Audi A3 Cabriolet 1.8 TFSI Review: What A difference A day makes

Talking about the roof, what a technological marvel it is, moving with precision and sophistication. It closes the cabin with reassuring insulation from the outside world. So much so that with it closed, you could easily have thought you were driving the A3 hatch.

Take a corner enthusiastically and you will notice the lack of scuttle shakes that plague many lesser cabriolets - solidity resonates throughout, even on the move.

It is finally time to look at the A3 Cabriolet from the outside. Though it is a smallish car at 4,238mm long, its modest size was no obstacle to embracing the car with a sense of elegance. Unlike its flamboyant Bavarian direct rival, the A3 Cabriolet is subtly beautiful.

Maybe the only aesthetic problem is the disproportionately short boot. The A3 Cabriolet is definitely a top-down looker - with the canopy up, the problem is particularly pronounced. But having said that the design does grow on you, put it this way - see the A3 Cabriolet in the perspective of other hatchback-turn-cabriolets, like say a Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet (Mk3 or the upcoming Mk6) and the "short-tail look" problem will begin to fade away.

So, the Audi is perfect eh? Yes, definitely. Especially if you intend to use it everyday as it simply pampers you. But perhaps I am a finicky driver - the Audi A3 Cabriolet may be just a tad too perfect a car. So much does it cossets you that, sometimes, you do feel like you want more involvement in the way it does its job around a corner. Throw in a more talkative helm perhaps?

Alternatively, choose expressways to cruise in and forget about the hassles of taking winding roads...

Credits: Story by Azfar Hashim, Jeremy R. Chua and Colin Choo. Pictures by Azfar Hashim.