Why are we obsessed with convertibles?

As I write this, I'm very much looking forward to my next week's holiday in southern France.

The average temperature there is five degrees warmer than chilly England, and the sunshine is way more reliable. The people are charming, I am told, and the food is exquisite, the views breathtaking and the air as fresh as chilled sorbet.

In a little over a day and a half, I'll be sat soaking up the café culture, drinking coffee or pastis and watching as people and the occasional car drift by my table.

As the employee of a cheap car insurance firm, I'll doubtless be aware, in a roundabout way, of the abundance of Renaults and Citroens on the roads (France being a country that still takes a little pride in its automotive industry).

Cars seem to last longer in France, too. Back home, anything over ten years old looks like a banger, but there, cars that went out of production 14 and 15 years ago are ageing gracefully and still running fine.

There's one other thing I'll notice about the passing cars as I bask in the warm French sunlight. It's the convertibles - or rather the lack of them.

Sit in a French café for a whole day (I plan to) and you might see two or three pass at most, even on a comparatively busy day. The fad for cabriolets just hasn't caught on over there like it has in UK.

Indeed, I can look out of my window in Southampton and see as many convertibles parked on the opposite side of the road as I would walking right across Paris or Lyon.

I won't be the first to point this out, but the facts just don't add up. In Britain, we have an average of 57 sunny days per year - less than half the number (138) for continental Europe. Yet yearly convertible sales here consistently outstrip those in France, Spain and Italy.

So how can we explain the British obsession with soft tops?

As a general rule, convertibles are slower, less responsive, perform worse in crash tests and wear out more quickly than cars with a closed body. They also cost more, both in terms of purchase price and motor insurance.

That means that for 308 days of the year, that soft top Jaguar you had to re-mortgage the house for is just going to look a bit less cool than the faster, safer and cheaper fixed hood model.

The reason - and thinking sensibly it really isn't much reason at all - is that for those precious 57 days of sunshine you think you'll feel like a prince among motorists.

You'll cruise into town with the top finally down, flash a winning smile at onlookers and then be off into the countryside, wind in your hair and flies in your teeth. All the beautiful people will suddenly want to be friends with you and life will be good again - good, at least, for 57 days.

All of which, of course, is a total pipe dream (apart from the flies - you get those). The truth is we buy convertibles in this country for the same reason we'd sooner buy a new barbeque than a new cooker, the reason I own more pairs of shorts than trousers, and the reason that prescription sunglasses ever seemed like a good idea.

It's because we're in love with a dream of summer that never comes, and at the same time terrified we won't be ready for it.

On the other hand, the French, who actually have a summer to speak of, know that simply winding all your windows down gives pretty much the same effect, and saves on cheap car insurance premiums.

It also cuts down on all the flies.

Why are we obsessed with convertibles? was written by William Donnelly from Hoot Car Insurance, providers of cheap car insurance for UK drivers