Think Citroen and certain themes rapidly form. There's the practical genius of the 2CV, the avant-garde brilliance of the DS and the design flair of the CX. It may not have escaped your attention that these cars are all now museum pieces. Citroens have come good of late with winners like the Xsara Picasso, the Saxo and the C3 but the intervening years weren't such a stellar period. The C3 Pluriel shows that the spirit of innovation is alive and well at Citroen. It appears that the good old days are back again.

Innovation and versatility are the key attributes of the Pluriel. How many other cars offer supermini utility backed up with the fun factor of a full convertible, the convenience of four seats and a list price that starts at just around £13,000? To save you the bother of pondering the question, the answer is none. Yes, the Peugeot 207CC and Nissan Micra C+C have popularised the notion of drop top dinkies but neither has back seats and both cost significantly more than the Citroen.

Genuine fans of the marque will be rubbing their hands in glee as the Pluriel resolutely ploughs its own furrow. With its full-length canvas roof in place, few would finger the Pluriel as a convertible, the shapely glasshouse and the seemingly fixed rear window giving it the appearance of a quirkily styled three-door hatch. Slide the canvas section back, fold the rear window cartridge down into the spare wheel cavity and house the gloss finish roof rails in their deckchair like holder and you then have a full convertible. No rollover hoops or bulky tonneau covers sully the appealing shape. What's more, there's even a reasonable amount of space in the boot once the hood has been dropped.

Recent changes include a revised dashboard and an improved semi-automatic Sensodrive gearbox for the flagship variant. Three models are offered priced from £12,995: a 1.4-litre petrol with 74bhp on tap, a 1.4-litre HDi diesel capable of averaging 63mpg or a 1.6-litre 16v flagship version replete with paddle-shift transmission that retails for £16,095. Don't be lulled into thinking this version of the Pluriel is in any way sporty as the focus is instead on fun, comfort and a more restrained approach, reflecting the philosophy of the C3 supermini upon which it's based. Although the C3 has shifted in respectable numbers, the Pluriel is destined to be a niche model. Citroen freely admit that the styling will doubtless divide opinion and have set a conservative target of 7,000 UK sales per year.

"Genuine fans of the marque will be rubbing their hands in glee as the Pluriel resolutely ploughs its own furrow "

Built at Citroen's Madrid factory, the Pluriel offers similar interior quality to the C3 hatch. Despite the 1999 show car displaying an interior of quite baffling design flair, the production Pluriel's interior is largely C3. That means neat, easy to operate design and the C3's facelifted dash board with its higher grade plastics and more upmarket feel. The door panels have been given a boost too with the same themes as the curvy facia. The effect is a definite improvement. 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 a Peugeot 206CC. 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.

Despite these limitations, the Pluriel is still a very appealing choice and even with the black 'tusks' in place it feels very airy when the canvas roof is retracted, the side windows are dropped and the back glass is slotted out of sight. Rear seat passengers will have just as much fun as front seat occupants and they'll also feel reassured by thee Pluriel's high waistline. It handles fairly neatly, the comfort-oriented suspension doing a good job of soaking up most surface imperfections that might otherwise betray a wobbly scuttle. Citroen's engineers are proud of the reinforcing work they've done on the Pluriel and the fact that it weighs about 150kg more than its hatchback equivalent is testament to this effort. Only over the very worst potholes will you provoke any shudder from the chassis.

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 models featuring electric windows all round, electric mirrors, remote central locking a CD player and an electrical operated canvas roof. On top of this, the 1.6i 16V version adds alloy wheels and an anti-theft alarm. Safety levels on the C3 Pluriel are equally high, with both models featuring 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.

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. Some of you may have spotted that 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 well fabricated.

The Citroen C3 Pluriel may not be everybody's cup of tea but neither were the great Citroen models of the past. Buoyed by strong sales of their mainstream models, there's a new confidence about the company that allows them to indulge in flights of fancy like the Pluriel. If you keep buying Picasso and C3 models, Citroen will follow the Pluriel with yet more innovative wares. Perhaps we should all give thanks to the 'Sensible Shoes Subsidy' if it creates cars like this.

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