Vauxhall Cascada

Engine: 1,598cc, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol Power: 168bhp and 191lb.ft. of torque Performance: 0-62mph in 9.2 seconds and 135mph Economy: 39.2mpg (combined) CO2 emissions: 168g/km Price: £28,890

Engine: 1,598cc, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol

Power: 168bhp and 191lb.ft. of torque

Performance: 0-62mph in 9.2 seconds and 135mph

Economy: 39.2mpg (combined)

CO2 emissions: 168g/km

Price: £28,890

AS far as word association goes I don’t think Vauxhall have done too bad with their new four-seat convertible.

It may only be true for people of a certain generation, but when I first heard the name Cascada it evoked distant memories of that mid-80s dance craze, the Lambada...

Sunshine and short skirts are no bad connection to make for a car that aspires to a life in the sun.

What possessed Vauxhall to enter the full-sized convertible market, for the first time in its history, in 2013 is debatable.

The sector attracts few sales and is cluttered with Volkswagen Group products including the Volkswagen Eos and Golf convertibles as well as Audi’s A3 cabriolet at the Cascada’s £23,995 start price.

Size-wise its more closely aligned with Audi’s A5, a car targeting buyers some £8,000 further up the food chain.

Vauxhall offer two trim levels, SE and Elite, and I sampled the latter during a week-long test drive.

At £28,890 the Cascada is aiming at premium buyers and my test car’s optional extras pushed the price into A5 territory at £33,655.

Vauxhall is sure to suffer the effects of badge snobbery at this price point but aims to counter with a specification way beyond that which any potential Audi owner could expect.

A DAB radio, cruise control, Bluetooth hands free phone connectivity, rear parking sensors, seat belt presenters and some classy ambient lighting are part of the basic kit.

And with £5,000 worth of options on board, integrated Sat-Nav, adaptive chassis control and some truly swish leather upholstery add further to the premium perks.

Set aside the snobbery and things are looking good.

The Cascada was designed by a team headed by Brit Mark Adams and achieves a chunky aerodynamism, hunkered to the road.

Bereft of unnecessary creases and sharp angles, there’s an purity to its form and a folding soft-top is well integrated, not corrupting the shape when raised or requiring a huge rump to accommodate it when folded away.

Inside the aforementioned leather seats steal the show, particularly in the Brandy colour scheme of my test car.

The dashboard will be familiar to Insignia owners. Covered in an array of buttons and controls it looks a little cluttered and some plastics fall short of those found in the Vauxhall’s German rivals, but once their functions are mapped in your mind it all feels reasonably functional.

Two leather-clad rear seats look great and offer legroom that will accommodate adults far better than a smaller Golf, Eos or A3.

Open in 17 seconds, at the touch of button, the dual-layer soft-top feels more efficient and pleasingly less complex than the hard-top alternatives some manufacturers employ.

Folding into the to the boot it takes up 100-litres of the 380-litres of available space.

Vauxhall claims it has worked hard to fine tune the chassis and refinement of the Cascada and it doesn’t take long to appreciate that there’s reasonable structural rigidity in the car.

With the roof down there’s little discernible flex in the shallow-angled A-pillars and the car is not unpredictably deflected by road imperfections (often a problem with car that have their roof lopped off).

With the roof in place the reward is impressive refinement and a marked absence of wind noise, squeaks and rattles.

FlexRide chassis control system constantly adapts the Cascada’s suspension to the road conditions and helps maintain a balance which is on the comfortable side of sporty stiffness.

The innovative HiPerStrut front suspension system which quells squirming torque steer in Vauxhall’s powerful VXR models has been employed at the front end and it’s fair to say it helps to deliver confidence-inspiring front end grip.

It is unlikely that the 1.6-litre SIDI turbocharged petrol engine will ever demand much from the HiPerStrut’s power harnessing abilities though.

The mid-range point of the Cascada's three petrol engine options — a 192bhp, two-litre, Bi-Turbo tops the range — it emits a flat soundtrack and feels overwhelmed by the scale of the Cascada, progress never achieving an effortlessness that would appeal in such a laid-back summer cruiser.

It never felt up to Vauxhall’s claimed 9.2 second sprint to 62mph or 135mph top speed during my test and made the Cascada feel a little heavy and unwieldy as it worked hard in tandem with the six-speed automatic gearbox.

Claims of 39.2mpg fuel economy and 168g/km CO2 emissions also felt optimistic.

Vauxhall have created a car with qualities far above and beyond what many have grown to expect from the Griffin-badged brand.

The craftsmanship evident in the leather detailing, some truly stylish design touches and impressive refinement all play their part in the Cascada’s successes.

But an uninspiring powertrain, some cheap plastics and the complexity of some controls within the interior all meant that its additional interior space came at the cost of some outright quality in key areas.

Ultimately, though, in a posers market where being seen is key, the shallow truth may be that it is badge snobbery that robs the Vauxhall that chooses to dance to a different tune of ultimate sales success.

 

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