But with our unpredictable weather that often heralds a new season around the next corner, the cabriolet loses some of its appeal and come the winter, the soft-top seems totally out of place, and those envious stares wither away.

But all is not lost; if you want to go topless in the summer you can now pick a car that will give you metal roof protection in less clement weather. More and more all-weather coupe/cabriolets are making their appearance on our roads. They are a true fun vehicle for all seasons.

Ford is the latest to launch a CC. The French have been in the metal-top CC market for years with the Peugeot 206 and 306 and Renault with the Megane CC.

VW introduced their C-segment Eos last year to high acclaim and now the top selling Ford here, the Focus, gets the CC treatment.

The secret of the success of these models is the ease of converting a secure coupe into an open-top car. You are driving along in your coupe when suddenly the sun comes out. Pull over, push a button on the dash and, hey presto, without moving from the driving seat the twopart roof disappears into the boot in about 20 seconds. No more squashed fingers or torn nails, fine-tuned electric motors do all the work and you get the best of both worlds . . . snug family motoring or wind-in-the-hair excitement.

While sharing the Focus family look the CC has its own unique profile. The coupe's arched roof gives flowing lines and in cabriolet formation steeply raked windscreen and wedge rear-end become the prominent features.

The design was developed jointly by Ford and top Italian style house, Pinninfarina, who were earlier involved with Ford in the Streetka project. The Focus CC is built at Pinninfarina's factories outside Turin.

In saloon and hatchback form, the Focus is one of the best handling cars on the market and the top driving dynamics are carried into the CC version. The drive is smooth and there are no ripples through the bodywork over rough ground which is a good meassure of build quality.

The solid hard-top roof gives extra rigidity and extra confidence during some high speed test driving in the two-litre Titanium trim model.

There are three power plants on offer, a 1.6-litre 100 PS, the powerful 145 PS two-litre and the latest generation two-litre 136 PS TDCi diesel. The two-litre petrol pours the power on very quickly, with 0-100 km taking just over 10 seconds. Ford put 210km (130mph) as the top speed and say that the body has been strengthened to compensate for the times when the roof is down.

The windscreen pillars have been designed to give protection to the driver and passengers in the event of a flip-over.

Ford make the best use of space. This is a four-seater but long-legged occupants in the rear may find they need a bit of knee juggling to stay comfortable on long journeys. Up front the driver and passenger get good body-hugging seats, a wide range of safety devices, good entertainment equipment and air conditioning.

The two-litre Titanium models sells for just under 39,000 which comes with partial leather interior. The test model had full leather trim which brings the price to over 42,000.

The boot often suffers in CC cars because that is where the roof is tucked away but here there was surprisingly good capacity. With the roof out of the way it gives 534 litres of space and 248 when the roof is down.

No it won't take the kitchen sink but it is good enough for weekend luggage.

The Focus CC will serve well as a daily car for singles and couples who put style over the high price for the limited accommodation.

Residual values may be limited but it will not break the bank in running costs if enthusiasm is curtailed. In ideal driving conditions, with the roof up, it returns between 7.5-9.5 litres per 100km.

VITAL STATISTICS
Model Engine Length Width Height Wheelbase Acceleration Top speed Transmission Economy Price C0 2emissions Ford Focus CC 2-litre petrol 145 PS 4,509mm 1,991mm 1,448mm 2,640mm 0-100km . . .10.3 secs 210 km/h 6-speed manual 7.5L/100km /38,740 179g/km