Cascada shows off Vauxhall's styling know-how

“Vauxhall has been injecting a serious dose of styling into its cars,” says the Sun’s Ken Gibson. “It all started with the Insignia, followed by the Astra, Zafira and more recently the funky ADAM and Mokka. But the Vauxhall that’s set to turn heads is the Cascada, a four-seat convertible that looks as toned as Jess Ennis in Lycra. Like Jess, the Cascada has a wellsculpted, muscular body.” The Vauxhall is nearly £8,000 less than the popular Audi A5. “But judge the Cascada on merit alone, whether on style, quality or engineering capabilities and it stands favourable comparison.” Gibson drove the Cascada 400 miles over two days, in wet and dry. “It was a relaxing, stress-free and enjoyable experience, which marked out the Cascada as a convertible that is a useable everyday car and a genuine four-seater.” If the sun’s out, the fabric roof drops in “just 17 seconds at speeds up to 30mph”, and goes up in the same time “so you can avoid being soaked in a sudden shower”. The Cascada is as “quiet as a hard-top coupé” even at high speeds. “What is most impressive is the quality of the interior, which doesn’t look out of place against top-notch German opposition.” Gibson was left most impressed with the 1.6-litre petrol “which delivered a nice mix of performance – 0-62mph in 9.2 seconds, a top speed of 135mph and just under 40mpg. “Crisp handling and responsive steering mean the Cascada has the agility to make a mountain drive good fun with the roof down and easy to drive in city traffic or on long motorway trips.” Gibson believes Vauxhall has done “a brilliant job making the Cascada a genuinely desirable and affordable” convertible.