And I'll tell you something, I had as much fun playing with it as I did darting in and out of 'me mam's' washing as a boy with my Optimus Prime figure in hand.

I've said this until I'm blue in the face; forget the stuffy tweed-wearing, pipe-smoking Labrador walking image that Volvo of old came with.

The Swedish marque is no longer courting Nora Batty, it is rather pitching for Norma Jean.

Yeah, yeah, OK it's aiming for the stars and is likely to land on the moon – with a dolly bird somewhere in between the aforementioned catches, but that's no great shakes.

What you have here is a bonafide four-seater coupe – complete with hard top.

It's solid, dependable and, for a convertible, relatively rigid in the corners thanks to the torsion offered to the chassis by the steel roof which, in a cloth-top can leave you with a soggy ride.

Granted, it's not as good as a BMW 3 Series Coupe. I should know – I owned a 328Ci for some time.

Nor is it as good as an Audi A4. But. The BMW 328Ci and the Audi A4 coupes can't fold their tin hats into the boot in 30 seconds flat. The Volvo C70 can.

Top-down motoring isn't for everyone but there's something joyous about having the wind in your hair.

The C70 is a bit like a mum wearing a massive Debenhams hat to her daughter's wedding.

It will catch everybody's eye at some point – maybe even have somebody's eye out with one of those Pterodactyl feathers hats of this ilk tend to sport.

Some will admire, some will chortle but everyone will notice it during the day and they will invariably pass comment.

But don't be put off by this. The range-topping C70 T5 2.5-litre version packs 230bhp.

The muscle comes thanks to the same five-cylinder engine Volvo kindly donates to the Ford Focus ST. It's a torquey and thrummy peach of a unit which has made the ST a firm favourite with petrol heads.

But then, it needs to be pretty strong. At almost 1,800Kgs the C70 no lightweight.

That of course is because of the safety features hidden behind the rather fetching lines and panels of the C70.

Safety is Volvo's mojo and in the C70 you are as well looked after as you can hope to be on the road – unless you're the Pope.

And that is exactly what your Volvo customer wants. Safety, luxury, and serenity without the need to go German.

The ride is supple and quiet – very quiet in fact – especially for a convertible which do have a reputation for doing a kind of demented riverdance on your eardrum when you get over 50mph.

And, of course, the reason for this serenity comes courtesy of that roof.

It is made up of three sections which flick up, over and away in less time than it takes to do...well, most things.

In fact – so impressive is the transformation of the C70 that you can see it in action for yourself in our photo gallery.

But the roof isn't the only thing that's impressive. With a 0–60mph dash of 7 seconds flat on the march to 150mph, the C70 T5 can go some.

Of course, with all that weight on board the fuel figures are compromised. I managed just over 25mpg although Volvo suggests closer to 30mpg.

Anyone looking to go topless in the motoring world would be naive to overlook the C70 simply because of the kudos factor offered by a badge.

The Volvo doesn't need an executive label branded onto it in order to turn heads – it speaks for itself.