MOST small coupe-convertibles look great with the roof down but quite ugly when it's up.

Howsoever, there is one marvellous little sportster with a folding roof which is as pretty as a picture roof up or down and that's the Vauxhall Tigra.

Earliest 2004 models are now down to a quite reasonable £5,000 and they are all closer to a sportscar than a convertible, with only two seats.

Even the base 1.4 90bhp engine offers plenty of driving fun and the 1.8, with no less than 123bhp just makes the whole car that much better.

The 1.4 once gave me a marvellous trip to the West Country on a lovely summer's day and I had the roof down for the whole trip.

The Tigra is also available with a the 70bhp Vauxhall 1.3 turbo diesel, with no less than 60mpg economy, but it is very slow.

The tiny roof doesn't take up too much space in the boot, and it goes up and down at the touch of a button in just a few seconds.

The power steering is wonderful, the handling vice-free and the road-holding excellent.

Comfort is well up to the best in class despite the good road-holding, and standard equipment is more than enough for most people, with aircon and electric windows, central locking and a good stereo.

: Ford SportKa