The Cascada: Vauxhalls premium styled, attractively priced new convertible
Vauxhall plan to fill a new car market niche with their new full-size Cascada convertible. A soft-top, four-seater convertible that’s longer than the Audi A5, yet some £8,000 more affordable. The plan behind the new Cascada is to bring affordable and stylish convertible motoring to the UK market, and here’s how�
First up and most important to make the Cascada as practical as it is attractive, is the size of the new convertible. At 4.7 metres in length, the full-size, four-seat, fabric-roof Cascada convertible is indeed longer than the Audi A5 convertible, but with a competitive pricing structure, Vauxhall are placing their Cascada into the C-Segment of the new car market; the segment below the Audi A5. This means that the Cascada out-sizes its competition for space, but not for price.
Based on price alone, the Cascada’s competitors include the VW Eos and Golf cabriolet, the BMW 1 Series convertible and the Audi A3 cabriolet. But the Vauxhall Cascada is bigger than all of these. And, as we’ve mentioned, the Cascada range will be priced from £23,995 on-the-road, and that’s almost £8,000 less than the Audi A5 cabriolet.
The Cascada enjoys wide, low and sleek styling lines, and features a premium quality fabric roof. The multi-layered fabric roof is well insulated for those chilly UK winters, and folds down in just 17 seconds via a button on the key fob or by an interior switch when the sun gets his hat on. Cascada buyers can choose from three fabric colours for their roof. And underneath that convertible style is a specially stiffened chassis that’s up to the task of faster driving, with Vauxhall’s proven HiPerStrut suspension offering grip and composure.
Powering the performance chassis are a wide range of Vauxhall’s latest, economy-focused engines. An all-new 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine comes to the Cascada with great performance and economy, while a high performance 2-litre BiTurbo engine with nearly 200bhp will make short work of motorway cruising. A 1.4-litre Turbo petrol and 2-litre Turbo diesel complete the Cascada’s wide choice of powerplants.
Of course, a convertible car is much more likely to be appraised by its interior, with the inner space always on show when the soft-top is stowed. The Cascada designers worked hard on the cabin, making sure that suitable levels of quality and comfort are offered, and as such Cascada drivers will find handcrafted modules here not found in any other Vauxhall.
The instrument cluster is trimmed in soft-touch material with high-quality stitching, while all-new, deeply contoured seats are offered in a wide range of embossed fabrics and leathers, and customers also have the option of luxurious Nappa-leather trimmed seating, that can be heated or ventilated. These are truly high-end features.
Luxury indeed, but practicality isn’t forgotten inside the Cascada. There’s a minimum boot load volume of 280 litres with the roof down and up to 380 litres roof up, as well as Vauxhall’s FlexFold system which electrically releases and folds down the 50:50 split rear seats; greatly expanding the stowage space.
The exciting Vauxhall Cascada is in dealers now and will benefit from Vauxhall’s attractive Lifetime Warranty, lasting the life of the car or up to 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Posted by Louise Clark