Four seats and a reasonable boot – with the roof up

• Reasonably sized boot for a four-seater
• Adult-sized seats in the back
• Roof can be operated at up to 31mph

Practicality is unlikely to be your primary concern if you’re considering a four-seater convertible but the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet offers a few flexible touches for when the need occasionally arises.

There is a decent amount of cabin space for four adults – rear headroom with the roof up notwithstanding – and a sensible number of storage cubbies front and rear. Cupholders in the front reside behind the flip-up panel towards the base of the centre console, along with another storage area and a 12-volt electrical socket. It’s convenient but spoils the aesthetics of the dashboard when open.

Access to the C-Class Cabriolet’s boot is awkward due to the narrow aperture, an issue exacerbated by the flexible well the hood folds down into, limiting cargo space when in open mode.

Roof up the C-Class offers up to 360 litres of space, dropping to a maximum of 285 litres when the hood’s concertinaed away.

This compares with 320-360 litres for the Audi A5 Cabriolet and 220-370 litres for the BMW 4 Series Convertible. Best in class – although nowhere near as premium as the others – is the Vauxhall Cascada at 280-380 litres. That Range Rover Evoque Convertible? Roof up or down it only offers 251 litres of boot space.

Should you need to carry longer, slender items – think skis – then the rear backrests fold over, with a 50:50 split.

As befitting the C-Class Cabriolet, its fabric soft-top is fully electric, the only aspect of its use which requires your hand to manipulate anything is the rocker switch to raise or lower it. Conveniently, it operates at speeds of up to 31mph, making it easy to dodge rain showers at urban speeds. Unfortunately, however, it takes 24 seconds to operate, when some cars do it in under 10sec.

The C-Class Cabriolet isn’t a difficult car to get into most garages but there’s an optional automatic parking system that makes things easier still.

C-Class Cabriolet safety

• A very safe car
• Lots of standard kit
• More available for extra cash

When it was tested under the auspices of Euro NCAP in 2017 the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet scored an impressive five-star rating, identical to the Saloon. One area of concern was that in the crash simulations rear-seat occupants were shown to have their heads come into contact with the roof mechanism due to the airbag not sufficiently extending to cushion the impact.

Even entry-level models have LED lights front and rear and seven airbags, with a kneebag for the driver and windowbags which pop out of the upper door casings.

Additional rollover protection is provided courtesy of a strengthened windscreen surround and pyrotechnically powered rollover hoops which deploy from behind the rear seats in the event that the car overturns.

Other standard safety gear includes Attention Assist which monitors the driver for telltale signs of drowsiness and Collision Prevention Assist Plus, which autonomously brakes the car if it senses an impending collision that the driver doesn’t seem to respond to.

Among the optional safety kit is a Driver Assistance Package including blind-spot warning and adaptive cruise control, while the head-up display (HUD) system offered on Mercedes-AMG models is an object of clarity and well worth spending extra on.