Audi TT Roadster

Audi TT Roadster

Feast your eyes on one of the finest-looking cars anywhere on the market. The TT Roadster is all curvaceous muscle, but other than the wheel arches, there’s barely a line that isn’t straight. It’s a masterpiece of design, from the clamshell bonnet to the light clusters, so sharp you could cut yourself.

But unlike the iconic first generation TT, this third of the breed isn’t all style and no substance. It’s a casual sports car; detached enough from the road to feel smooth and safe, while at the same time serving up impressive shove from its 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Wide, premium tyres give seemingly endless grip in the dry, and linked to variable-ratio steering it can hustle up a winding road as quickly as you dare.

The steering takes a little getting used to as it’s a bit light, giving you little useful feedback about the road surface. You quickly learn to trust the vast reserves of grip, though, and with a superb canvas roof that shoots up and down in a few seconds, you can sit back and enjoy a thoroughly satisfying countryside adventure under the sun.

Suitable for: Sun-worshippers with an eye for style, technology and plenty of speed.

VW Beetle Cabriolet

Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet

The baby blue bombshell that is this 2015 Beetle is even better as a cabriolet. The soft top suits the laid-back, fashion-focused attitude of the still-fresh Beetle concept, with its interior trim carefully selected to match the paint. There’s no mistaking that the Beetle is as focused on aesthetics as they get.

It’s great for driving around Malta’s curvy roads, especially with the seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox hooked up to it, but something with a bit more raw poke would help it get up to out-of-town speeds easier. But that’s not the point. Hook your MP3s up to the Fender stereo system, roll back the canvas roof and soak up some rays in the knowledge that, if it’s a bit too chilly for you, you can simply enjoy the car in style even with the roof in place.

While Volkswagen has made the latest Beetle slightly pointier, more aggressive and by proxy a little less cute, you’d have to say it looks a bit more mature than its forebears without losing its uniquely appealing looks. The bottom line for the Beetle Cabriolet is that if this is what you want, nothing else will do.

Suitable for: Fashionistas who don’t mind the weather as they know they’ll look good anyway.

Fiat 500C

Fiat 500C canvas top

The 500C is one of the smallest convertibles you can get, and for your money there’s no better-looking canvas-topped city car out there. Over nearly a decade now, the 500 has subtly evolved while staying true to the looks that have won it legions of fans across the continent.

Although not cheap, the fabulous TwinAir version with the latest 104bhp 899cc turbocharged two-cylinder engine is the one to go for. There’s nothing else like it on the road and you’d be surprised at how brisk it is.

You sit quite high in the 500C, but that bubble shape gives you plenty of headroom. The roof panel slides back to one of three positions; partially open, fully open and then completely folded back, at which point the rear window collapses to let the roof settle into place. The advantages of this are that Fiat doesn’t need to add much structural bracing so the 500 stays light, and thanks to the fixed roof pillars you get very little wind buffeting.

The 500C is a cheeky chap that’s not just for girls. With the TwinAir motor up front doing its best to sound like the world’s tiniest Spitfire on take-off, it’s endearing to anyone who likes cars. It might have been around for a while, but it is still a great little car.

Suitable for: City-based sun-lovers who need a super-cool soft-top that’s easy to park.