Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet

The modern Golf GTI Mk7 is a testament to its predecessor and bears the DNA of the GTI heritage - a torquey engine, nimble handling, and an excellent overall drive experience. So how do you make a great car better?

Take off the inhibitions and restrictions of a car roof and open the ride up to a whole new horizon! And that's exactly what Volkswagen have done with the GTI Mk7 - they gave us back the GTI cabriolet.

The last Golf GTI cabriolet that I'd liked was way back during the Mk4 days, and I've missed that little hot hatch cabriolet ever since. Sure, you have your MX-5s, S2000s, and the Golf's closest contender - the Mini Cooper S cabriolet. But the first two are roadsters (read: seats two only) and the Mini Cooper, whilst delectably fast, is a bit of a squeeze.

Cue in the Golf GTI cabriolet, with its German heritage of sound engineering, and practicality rolled into one and you have a well-rounded package of power, handling and fun - with a decent cabin and boot space when you need it. This is a neat little package that would suit most enthusiasts and yet grow with the family at the same time.

Even Santa couldn't have come up with a better toy for Christmas.