Mazda MX-5

There's a reason that Mazda's MX-5 is a perennial favourite and it's not just because it's stylish and good value for money; it's fun to drive. That's fun as in, at all speeds, too, not just while being hustled around a test track at ridiculous velocities. Hence it appeals to both men and women perhaps more so than any other car featured here.

It's unlikely that the same buyer in the market for either the Audi A3 Cabrio or the BMW 1 Series Convertible would even glance at the MX-5, though they don't know what they're missing. What the Mazda lacks in badge appeal and interior ambience it more than makes up for in character and driver appeal. It also has one of the simplest roofs in existence, though with the advent of the folding hardtop Roadster Coupé version, we suspect that the traditional soft-top's days are numbered, so few are the compromises with the solid roof.

Thursday April 10