Holden Tigra 2005 review

But this little beauty looks a lot better with its top off, so I was not about to cover up when I took her cruising to the beach, the pizza place, the shops, the gym ... I wanted to show her off everywhere.

Roof on and the Tigra – Holden's latest two-seater and sporty convertible – is just another plain-Jane-looking car on the road.

And roof on makes negotiating lanes a bit tricky, thanks to some very awkward blind spots, when the over-the-shoulder view is blocked by the side roof panels.

Luckily, other drivers seem to be wary of being suddenly cut off from what obviously looks like a "girl's" car and make way.

A push of a button and the hydraulically-operated fold-back hardtop roof – which brought back childhood memories of playing with Transformers toys – takes the Tigra from corny to cool.

No man-handling required.

Blocked vision and reversing are no longer problems when there are no bits of car to get in the way.

But be prepared to repeatedly conduct the "top goes up, top goes down" routine, as all your friends will want to see it fold itself magically away.

Pity it only has two seats, so just one at a time can join you for a ride.

With one of these friends itching to feel the wind in her hair, a daytrip to Brighton was a must to find out how the car shapes up for attention against the other convertible and cruising cars.

The Tigra held its own in receiving curious glances and words of admiration from passers-by.

It was the perfect way to enjoy the spring sunshine – lathered in sunscreen, of course – and get some fresh air.

However, a cruise down Hindley St in the early hours of a Sunday morning drew a few crude comments and, for the record, my dad wishes he drives a car like this.

The boys outside the Woolshed were impressed it was a Holden.

You get used to arriving at your destination without a hair in place because she is just so fun to drive.

The Tigra has just enough grunt to be zippy off the line without fear of retribution from police and, as a front-wheel-drive, it whips around tight corners.

The sports exhaust gives the engine some oomph without distracting from the tunes.

Its racing seats seem custom made and racing pedals complement the sporty look.

The Tigra comes only with a manual transmission – which adds further to its "cool" factor – and the shortened stick shift easily slips through the five gears to 110km/h on the open road.

Three-point parking is a bit harder when you have to lift up the stick's collar to knock it into reverse.

It is not very practical, with little boot space and for most of the year the weather's cold and/or wet, so the roof should stay on.

But where is the fun in that?