Dropping your top might not be front of mind right now, but there’ll hopefully be some sun in the sky when Vauxhall’s Cascada convertible saunters into dealers in April.

The Insignia-sized, four-seater drop-top will be priced from £23,995 in the entry level SE trim with a 1.4-litre, 138bhp turbocharged petrol motor, with a CO2 rating of 148g/km and combined economy of 44.8mpg. The SE gets standard kit to the tune of 18-inch alloy wheels, a “sports” chassis, LED tail lamps and an aux-in / USB audio input. The only other trim choice is Elite, and as the upgrade trim enjoys full leather, heated front seats and steering wheel, and front fog lamps.

Next up the Cascada engine scale is the 2-litre, 162bhp diesel motor with manual and automatic transmission options, that’s said to be good for 54.3mpg on the combined economy test, with CO2 at 138g/km. Rounding off the diesels with best performance is the 192bhp, Bi-Turbo 2-litre diesel, coming later this year. The Bi-Turbo fires the Cascada to 60mph in 8.9 seconds and on to 143mph, while hitting 138g/km of CO2 and 54.3mpg combined.

The newest engine for the Cascada range is the all-new 1.6 SIDI Turbo ECOTEC petrol engine, that’s said to offer major improvements in torque, linearity and efficiency. It makes 167bhp from 1,650-3,200rpm and 280Nm of torque for a 0-60 sprint of 9.2 seconds, and top speed of 135mph. It will be offered with a new, low-friction automatic six-speed gearbox for best combined economy at 39.2mpg and CO2 emissions of 168g/km.

The Cascada will enjoy Vauxhall’s HiPerStrut front suspension as standard, which is good news for apex fans as it’s a system that works well in other Vauxhall models. Matched to the suspension will be UK-market-tuned electric power steering.

When the sun does finally come out, the Cascada’s fabric roof – available in three colours – drops in 17 seconds, at up to 30mph.

By Daniel Anslow

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