RAGTOP REVIVAL; AUDI'S NEW CONVERTIBLES ARE A BUNCH OF SOFTIES.(NEWS)

Byline: ROGER HART

When Audi's line of A5 and S5 convertibles hits these shores in October, they will feature something most other luxury cabriolets don't have: an old-fashioned soft top.

Competing luxury marques, such as BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, say their customers want the safety and security of a folding hardtop. But Audi says the compromise necessary to make room for a hardtop and all of its mechanical apparatus, not to mention the extra weight, makes a soft top the right choice for a midsize convertible. From a design standpoint, we'd have to agree, although automakerssuch as BMW with its new 3-seriesare certainly getting better about making folding hardtops look closer to their sedan siblings.

Audi's fabric soft top is fitted with a flat glass rear window and is well insulated; even during a steady rain during our first drive of the car, the cabin was quieted from the pounding raindrops. And in a noisy urban drive through the streets of Monte Carlo, the car was quieter than we'd expect a soft-top to be.

Pushing a button on the console allows a hydraulic pump to make quick work of letting the sunshine inin just 15 seconds. You can lower or raise the roof while driving at speeds up to 30 mph or, when parked, via a button on the key fob.

With the top down, a removable wind blocker that covers the rear-seat area significantly cuts air swirling back into the cabin, making front-seat conversations easy. A nice touch is a new head-level heating system available with the heated-and-cooled-seat options. Having heat blowing on the back of your neck extends the temperature range in which you can comfortably drive with the top down.

The cars are equipped with rollover protection. If the vehicle sensors detect a rollover threat, electric actuators release spring-loaded aluminum braces that shoot up behind the rear headrests, locking into place.