During the 1990s Mercedes-Benz set hearts a flutter with the SLK, a convertible summer sports car with a folding hardtop. Mercedes couldn't build them fast enough and a new niche was born. Manufacturers worldwide started to scramble to produce something similar for the mass market. Peugeot was one of the quickest to respond showing a concept version of the 206 with that oh-so-desirable folding hardtop. Rave reviews followed and a queue of prospective purchasers saw Peugeot reaching for the "Go" button.

In short shrift the concept car was renamed the 206CC and the car was in the showrooms for around £13,000; a much more affordable proposition than the £30k Mercedes-Benz. As you can see the little Pug gives little away in terms of kerb appeal. The 206's face lends itself well to this new application as the feline front end flows smoothly into the large glasshouse and culminates in that sculpted little boot; a necessity to house that retracted roof.

Ah yes, that roof. As you can see in the pics it is every inch the real deal in terms of theatrical actions and crowd-pleasing wow factor. Draw up at the roadside, release two catches and then pull and hold one switch and the raft of motors start doing their thing. The whole roof is very well engineered, the action is smooth and quiet and flawlessly managed. It takes a while to go up or down but it just allows more time to enjoy the show. Some may prefer the click-click-swish action of the Mazda MX-5's roof, and that's about as long as it takes to retract, but ultimately the hard top offers many advantages.

When you consider the refinement, insulation and security of the hardtop the appeal is instant. The trade off is a loss of space in the rear, sufficient to make one wonder whether deleting the rear seats should be an option. The boot is tiny once the roof is down. Roof up the boot size is generous, but once you pull over the cover, as you must to retract the roof, and the clever roof is stowed away you can see the space is limited to a few soft bags - still plenty for a weekend jaunt.

Roof down motoring is its usual joyful self. Some diesel clatter is noticeable (in the HDi version we tested) around town but once out of town this noise is soon overcome by road noise anyway. The airflow around the car is well managed with buffeting reduced to a minimum up to the legal limit. Cruising with just the rear quarter windows up is not recommended though as it causes huge cabin turbulence; it's either all up or all down!

The interior is well finished with an excellent quality of leather, not just on the seats but also on the door inlay cards. The fit and finish is impressive for the price and the light colour, mated with the large glasshouse makes the interior feel very roomy with the roof up or down. The seats are comfortable enough but lack a sufficient range of adjustment for the average adult male, a lack of adjustable reach on the steering wheel adds to this issue, perhaps indicative of the target market? As well as climate control, the aforementioned leather, a trip computer and stereo remote control our car featured an uprated JBL stereo system, an essential for summer time cruising.

Our test car was fitted with the 110bhp version of Peugeot's 1.6-litre common rail diesel that is not just powerful, but torquey as well, with more than 180lb.ft on offer, pulling cleanly from just under 2,000rpm and staying strong for a further 2,000rpm before beginning to fade. For me the diesel suits the 206CC, as it is refined and relaxed, as well as very economical, and an excellent cruiser.

And that's just what the 206CC is, more of a cruiser than a thrasher, even in petrol guise and anyone seeking traditional Peugeot handling flair won't find it here. The chassis is too soft and lacks the rigidity to provide focused back road thrills. It is still quite fun, if not as much as in an MX-5, but enjoyable as in open-top cruising summer time fun, and an MX-5 doesn't have that roof. The target market for the 206CC is clear when you see them on the road; young females who love its style own the vast majority.

These buyers generally won't care that the 206CC is no hot hatch; you can find that in the 206 GTi 180. What you will find in the 206CC is a stylish small convertible with all the advantages of a traditional hard topped car. The 206CC has proved to be a real sales success, enough to sprout plenty of imitators, and to prompt Peugeot to ensure that there is a larger option in the form of the 307CC as well. As an effort to bring the appeal of the SLK to the common man Peugeot has done a great job.