Like its saloon and hatchback siblings, the A3 Cabrio’s interior is a neat, minimal and quite calming environment. Fit and finish really is excellent and the materials used feel of high quality.

The front seats are supportive and comfortable and there’s plenty of adjustability for both the seat and steering wheel to establish a good driving position.

Audi’s standard-fit ‘MMI’ (Multi-Media Interface) infotainment system is attractive and easy to navigate. It’s controlled via a rotary controller near the gearlever, which also a ‘touchpad’ function whereby letters and numbers can be traced onto it, when entering a postcode into the sat-nav menu for example.

Despite the potential handicap of missing a roof, the A3 Cabriolet is impressively quiet even when fitted with one of the diesel engine options.

A secondary acoustic layer for the soft top is standard on Sport and S line derivatives and it does an excellent job of blocking out wind, road and traffic noise. We drove an A3 Cabriolet through a noisy traffic jam in a tunnel and were impressed with how much outside noise the hood blocked out. The acoustic liner is available as an option at extra cost on SE models.

A wind deflector that fits behind the two front seats to prevent buffeting is also an option, as is head-level heating for the front seats to help make top-down motoring possible for more of the year.

Although Sport and S line versions get firmer, sportier suspension with a lower ride height as standard, if you want your Audi A3 Cabriolet comfort levels to be as high as possible you can spec any derivative with the SE trim’s softer suspension setup which does a better job of soaking up bumps and broken tarmac.