Road Test: Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 CZC Turbo 2dr

There's always been an amount of irony with coupe-convertibles. They're the latest fashion accessory in the motoring world and no poser worth her pashmina would be seen without one.

But (and often it's a big butt) they never look that good. Which is a problem, and one that the Mitsubishi Colt CZC faces as well.

From certain angles, it's definitely got it - it looks OK from the front because of the angled headlights and with the roof down, there's a squat, purposeful look to it. View it from the rear three-quarters and things aren't so good. The podgy rear and cab-forward stance means Vauxhall's Tigra still takes the style award.

Plus, unlike some other CCs, there's a danger you might damage your manicured nails when you lower the Colt's roof, because you have to undo two latches before pushing the switch to go al-fresco in 22 seconds.

Still, it's hardly a hassle and Mitsubishi has been clever because the two panels in the roof fold closely together so the boot aperture is still decent.

As for the rear seats, though, just don't bother. Think of them as extra storage space and they're acceptable - to call them seats is laughable. You're much better off in the front - you sit low and well protected by the raked windscreen, and with the wind deflector in place, you won't suffer from much buffeting.

The rest of the interior is almost exactly the same as the Colt hatch, which means that it's funky to look at, but we've got an issue with the build quality. There are flimsy areas, such as below the aircon dials, that you'd never find on the Micra C+C.

The real surprise is the engine, however. There are two available: we drove the same turbocharged 1.5-litre 147bhp unit that's in the CZT and it's no slouch. It feels much quicker than its rivals and once into the power band, it's nicely responsive. The only downside is that this doesn't begin until 2,300rpm.

Still, you won't want to drive the socks off it. The chassis's been strengthened and had bits of metal added all over to try to make it more rigid, but it still judders too much over bumps. And while the average CC driver won't care how it handles, it's worth knowing that the Micra has a much better ride.

What the average CC driver will care about above all else are the looks, though, and sadly the CZC doesn't quite cut it here.