Review: Renault Wind

Blowing in to UK showrooms in the coming weeks is Renault's Wind a stylish two-seater 'coupe roadster' with one of the fastest retracting hard tops on the market.

It may have a daft name but the Wind is a car that means business: it promises a decent Renaultsport-inspired drive, a comfortable cabin, and a surprisingly large and practical boot.

The French firm has its eyes on a big piece of the small convertible market. Therefore it has priced the Wind aggressively, from £15,500 on the road around £1,600 lower than the Peugeot 207CC and £1,750 below the cheapest Mazda MX-5.

Renault reckons buyers will be split 50/50 between male and female but I suspect the latter will predominate to a far greater extent.

The new car is based on the Twingo platform but is around six inches longer. It comes with a choice of three trim levels: Dynamique, Dynamique S and Collection. As the Wind is very much a 'style' car the flagship trim level, with its carbon black leather seats and chrome trim, will be the most sought-after.

Just two engines are offered: either a 1.2 litre turbo or 1.6 naturally aspirated. Both are petrol and no diesel option is on the horizon.

The car looks impressive from all angles and hides the fact that it shares 60 per cent of its parts with the Twingo very well.

It offers the lowest driving position of any Renault but it's not so low-slung as to deter those who like a more commanding view.

What might be more of an issue, however, is the poor visibility to the rear and sides. The car is not easy to reverse without parking sensors and the chunky A pillars combine with the wing mirrors to limit visibility at bends and junctions. Visibility is further compromised if a windbreak is specified.

The roof's mechanism is suspiciously close to that of Ferrari's 575 Superamerica and takes just 12 seconds to deploy. Even better, it does not eat into the boot space when lowered.

The boot itself is huge for a car of this type and will probably accomodate three or four medium sized suitcases or holdalls.

On the road, the car does not quite go like its namesake but is lively enough when pressed. The 1.2 TCe puts out 100hp and is only marginally slower than the 1.6 VVT, which develops 133hp.

The latter has an agreeably rorty note but needs to be pushed to perform. It costs an extra £900 and I suspect many owners would prefer to spend this on personalisation features.

Build quality looks reasonable in the cabin but there are one or two rough edges in the boot and around the door sills.

I was also surprised there were no vanity mirrors in the sun visors, bearing in mind the likely target market.

This is apparently the first Renault to be given an English name, so it's a pity they couldn't have come up with a more attractive moniker for the car.

Having said that, buyers will not be deterred if they like the product and the Wind is a cracking little car for its target market.

The convertible-crazy UK is an important market for the car, which is why we are getting it two months before the French.

The Wind makes for a funky alternative to the 207CC but those after a sportier, more basic roadster will probably want to stick with the perenially-popular MX-5.

A properly warmed-over Renaultsport version would be a different matter, of course. . .