Chrysler Crossfire

While the stunning Crossfire is a better convertible than coup�, rivals have the measure of it on a challenging road. Drop the hood and you'll notice even more of the admiring glances, but for cutting-edge handling, look elsewhere. The gutsy V6 engine makes the Roadster a tempting package - yet competitors offer a lot more.

Underneath the body of this Chrysler lies a chassis with an incredible claim to fame. It's the only platform ever to start life as a coupe-convertible, turn into a conventional hard-top, then end up as a traditional fabric-hooded roadster.

Now that this bizarre cycle is complete, the US manufacturer is ready to unleash the next phase in its assault on the British performance car market with this - the Crossfire Roadster.

Having started life back in 1996 as the Mercedes SLK, Chrysler's Crossfire platform is hardly the freshest, but over the top of it sits one of the most striking bodies on sale today. This new Roadster version should allow drivers to get even closer to the action - but will potential buyers be blown away or left out in the cold? It's the styling that holds the key to the success of any convertible in this market, and the Crossfire has lost none of its individual flair with the removal of its roof.

Unfortunately, the same character wasn't applied by the cabin designers. Many of the parts have been carried over from the previous-generation SLK, and the abundance of silver plastic on display looks rather cheap. However, one advantage for Roadster buyers is that with the fabric hood folded away, the cramped cabin feels far more spacious than that of the coup�.

The mechanism itself requires the driver to turn a handle above the windscreen to unclip the roof, before pressing a button located by the handbrake and watching the hood fold electrically into the boot. Luggage space is at a premium when the soft-top is fixed in place, so owners will have to take little more than a rucksack if they want to drop the lid and cruise in the sunshine.

And they will have a far more enjoyable drive if they aren't in a hurry. The surprising thing is that the drop-top version of the Crossfire is more than a match dynamically for its coup� sibling, as the rear-wheel-drive chassis does not seem to suffer from any loss of rigidity. Yet the Chrysler still doesn't inspire confidence on a twisty road. Our car featured a Mercedes-derived five-speed automatic gearbox, which offers a far better match to the characterful 3.2-litre 218bhp powerplant than the six-ratio manual. Under full throttle, 0-62mph takes 6.5 seconds, and is accompanied by a meaty growl from the exhaust.

However, even the engine note of a supercar can't justify the Crossfire Roadster's price. Go for the auto and you will pay £29,235 - which is £315 more than the all-new entry-level self-shifting Mercedes SLK. Admittedly, you will be sacrificing straight-line performance if you decide on the German-built machine, but it's light years ahead in other respects. It may boast the looks of a supermodel, but we don't think the Crossfire Roadster has what it takes to put the wind up convertible rivals.