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The start point for the best source of fleet information |
Once the roof's down, the high side-glass means drivers and passengers stay unruffled, even at motorway speeds. Engine noise isn't intrusive either with the roof down, except in the 2.0-litre turbo version with the welcome whistle of the blown engine as you accelerate. However the 2.0T engine is a little pointless for fleet, it's the least economic and the most expensive run.
Of far more interest to fleets which allow the new breed of coupe-cabriolets are the petrol 1.8 and the diesel 1.9-litre versions.
The 140PS 1.8 is a new engine from Vauxhall, already in the Zafira and also going into a host of other models . It's refined at all but high revs and has plenty of shove, yet returns a reasonable 36.7mpg.
The pick for user-choosers has to be the diesel. At 150PS it's swifter than the petrol and it returns 46.3mpg. While the benefit-in-kind tax rating is 1% lower at 23% too.
Against it's nearest rivals the Astra is a cost winner too thanks mainly to low SMR costs and low depreciation, although it should be noted the Vauxhall has the highest insurance group and lease rate in this group.
What the Astra Twin-top doesn't do is drive like a sporty coupe, in fact none of the coupe-cabrio set do, they drive like softer convertibles, which is fine for the type of person who'd generally be wanting a convertible.
The Twintop's costs win, coupled to the car's neat design, mean it's our current favourite, but we've yet to see the cost figures for the Focus, which we expect to be a serious challenge to the Vauxhall.