An electric roof and a fetching front go a long way in the battle of the convertibles. Michael McAleer reports on Opel's latest version of the Tigra
Opel must be hoping for an Indian summer. Launching its latest Tigra here in October is a brave move indeed.
Yet, oddly, convertibles sell stronger in our colder climes than in their natural habitat in the sun-baked south of Europe. Our continental cousins obviously understand the principles behind heatstroke and sunburn, so prefer to motor in air-conditioned coolness.
For the rest of us, however, the appeal of open-top motoring goes from the strength to strength and the car firms are keen to get a slice of the action. Entry to this market depends on two factors: a fast easy-to-use roof and an eyecatching design (these cars are as much mobile jewellery as transport).
Opel's new Tigra is based on the current Corsa platform, but it actually bears far more resemblance to the new Astra range, particularly at the front.
With roof up, the look is quite retro, especially at the back, where the distinctive wave-effect rollbar can be seen through the rear window. With roof down, the look is even more fetching.
Roll bars used to be hideous protruding metal objects which designers hid behind headrests. Now, they've taken on a look of their own.
The roof, made by French coachbuilder Heuliez, folds up or down at the touch of a button, the entire manoeuvre taking 18 seconds, quite long for a car in this class.
You also need to keep the button pressed. Otherwise the system seems to get confused, stopping halfway and not continuing any further until you go back to stage one.
Bootspace, of course, is compromised with the roof down, but the Tigra retains 400 litres of space in the boot with the roof down, and another 100 litres in a compartment behind the seats.
We beseech Opel engineers to do one thing - remove the silly electronic gadgetry behind the bootlid and let us close it normally. It works on aelectro-hydraulic system, so you can't just pop it open and bang it shut. And, again, like the roof switch, the boot button must be held down during the opening and closing procedure. This takes several seconds. It's no problem in sunny weather, but a complete pain if you're desperate to get your cargo into the boot and scurry back into the car.
Tigra's interior fails to live up to the dynamic exterior, seeming to suffer Opel's old problem of premature ageing. It used to happen to the entire car, but Opel has now isolated it to the interior trim.
For the driver, the Tigra is as nimble as it looks. We tested the 1.4-litre 90 bhp version and found it sprightly, despite the extra load roof hydraulics. It needs some work to get it winding along properly, but it does an admirable job considering most competitors have opted to power two-seater hard-tops with 1.6-litre units.
This market has been dominated Peugeot 206cc, king of the tin-tops, though there were earlier pioneers. But it has long seen outright performance affected by weight problems. The two greatest examples of this are the Renault Megane and the Peugeot 307cc. Admittedly they took the tin-top convertible market into more family-sized motors and are très chic, but also très sluggish.
The Tigra has no such problem, but our main complaint would be its lifeless steering which doesn't suit such a small sporty car.
Otherwise it's a strong contender in an ever-growing market. It's also quite competitively priced. Starting at €23,995, it's just below the Peugeot 206cc and nearly €2,000 below the Ford Streetka.
However, in a market where street-cred is everything, the latest must-have is the Mini Cabriolet, which already boasts a long and growing waiting list.
The Tigra may fall foul of the fashionistas who give the Mini badge more street-cred than the Opel.
Tigra might benefit from the long delay in getting your hands on the rag-top Mini. But it certainly means the reign of the Peugeot 206cc are coming to an end.