The postman liked it. The man who came to read the electricity meter stopped for a chat about it too. It received admiring glances from people who saw it on the road. No doubt about it, the Pluriel attracts a lot of attention. And all that was before I started to play around with the roof.Just about everything you need to know about this car has already been mentioned in that opening paragraph - people look at it, and the roof is adjustable to the point where you can choose whether you want the Pluriel to be a saloon, a cabriolet or a sports car.In its latter two forms the Pluriel would no doubt be subjected to longer stares and more in-depth conversations. I have to admit that I didn't test this to any great extent, because it's been pretty cold round here lately and I didn't want my ears to drop off while I was driving.With about half an hour of my week-long test still to go, however, I went through the process of converting the Pluriel into its various modes. Going from saloon to cabriolet is easy enough, as it simply involves pushing a button at the top of the windscreen, watching the roof slide back (you can make it stop at several points on the journey if you just want a sunroof effect) and then locking it in position when it's fully retracted.Taking the extra step to convert the Pluriel into a sports car is a little more complex because you have to fold the roof and rear screen into the boot and remove the rails which previously gave the roof its side support. This is advisable only for short journeys in good weather, because the boot space is significantly reduced and there is nowhere to carry the bulky (but conveniently light) rails, which means you have to leave the latter at home.Starting in saloon mode, I got the Pluriel all the way to complete rooflessness and back in about ten minutes, referring to the instruction manual once every five seconds or so. To those more practised in the art it's a simple process - Citroen has made it all very easy for you, and everything that at any point has to be clicked snugly into place does so with considerable ease.By the end of this little adventure I was more sympathetic to the general idea than I had been originally. I can see how it might be quite jolly to choose a different layout for each day, at least in the summer months. Personally I feel that if I were a Pluriel owner I would end up leaving it as a saloon most of the time, but perhaps I'm just being grumpy about this.On the other hand, I do appreciate the comment of a colleague who reckoned that the whole concept seems to be more suited to people living in the south of France than to anyone in this country. I can imagine having a Pluriel parked outside my villa near St Tropez (assuming I had one of these), but I would probably leave it there during my occasional trips back to the UK and take the Bentley instead.Apart from the roof business, the Pluriel is in most respects just an ordinary C3. In terms of driving experience, it therefore fades into the background compared with other "fun" cars such as the Ford Streetka, Peugeot 206 CC, Mazda MX-5 and so on. Like the C3, the Pluriel does not feel as if it has been made out of anything particularly solid. It also struggles up hills, and while there's nothing especially wrong with the handling I can't imagine taking the twisty route home simply for the pleasure of tackling a long series of corners.Like I said, though, people look at you when you're driving past in one. And that's probably most of the point.Second opinion: Yes, the effect on onlookers is quite noticeable, and it's rather enjoyable to attract appreciative and mildly envious glances instead of the kind of hooligan reaction that used to come from people watching, let's say, a Hyundai Atoz drive by. As well as removing the steel roof, Citroen has tickled up some of the exterior details, particularly at the headlamps, which are much more stylish than those on the standard C3. With the entry-level 1.4-litre engine the Pluriel is no ball of fire, but the 1.6 with the SensoDrive transmission is considerably brisker, while recording the same extra urban economy figure. This business about the Pluriel being more suited to the notional St Tropez villa: bear in mind that there's a higher percentage of convertible sales here than in Mediterranean countries where people prefer closed cars with air-conditioning in summer. Anyway, look - you have to admire Citroen for having the confidence to go ahead and turn what started out as a concept car into the only mainstream production vehicle of anything like its type in Europe. Ross Finlay. Engine 1360cc, 4cylinders Power 75bhp @5400rpm Torque 86ib/ft @3300rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 41.5mpg / 163g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 13.9sec Top speed 101mph Price From £11788.00 approx Release date 02/06/2003
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