AS I strode out of the office there appeared to be a pack of people surrounding the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabrio I was about to step into.

On closer inspection it proved not to be a local gang of car thieves but rather several workmates keen to express their approval at the German company's classically beautiful E250 CGI.

Several requests to get the roof down were followed by several more to get behind the wheel. All were declined as unfortunately for them I was already late for an appointment but it shows the power this gorgeous soft-top possesses when it comes to attracting attention - even with the roof raised.

Once it is lowered the true beauty of this car is revealed - as are several clever ideas that remove some of the drawbacks of driving with the lid off.

A device called Aircap has been developed by Mercedes to deflect wind around the cockpit which in effect is a mesh aerofoil which stretches from the top of the windscreen helping to drastically reduce the turbulence experienced by those in the cabin.

There are individual temperature controls in the front and rear allowing passengers to be comfortable whether it is warm or cold outside.

A clever little innovation called Airscarf - available as a £350 option - blows hot air from the base of the head restraints giving front seat passengers extra warmth and it can also be adjusted for more comfort.

There is still some disturbance from the wind, but it is vastly reduced compared to most soft-tops - a fact that was much appreciated by my teenage daughter who didn't want her hair messed up before meeting with friends.

This is a tremendously smooth car to drive as the E-Class Cabrio benefits from additional stiffening across the windscreen and in the door pillars making it feel as solid as any of the many hard roofed E-Class alternatives.

I'm not a great fan of fabric hoods but the one on the E250 CGI combined the useful talents of looking good while still being sturdy enough to keep out unwanted wind and road noise while not ballooning at high speeds.

The mechanism to remove the roof stops people in their tracks to watch and so it is probably just as well it only takes 20 seconds.

The hood can be retracted at speeds of up to 20mph but inevitably will reduce the available boot space from 390 litres to 300 so making anything but the stowing of an overnight bag difficult.

With the roof up there is still plenty of headroom in the back for all but the tallest of passengers but visibility out of the rear window is slightly impaired by the back wind deflector which fits between the two headrests.

Mercedes equip the E250 CGI with a plethora of safety features including head bags fitted within the doors and rollover bars concealed in the head restraints to protect the rear passengers. There's also a driver fatigue monitor to help stop people falling asleep at the wheel.

The E-Class Cabrio is available with a choice of three diesel and four petrol engines. The 1.8-litre petrol engine in my test car was married to a super smooth automatic gearbox which provided hard-to-notice changes and decent acceleration.