Convertibles and versatility rarely go together, given the compromises that usually go with open top motoring.

But the exception to the rule is the Citroën C3 Pluriel, exemplified by the fact the open top Citroën is the only car in its class that can go to the beach with the roof down and still get there with surf boards on the roof rack!

Not that it stops there. Because the roof folds under the floor of the boot, even with the roof down and the surfboards on the roof, there's still room in the boot for all the necessities for a trip to the beach.

And, should the trip to the beach require more than the usual beach requirements, such as all the paraphernalia for scuba diving, again the Pluriel scores, with a drop down tail gate and fold down rear seats, it is also a mini ute. Roof up or roof down.

Of course, all this versatility and ease of use is not limited to trips to the beach. The Citroën C3 Pluriel is the only convertible that can be used for a trip to the store to collect a chest drawers, for a major shopping expedition that requires extensive boot space or a trip to the garden centre. This space may also be accessed unlike any other convertible, because, although it's a soft top, it is also a hatchback, with the extra useful feature that because the rear window opens separately, the boot can be accessed even if the Pluriel is backed up hard against a wall.

This unique combination of versatility and convertibility is because Citroën's designers could not understand why exploring the pleasures of roof down motoring had to be done at the expense of having a car that could do all the jobs of a normal hatch.

So they came up with the C3 Pluriel.

The roof has five difference stages. The first, obviously, is fully closed, making the C3 Pluriel a normal hatchback. At the twist of the roof mounted knob, the entire roof folds back electrically, first opening the whole roof, then right down over the back window and, finally, with a flick of a few panels, it folds down under the floor. During any of these stages, all the side windows - which have no B-pillar - can be dropped down electrically opening the whole car up to the elements. Although the roof is now hidden under boot floor, not robbing the boot of space as in some other cars, the roof rails are still in place, providing a sense of security and a place to mount the optional roof rack.

Hence the unique combination of roof off, rack up!

This clever design also has another benefit: It can be opened through the first two stages while the car is on the move. Most convertibles have to stop while the roof goes up or down. So if the Pluriel owner is half way across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and it starts to rain, no problem, turn the rotary control and the roof closes on the move.

The C3 Pluriel's final party trick is to also remove the roof rails for the full open top experience.

With this level of technology it might be expected that the Citroën C3 Pluriel would be expensive, after all it is also comprehensively well equipped with Climate AirCon, four electric windows, four airbags, ABS brakes, rain sensing wipers and automatic lights, an audio system with a remote control, a trip computer and alloy wheels.

Not so. The Citroën C3 Pluriel has a recommended retail price of $31,490 or, with full leather and exterior trim package, $33,490.

"Convertible purchases are normally driven by the heart because normal convertibles, with all their compromises, are not rational purchases," says Miles Williams, General Manager for Citroën in Australia. "Not so the Citroën C3 Pluriel. It offers all the pleasures of open top motoring, but it is as easy to use, as versatile and flexible as a normal three door hatchback. Add in the price and the high level of standard equipment and it is clear that the C3 Pluriel is the first convertible that can be bought with both the heart and the mind!"