What's all this then?

This is Volkswagen's stab at creating a rival to the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur. Well, in concept form at any rate, as it's doubtful that there'll actually be a convertible version. But the T-Cross Breeze concept is, if you squint a bit, pretty close to the small crossover that Volkswagen will launch next year, based on the mechanical architecture of the next-generation Polo.

Slightly longer than a Polo, and a lot taller, the T-Cross Breeze is powered by a 1.0-litre, 115hp turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine that Volkswagen says will emit just 115g/km (driving the front wheels through a shift-by-wire seven-speed DSG gearbox) and has sufficiently good fuel economy to squeeze 500 miles from a single tank of fuel.

You can expect the final production version to look pretty close to this concept car too - ignore the convertible bit and concentrate on the upright front end, with its egg-crate grille and hints of Jeep Renegade. That will translate pretty much unchanged to the showroom car, which will sit beneath another, Golf-based crossover, as well as the new three-car Tiguan family in the range.

Inside though is where Volkswagen is making the biggest technological strides, with a touch-screen and gesture-controlled infotainment and instrument pack that the German car maker says will allow it to almost completely do away with physical buttons and switches. In fact, the only hard buttons in the T-Cross's cabin are the column stalks and electric window switches - everything else (from the fully-customisable digital instruments, to the gesture-controlled infotainment) is button-free.

There are even sensors in the screen that can tell if you're reaching for the air conditioning settings, or a heated seat switch and flip the screen's menu around accordingly.

The T-Cross can even automatically tell how and where you're driving and alter the car's parameters to help. A combination of sensors that monitor the steering, the engine and the stability control, plus the satnav and a front-facing camera, will constantly read the location and terrain and tweak the car's driving and handling to best suit. It'll even flash-up cool, Thunderbirds-style messages such as "TERRAIN IDENTIFIED" and "OFFROAD MODE ACTIVATED" to let you know what it's up to.

Needless to say, that infotainment system comes with full Apple and Android smartphone integration, as well as a 300W Beats sound system, integrated SMS messaging and apps for your social media services.

And the official word?

"This open-top Volkswagen enhances the world of compact cars with a completely new attitude to automotive life", says Dr Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen. "Our T-Cross Breeze is the first open-top SUV in its class and, at the same time, an affordable, cheeky cabriolet with a raised seating position that gives you a perfect view."