Smooth

The Audi A4 Cabriolet begs a rhetorical question. Can a car be too smooth, quiet and refined? After all, isn't a softtop supposed to mess your hair and titillate?

Not this little number. Smooth. Detached. Relaxing in the absence of much wind noise or undue buffeting by the elements. Even the acceleration is deceptive.

Audi returns the '03 A4 Cabrio to the North American market after a 4-year hiatus. It arrives with a mission: to expand Audi sales in sunny climes, and to show this side of the ocean that Audi means more than quattro.

The first model offered is the 3L V-6 (220 hp and 221 lb.-ft. [300 Nm] of torque) mated to Audi's multitronic CVT, in a bid to attract more sales in California, Texas and Florida — southern states where quattro all-wheel drive holds little appeal and the brand needs growth.

A quattro version will follow in September 2003, offered with the V-6 and a conventional 5-speed automatic. Early in 2003, look for the 1.8L turbo 4-cyl. (a Ward's Best Engine for three years) version to arrive in dealerships.