With summer coming, it’s open season in the roadster market. Here we flag up open two seaters from makes as varied as Chrysler and MG.

Chrysler Crossfire

Like the idea of a Mercedes CLK sportscar, but are put off by the price? Well, Chrysler’s Crossfire is pretty much the same car underneath, and will cost you less.

The Crossfire’s hotrod-meets-roadster styling could hardly be more different from the oh-so-German CLK, but its 3.2 litre V6 engine will be familiar to Mercedes fans.

The Crossfire’s bargain status is further enhanced by good equipment levels, and its relative rarity makes it an interesting, left field buy.

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Toyota MR2

Toyota’s designers dreamed up the last MR2 in secret, and company bosses liked it so much they built it.

Unlike its predecessors, the mid-engined baby Toyota is a proper, open roofed roadster, with a simple-to-use, traditional hood.

Slightly inert steering aside, the MR2 is an engaging, nimble thing to drive, and its free-revving 1.8 petrol engines are also surprisingly economical. Despite Toyota’s recent woes, it’s also likely to hold its value too.

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Vauxhall Tigra

Not an out-and-out sportscar, the Tigra offers easy going fun and a clever folding metal roof.

Being the Corsa hatchback’s exotic cousin means it uses a mix of familiar 1.3, 1.4 and 1.8 litre petrol engines, and is backed up by a huge dealer network.

The end result is easy to drive and park, inexpensive to maintain, and pretty to look at. Anyone looking for an open roof in a supermini-sized car will get what the Tigra’s all about.

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Mazda MX-5

Mazda launched its first MX-5 just over twenty years ago.

Two generations later and the car retains a mix dainty handling (thanks to excellent weight distribution), good performance, pretty, open top looks and top notch build quality that made it a hit from the start.

A few of the early pop up headlamp MX-5s had 1.6 engines, but mostly the car has been powered by sweet, long-lived 1.8 and 2-litre petrol engines, mated to slick, short throw transmissions.

The second generation car’s boot is a bit small, but otherwise there’s very little not to like about the MX-5, which mixes charisma and common sense.

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MG F/TF

MG’s pretty, mid-engined sportscar has been around for fifteen years and has a legion of fans.

Its 1.6 and 1.8 litre K-Series engines offer strong performance, but check service records for regular coolant changes, as neglected motors can suffer head gasket problems.

The MG is fun to drive, and really only the narrowness of its cabin gives away how old the design is. Later TF is the same thing with conventional coil spring rather than Rover Metro-derived, Hydragas suspension.

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Martin Gurdon