GT Line 1.2 TCe 100 2dr Open Car

Laugh at the name, but this car's a blast!

My Wind arrived on Friday. It had 25 miles on the clock and about £4000 off the list price as Evans Halshaw had bought 200 from Renault at a special price. So far it's turned quite a few heads as it's such a rare sight on the roads of Britain.
I test drove the 1.6, but the 1.2 turbo is more than adequate, and doesn't seem fazed by steep hills or traffic light get aways. So far I've covered 550 miles and got just over 38 mpg, but the read out keeps showing improvement.
Here are the things which impress me;
Fantastic Handling, the steering is absolutely fine, and the road holding excellent (although I haven't driven it in the wet yet).
Very comfortable seats (but tacky silver detailing on the leather).
More toys than you'd imagine, bluetooth, ipod compliant, cruise control is very effective and easy to operate. The boot is such a good easy to access shape, more practical than the one on our 2010 BMW 3 series saloon.
The o.k. bits are the In Car Entertainment, which can be heard at 70 mph with the roof down and probably will sound better than you'd expect on a car at this price. The dashboard is a bit Renaultesque, but at least the controls are fairly intuitive. Cheap plastic on the doors let's the side down a bit.
Visibilty at oblique junctions is poor, but if you can drive a van you'll soon adapt to it.
There's just one bad point, ROAD NOISE when the roof is up. You feel hemmed in when the roof is on, and whilst the engine is almost inaudible at any sensible speed the tyres transmit too much noise into the cabin.
There are other minor niggles (but not many) and if you look at what Peugeot, Mini, or Fiat can offer those who are looking for fresh air fun on a budget then you'd have to conclude The Wind is well worth a try.
If like me you once owned a Spitfire/Midget/Sprite then re-live your youth in a Renault.

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