Nice, Cannes, St Tropez; the Cote d'Azur is Europe's playground for the rich and famous, nestling in France's southeast corner betwixt the sun-baked hills of Provence and the shimmering Mediterranean sea. It's a classy destination and no mistake, a place where the local glitterati cruise tree-lined avenues in drop top sportscars and designer shades. Citroen are obviously hoping that some of this French Riviera glamour will rub off on its affordably priced C3 Pluriel Cote d'Azur convertible.

You'd probably need something a tad more salubrious than a C3 Pluriel to cause a stir amongst the yacht owners, supermodels and playboys lounging on the St Tropez waterfront. These individuals have shoes that cost more than the £13,295 it takes to acquire a Pluriel Cote d'Azur and would hardly deign to raise an eyebrow even if Brad Pitt drove past in a Bugatti Veyron - at 200mph.

In the drizzly half-light of the British summertime, however, this Pluriel has more of a chance to make an impression. Most of us Brits are a long way removed from Mediterranean high society. Our sunglasses are more likely to be Tesco than Moschino and our tans tend to be either of the orange, bottled or the pink, 'fell asleep in the garden' varieties. We're far more easily impressed by a small, cute-looking car without a roof and the C3 Pluriel Cote d'Azur is one of those.

The Cote d'Azur version was originally a special edition version of this car but it's been so successful that in the standard range, it's all that's now on offer if you want a Pluriel. So what marks this car out? Externally, the roof arches, door handles, rubbing strips and bumper inserts all get aluminium finishes and they look good against the backdrop of a range of smart body colours that now include a hue that Citroen calls 'Burlat' (no I didn't know what it was either). Completing the exterior tweaks is a metallic front grille and revised front and rear lights. The interior of the Cote d'Azur has also been revamped, with a polished chrome effect on the door handles and smarter upholstery.

In addition to the standard equipment which includes, front fog lights, leather steering wheel, electric front and rear windows and electric door mirrors, the Cote d'Azur also features Cruise Control with Speed Limiter. You can also expect to find a leather steering wheel and leather finish door handles.

"Want a new convertible supermini on a £13,500 budget? You're going to be out of luck anywhere but at your local Citroen dealership.."

Power for most C3 Pluriel Cote d'Azur customers is supplied by a 1.4-litre 75bhp petrol engine. Don't expect road-burning performance because you're not going to get it from this or any C3 Pluriel for that matter. The 0-60mph sprint takes just under 14s and there's a 99mph top speed but you don't really notice the lethargic progress when you're at the wheel because the Pluriel doesn't encourage spirited driving. The chassis isn't the stiffest and there's always the suspicion that if you did hurl it at a corner, you might either topple over or come out the other side minus a few pieces of extraneous trim. If you do want a little more power however, the range also offers a 110bhp 1.6-litre petrol unit. Or perhaps a better choice would be to forget the quest for power altogether and go for the 70bhp 1.4-litre diesel.

The Pluriel is at its best being driven sedately with the featherweight steering and the soft suspension making for a suitably relaxing experience. The engine noise is well suppressed too and even wind noise with the roof up isn't as pronounced as you might imagine, although it's less hushed with the centre section folded back. Down on the Cote d'Azur, wealthy individuals pay well over £100,000 for high performance supercars and other exotica so they can crawl along the sea front at a snail's pace in it. With the C3 Pluriel Cote d'Azur, you can get a model that could have been built for exactly this purpose but at a tenth of the cost. It won't even hit your bank account hard when you're driving it: in the 1.4-litre petrol version, buyers can reasonably expect to average over 40mpg and the CO2 emissions are 160g/km.

The driving position is unusual due to the fact you sit ducked into the car with the curved windscreen apparently soaring overhead. Equipment levels are about what you would expect, all Pluriel models featuring remote central locking a CD player and an electrical operated canvas roof. Safety levels on the C3 Pluriel are equally high, with anti lock brakes with brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution, four airbags and four 3-point inertia reel seatbelts, as well as a specially stiffened body shell, reinforced windscreen pillars and roof arches plus strengthened seat backs and headrests.

One key drawback of the Pluriel's design is that the bulky roof rails cannot be stored in the car upon removal, instead residing in their holder in your garage. Therefore, you don't have the option of pulling over to the roadside and dropping the roof to form a full convertible as you can in most other drop-top models. Once you have left the rails at home, you're committed to open top motoring for the day, come rain or shine. One suspects we won't see too many Pluriels plying our roads in full convertible mode.

There's a reasonable amount of space in the back for two, although three would be a tight squeeze as both knee room and shoulder space would be at a premium. The rear screen folds into the spare wheel well, thus signifying a lack of said wheel. Rather than rely on the commonplace - and usually quite useless - puncture repair aerosol, Citroen has done the right thing and fitted the Pluriel with Michelin PAX run flat tyres. Cars stranded on the roadside are never a great advertisement. Quite how the various water seals and roof parts stand up to the wear and tear of real world motoring remains to be seen but at first glance they appear quite well fabricated.

There are drawbacks to the C3 Pluriel but these should always be framed within the context of its price. If you want a new convertible supermini on a £13,500 budget, you're going to be out of luck anywhere but at your local Citroen dealership. The Cote d'Azur models enhance the Pluriel's case a further notch or two with a desirable set of cosmetic extras that may not be up to French Riviera standards but will cut a dash on your local high street.