Mercedes C Class Cabriolet

Twenty seconds. That's how long it takes the roof to fold away, and it's the number that sets the tone for everything else about this car. There's no fumbling, no waiting around at a red light hoping the mechanism cooperates — you roll up, drop the top, and you're already moving before the thought fully forms.

The turbocharged four under the hood isn't chasing lap times; it's tuned for the kind of pull that feels effortless from a stoplight and settles into an unhurried cruise once you're at speed, with the 9G-TRONIC gearbox shuffling through its nine ratios so smoothly you'd be hard pressed to catch it shifting. This is a car built around low-effort confidence — the kind you feel merging onto the coast road with the wind doing most of the work and the cabin staying calm enough for actual conversation.

Inside, the finish is exactly what you'd expect from Stuttgart: leather that ages well, switchgear with real weight to it, details that don't need to shout to be noticed.

Automatic, petrol, refined in the way that matters most on a weekend — nothing to think about except where the road goes next. It's less a performance statement than a well-tailored one, and that's precisely the point.