All around me are fellow traffic jam crawlers who clearly think that the silly fella in the eskimo outfit is making a meal of getting the most out of his Volvo C70's ability to transmogrify between coupe and open-top posing carriage.
But I couldn't care less.
The daffodils are doing their best to stay vibrant and yellow in spite of Jack Frost's better efforts - and Volvo's stunning new ride has somehow managed to put a spring in my drive.
In a world where clone cars become cabriolet clone cars with a flick of the designer's craft knife, the Scandinavians have managed to throw off their dowdy image once and for all and create a thing of true beauty.
That applies whether the folding tin-top is up or safely stowed, with the touch of a button and a wait of around 30 seconds, in the boot.
Volvo say that this car really is two cars in one - a premium coupe that converts into a convertible - and if it wasn't so cold, I'd take my hat off to them.
Vitamin D
So we know it's a good place to top up depleted Vitamin D reserves. Is it any good at boring stuff like carrying passengers and shopping?
First the basics: the new C70, like more affordable competitors including Megane and 307 CC, has five seats and two doors.
Its three-piece metal roof is a first in a premium class cabriolet and will provide you with a boot capacity of 404 litres when it's in place. With the roof down, you get 200 litres.
A clever, drop-down plastic guard in the boot tells you whether your seasonal veg is likely to get squashed when switching between the two while carrying a load.
Cleverly, there are any number of binnacles and pockets which automatically lock so that you can go for a stroll with the roof down without worrying that your valuables are going to swiped from the leather seats.
The rest of the interior benefits from Volvo's version of Ikea-chic: a minimalistic, floating centre console carries a TV remote control-style interface; only a letter box gap reveals that there's a CD player; press and twist dials are both neat and functional.
There are three trim levels Sport, SE and the SE Lux, tested here, which gives the car a real upmarket feel.
The overall ambience is of a place neater than David Beckham's hotel bathroom.
Oh, and as you'd expect, the C70 is considerably safer than a newborn lamb at this time of year, boasting lots of attachments with fancy names which will help you in a smash.
The car driven here is powered by the tried and tested five cylinder, 2.5litre T5 petrol engine which is capable of producing 220bhp - and shredding lots of tyres.
You can also opt for 2.4litre (170bhp) petrol engine, while a D5 (180bhp) diesel will follow soon.
On this occasion, the T5 is mated to a smooth-as-you-like six-speed manual box.
Saloon
Having driven the Volvo V50 saloon with the same set-up, I can attest to the fact that the drop-top has reduced its impact somewhat. The ride isn't quite so planted, either. But then removing the roof is always going to make things wobble a bit But it's plenty quick enough to shake the head off a spring daisy.
On a note of practicality, however, the front seat belts could be obstructive for rear seat access, and the front seats don't really move forward far enough to enable people with kids in the back to help them in and out in a tight parking space.
Overall, however, the C70 is the prettiest car I've seen in a long time.
It's as though Mr Volvo has married Miss Diminutive sports car and that this is their first bouncing baby girl. Or is it a boy?
Yes, the sap is surely rising and Volvo has managed a rare thing - a cabriolet which will satisfy red-blooded males and their feisty womenfolk in equal measure.
TECH SPEC:
Model: Volvo C70 T5 SE Lux
Price: £33,225
0 to 62mph: 7.6 secs
Top speed: 150mph
Insurance Group: 17E
Consumption: 31mpg (combined)
Emissions: 217 g/km
On The Stereo: Summertime by Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.
View comments (1 comment 15/04/2006 at 09:28)
