10/08/2008 16:20. Audi's Spacious, Sleek A3 Will Impress Every Drop-Top Driver

SIX weeks of girl power and Mailmotors has gone to the dogs.

All the talk of going topless, seat fabrics and aromatherapy air fresheners during my absence was more painful than my slipped disc.

Now I'm back I hoped to redress the balance with a look at Mitsubishi's new Evo X.

Alas no, Liz wielded her Prada handbag and we're testing Audi's A3 convertible - more hairdresser's mobile than rocket-fuelled rally car.

Instead of ripping through country lanes at a rate of knots, I find myself mincing along Byres Road in Glasgow's west end in a motor that would make David Furnish blush.

OK, the A3 isn't nearly the limp-wristed affair I expected.

A turbocharged 1.8-litre engine packed a punch, while a set of strong lines make... // Glasgow Sunday Mail