Ooh là là little French number

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South Africans love alfresco driving and this stylish French cabriolet is a perfect choice for drivers who like to feel the wind in their hair.

Renault's ooh là là Limited Edition is a real eye-catcher and no, it's not just a car for limp-wristed hairdressers and pretty blondes sporting expensive scarves and expensive sun glasses.

With its lovely lines and clever quick-action fold-down metal roof, it's a fun alternative to boring little dime-a-dozen urban run-abouts – and it appeals as much to the species from Mars as it does to those who hail from Venus.

OK, so its rather small boot and cramped leg room at the back doesn't make it a very practical car, but people buy cabriolets to see and be seen in and for the sheer pleasure of driving them, rather than for taking the dogs to the beach or carting Mother Dear to Pick ‘n Pay.

In essence, driving a cabriolet is about being stylish and having fun, while looking chic and being different from the rest. And it's a role that suits this little French number to perfection.

To differentiate it from the rest of the Renault family, the très sexy Limited Edition boasts snazzy dual tone leather seats, 16-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps, body coloured bumpers, silver roof arches and lots of clear glass, thanks to the absence of the b-pillar.

The living quarters are free of the fuss and unnecessary bother Gaelic and Italian cars are renowned for, and the design and lay-out is elegant in its simplicity, with all the knobs and dials placed exactly where you would expect them to be.

The seats not only look good, they are comfortable and easy to adjust. The help with finding a comfortable driving position the steering wheel is also fully adjustable.

Push-button windows and mirrors make life easy and with good all-round vision, the Renault is easy to park, even with the roof up.

Speaking of which – the roof adds lots of extra appeal to the Limited Edition. Just a simple flick of a dial and the metal roof folds down neatly out of sight into the boot in seconds.

To get it back up again all it takes is a press of the same button, so if you are caught in a sudden downpour or a Hout Bay sand storm you can get the roof in place long before you get wet or blasted by beach sand.

But the pretty Megane is not only about looks. Surprisingly for a cabriolet, it also brags with a five-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test programme.

The ride is comfortable (perhaps a little too comfortable for enthusiastic drivers) and the body is sturdy and almost free of shiver and shake except for when the going gets a little uneven, then it does jump and jar a bit, but not enough to cause irritation.

Roadholding is good and the steering is nicely weighted, although not exactly sharp. But then it's a comfortable cruiser designed for commuting and cruising, not for burning rubber and being hurled around torturous mountain passes.

It feels stable and reasonably sure-footed, even when pushed hard, and the brakes are quite impressive, even after a couple of emergency trial stops.

Although it has enough bum space for four, the rear is cramped. OK for garden gnomes and ankle-biters, but not for grown-ups planning a journey longer than to the corner shop and back.

The boot is not exactly cavernous, but big enough for an overnight bag or two.

The 16-valve 1.6-litre engine is on the lazy side, but quite adequate for what this cabriolet was designed for. Fuel consumption should be quite good, even when just driving around town and up and down the boulevard.

At R246,500 some might find it a little pricey, but then it does come with a five-year/60,000km full maintenance plan and a very reassuring Stand-By-You security guard service in the event of a breakdown.

When it comes to picking an open top car, the choice is as wide as a Bafana goalmouth, starting from Peugeot which has cabriolets ranging in price from R215,900 to R274,900, Opel's attractive twintops from R256,760 up to the exciting turbo-version at R308,360 or one of many models available from the expensive German threesome Audi, BMW and Mercedes – and not forgetting the world's most popular sports car, the evergreen Mazda MX-5 for as little as R249,300.