the driving experience. If you're going slowly, on the other hand, and you want to allow either the atmosphere to come in or your delectable presence to be made visible to the public, then roof-down it is.If you're in the coupé-convertible market and you don't have any particular allegiance to one manufacturer over another, the TwinTop is worth your consideration, and Vauxhall's rivals are going to have to be on mid-season form to do much better. Engine 1796cc, 4 cylinders Power 138bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 36.7mpg / 185g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.7 seconds Top speed 130mph Price From £22590.00 approx Details correct at publication date
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