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A sexy car is one way to catch the attention of a roving eye, according to a recent study. Twenty per cent of people think a flashy car makes a person look sexier with 58% of Britons voting convertibles the cars that turn them on most. It means you are seven times more likely to pull in an open top car than you are in a 4x4.

I have to admit, that despite driving the new Chrysler Crossfire Roadster for this last week, I don’t recall catching anyone’s roving eye, despite being stuck on the M6 in stationary traffic for two hours.

What it did however, was prove to be the best car to be stuck in, in a traffic jam, particularly because it was during a small window of hot sunny weather. So in just 22 seconds, down came the fabric top exposing me to a couple of hours of therapeutic sun bathing.

The new convertible has a stunning design, short but wide haunches, front 18” and 19” rear aluminium alloy wheels, chrome trimmed air ducts on the side and chrome surround around the windscreen, and a long very aggressive nose. Watching in the rear view mirror of the car in front, the occupant must be sweating, seeing this giant beast rapidly gaining ground and heaving to a full stop close behind, almost pawing at the ground and snorting with impatience to be off again.

A retractable spoiler is designed into the rear of the vehicle and activates when the car reaches 62mph. As well as being a plaything at traffic lights as it can be operated manually, the spoiler generates downforce on the rear of the car, increasing rear tyre grip on the road surface and enhancing vehicle stability. I did however find handling rather unwieldy at motorway speed.

Standard features include air conditioning, cruise control, dual setting heated leather trimmed seats with timed automatic shut off, one touch electric windows, 8 way power adjustable heated seats, auto dimming rear view mirror and a single CD radio player.

The interior is cramped, with little storage space, so the answer is to drive alone. Who wants to be mithered with talk when it’s preferable to be listening to the roar of the 3.2 litre engine as it takes off. Once at cruising speed, the roar disappointingly disappears and it is remarkably quiet. The all aluminium V6 engine is light, responsive, smooth revving and ultra reliable, reaching 62mph from standstill in just 6.5 seconds and going on, says Chrysler to a top speed of 150mph. Combined fuel consumption is 27.2mpg and CO2 emissions are 256g/km.

Braking performance is also solid, strong and rapid, which it needs to be because on first drive, you could well be taken by surprise at the power of its acceleration.

Safety features include anti lock brake system, brake assist, an all speed Traction Control system and Electronic Stability programme. There are front and side airbags for driver and passenger.

There is a six speed manual transmission or optional five speed electronically controlled adaptive automatic transmission with Auto Stick, which enables the drive to manually select the next gear. A rocker switch also enables the driver to select Winter mode for starting in second gear.

The boot will hold 190 litres of luggage but with the roof down this dwindles to 104 litres – luckily I did my weekly shopping alone, so was able to make use of the passenger seat too!

So are Convertibles the love magnet they’re purported to be? Well, they’re topless for a start! We associate open top cars with young, fun people. If sedans are the one-piece swimsuit, then convertibles are the bikini. However, bikini or not, the Crossfire Roadster at £27,995 otr despite being a very sexy looking car, did not change this journalist’s quiet working week one iota.

By Sue Cooke