The article was originally produced on May 15, 2013, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

3 X Cab

Now the sun is here and shining with its warm rays. What could be better then than a convertible to enjoy lovely summer days in.

CS offers here the three latest and hottest convertibles that will arrive just in time for summer. The characteristics of the cabs are as follows, a nice glider, a trendy sort of city-conscious and a really fun-to-drive bus.

Opel Cascada – A soft and sober cabriolet in true Riviera style. 

The Cascada could very well be the perfect move to help Opel regain some of its lost image. The first impression is very good and CShad the model as news right away when it was presented. The shapes are really successful over the long, sleek roofless body. There is no doubt that Opel is targeting premium customers with this model. What makes it quite unique is the lack of competitors. In this class for four-seat convertibles with a similar price to the Cascada, they are conspicuous by their absence. Opel has succeeded in filling a place that was previously empty. 

When you sit in the Cascada and let your eyes fall on the interior, everything feels very good. It's not a "wow" feeling, but it's clear that a lot of time has been spent on increasing the premium experience. However, more time could have been spent on the center console, which does not go in harmony with the rest of the interior. 

When you look at Cascada, you think of nice, relaxed rides along beautiful roads at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately, these thoughts are often destroyed by an overly stiff chassis and an aggressive gearbox that gives a bumpy and jerky behaviour. Here, Opel has done exactly the right thing and instead provided the car with a soft chassis and a harmonious automatic transmission. As a result, the journey becomes just as soberly comfortable as it should be on a hot summer day.

Citroen DS3 Cabrio – For the trend-conscious city dweller who likes the sun.

To be completely correct, the Citroen DS3 Cabrio is not a real cabriolet but a cabrio coach. What is meant by this is that the convertible top folds back and makes the entire roof open while the side arches of the roof are still there. The construction dates back as far as the 30s with models from both Citroën (2CV) and Fiat (500A). An advantage of a construction like this is that you can have higher speed while folding the roof up and down. For the DS3, the speed is 120 km/h. The roof folds all the way to the rear window and with an extra push of the button that takes care of this automatically, the rear window can also be folded in. Visibility in the inner rear-view mirror then disappears, but the outer ones provide good visibility to the rear.

As with the standard version, the DS3 Cabrio is intended to attract the trendy city dweller who wants to give his car his own personal touch. The convertible top can be ordered with different patterns and colors, just like many other details on the car. In Spanish Valencia, which can be seen as an architectural mecca, the international test run had been laid. At its heart is a 156-horsepower transverse 4-cylinder gasoline engine with a manual gearbox. On the well-trafficked city streets, the DS3 Cabrio finds itself perfectly at home with its small exterior dimensions and its lively engine character.

Volkswagen Golf R Cabriolet – A convertible with extra power for the bus-hungry driver.

As the last model out of generation six of the Golf, Volkswagen offers a real bus. 265 horsepower and rock-solid sports chassis guarantee that this car will turn your hair upside down when it now comes in a roofless version. Unfortunately, a big mistake has been made since the one with a roof and that is the removal of the four-wheel drive. The Golf R Cabriolet is now front-wheel drive. Thanks to an electronic differential lock, the power is distributed to the front wheels very efficiently and so-called tourq-steer is experienced minimally despite full acceleration. The Golf R Cabriolet is also equipped with an electronically adjustable chassis. With this set to the comfort mode, the ride is relatively smooth unlike the sport mode. 

With the lightning-fast DSG box and the two-liter turbo four with 265 horses, the 0-100 sprint takes place in just over six seconds. The sound from the two oval pipes at the back delivers a wonderful soundtrack between the rock walls on the roads above Monaco. From the beginning, the Golf R Cabriolet was not intended for the Swedish market. Something that Volkswagen Sweden made a wise decision about and changed at the last second.