Opel Cascada 2014 Review

Sliding into the brown leather driver's seat of the Opel Cascada (badged Vauxhall in the UK), it is clear GM's European arm has upped its game. The last time I tested an Astra convertible it felt little more than a small car with a folding roof.

But it's matured and there's a sense of occasion once settled into the Cascada. It's a bigger car now, almost 4.7 metres in length, and eyebrows rise after a quick scan of the leather-clad dash and astonishingly supple leather seats, part of a £1200 ($2200) leather premium pack and worth every shilling.

The Polish-built Cascada is part of a new Opel-sourced model onslaught from Holden. The convertible is one of three premium offerings coming in the second quarter of 2015, and the European brand's cars will eventually account for one third of Holden's vehicle range.

As well as luxury there’s loads of room for the driver and front passenger in the Cascada, and the electrically adjustable seats, including lumbar and heating functions, make for a very pleasant environment.

Remote controlled roof operation is very cool via the key fob, or hit the button in the cabin to open and close the dual-layer fabric roof. Either way it takes 17 seconds and operates up to 50km/h.

Another impressive aspect of the roof is its weather protection. Cruising along tight country roads in driving rain, the cabin is quiet and comfortable. It also speaks volumes of the body control inherent in the vehicle, absorbing the cut-up surfaces well.

The model we tested had Flexride, a £790 option in the UK. It’s very similar to HSV's magnetic ride control, adjusting the damping rates of the shock absorbers to deliver different ride and handling responses. There are regular, touring and sport modes, which also adjust throttle mapping and steering rates and make a significant difference to the way the car responds.

The view from the driver's seat is good, apart from the typically thick A-pillar (reinforced to deal with rollovers). The car feels sorted enough to have a crack at a few corners in sport mode, and driving the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol car at speed is far from a chore.

This one's equipped with a six-speed manual and it offers smooth, easy shifts. Acceleration is reasonably brisk considering the car's 1658kg mass, Vauxhall claiming 8.5 seconds for the 100km/h sprint.

Vital statistics are 147kW/280Nm and there's elasticity to the engine which means you won't need to keep changing gears. There's also an automatic option for lazier drivers. The small four-pot engine is generally refined and quiet although gets a little raspy when you nudge the redline.

Once the drive was over, I slotted in the back row to test the leg room and found my knees were just touching the seat in front, which isn't bad relative to many drop-tops out there. Indeed, four up fun is a legitimate option here.

Boot space is average at 280 litres, expanding to 750 when the 50:50 FlexFold rear seats (with handy remote electric release) are folded.

For the most part the Cascada looks great and makes a good first impression, with smaller touches like digital radio, automatic wipers, and stitched leather on the dash making for a relaxed drive. But it's not perfect, with a few details revealing the car’s age. For example, some plastics feel cheap and the sides of the centre stack creaked when I braced against it with my left leg through corners. The centre stack is also very busy, with about three times the number of buttons of the VXR8 (a re-badged HSV GTS) I jumped into the next day.

The trip computer located between instrument dials also looked dated; picture a red monochrome setup that has the visual swagger of a Tulip computer, circa 1983. Opel says the car is an Audi A5 Cabriolet rival, but it needs to improve the little details to really match its German competitor.

All the mod cons you'd want are there, such as Bluetooth everything, electric windows and mirrors, USB port and fancy-looking 19-inch alloy wheels. There's a wind-breaker and a decent stereo too.

A decent drive on Australian roads will give us a better idea of where the Cascada stands in the marketplace, but considering it’s already two-years old, and will be another six months older when it arrives in Oz by mid-2015, it's already at a disadvantage. Nonetheless, there's no doubting the Cascada will be an attractive, comfy and luxurious addition to Holden showrooms.

Also consider: Audi A5 Cabriolet, Volkswagen EOS