IF IT had a spike for getting stones out of horses’ hooves, the Citroën Pluriel would be almost perfect. Put an engine and four wheels on a Swiss army penknife and this is what you might come up with: a vehicle that is four cars in one. Or is it five? You start with a curvy, four-seater, three-door hatchback. Push a button and pull four levers and, bit by bit, you can grow you own car and turn it into a convertible, a cabriolet and even a small pick-up truck.

Some 55 years after the 2CV Tin Snail was launched to establish Citroën’s reputation for fun, quirky but highly functional cars, the Pluriel is refreshing Citroën’s commitment to the unusual but effective automobile. Sensible, efficient models, such as the C5, seemed to have dulled the sense of adventure. The Pluriel puts that right.

With 60 per cent of the Pluriel derived from the highly successful C3 mid-size saloon, it is far more sophisticated than the 2CV — faster, safer and more robust. But it shares many of the Tin Snail’s attributes. Both have a roof that can open the length of the car, both have rear seats that can be made to disappear to make way for big, long loads and both have rear boot/hatch doors that can also vanish. More significantly, what both cars share is the spirit of Citroën: fun, wacky, but eminently functional.

The chameleon-like qualities of the Pluriel start with the closed-roof hatch. Press a button just above the rear-view mirror and the cloth roof starts to fold. Have it open as a sunroof or power it all the way back the length of the car so that all four occupants can enjoy wind-in-the-hair motoring.

To turn the car into a full cabriolet, swivel the now folded roof and the rear screen so that it disappears into the boot. Now, for a roofless version, unlatch four catches and the two hooped arches running both sides of the car; although you will need somewhere to stow them and faith in a sunny weather forecast because, without them, the roof cannot be powered back into position. As a final trick, the Pluriel’s rear seats and tailgate fold flat so that even fridge-size loads can be carried.

Few Pluriel owners will be endlessly transforming their car from one style to the next. But then how often do you use the tweezers on your penknife, the slow-motion on your video or every program on your computer? The point of the Pluriel is that you can if you want to.

No normal three-door hatch can take a bed or old freezer to the dump. And few cabriolets with fabric roofs offer the genuine saloon-car feel of the Pluriel. After hours of driving in pouring rain, the roof leaked not a drop and was as quiet at motorway speeds as a steel-topped car.

There are only two engine variants, both petrol, with a 1.4-litre 75 horsepower version at £11,995 and the 1.6 16-valve 110 horsepower model at £13,595. Whatever the Pluriel is, and it is a lot, it is no sportscar: the 1.4-litre version, with a leisurely 0 to 60mph time of almost 14 seconds, is not going to set anyone’s heart racing with its performance. So, while Citroën expects two thirds of Pluriels sold to be 1.4 versions, it is the 1.6 that is most fun.

That is far livelier. Hot-hatch lovers might be disappointed, but the 16-valve engine revs freely and acceleration is safe enough for overtaking on twisting country B roads. While the 1.4 comes as a five-speed manual, the 1.6 has a SensoDrive automatic as standard. The driver can press a button and drive the car as a straightforward auto, or you can use a sequential gear lever, with no clutch.

Just nudge the lever away from you to change up, flick it back towards you to change down. Or use the gear-change paddles mounted behind the steering wheel on the steering column. The left-hand paddle changes down, the right-hand paddle changes up. The car drives best as an ordinary automatic, despite the temptation to use the paddle shifts just for the fun of it.

There is plenty of room for driver and front-seat passenger, with masses of headroom. Legroom for the two rear passengers is very limited, however. The Pluriel is so bizarrely different that, like the 2CV, this is a car to be loathed or loved. There is nothing else like it on the road; critics might say with good reason. But then the ship-in-a-gale cornering of the 2CV did not suit everyone either, while, for millions of other drivers, it was the greatest car ever built. How refreshing, though, that there is a motor manufacturer prepared to take risks, have fun and produce cars that do not bow to the soul-free trends of modern design.

CITROËN PLURIEL: The detail

How much?
Cheap and cheerful: the 1.4i is £11,995 and the 1.6i costs £13,595.

How quick?
Leisurely rather than blood-curdling. The 1.4i finally reaches 62mph from a standing start in 13.9sec (top speed 101mph), while the 110 brake horsepower 1.6i (top speed 117mph) does the same trick in 12.6sec. Both cars return about 42 miles to the gallon overall.

How big?
The Pluriel is a big small car. At 1.56 metres tall, it is high and headroom is excellent. Less than four metres long and 1.7 metres wide, the dimensions, plus thick A-pillars either side of the windscreen, can make parking tricky.

Toys?
Like Transformer toys, the Pluriel can change shape endlessly. You can drive a pick-up one day, a convertible the next. Plus there are the F1 gear-change paddles to play with if the traffic is really boring.

How good?
As a hatchback it is good; as a cabriolet it is better. The full-length sunroof is very effective and the versatility of the car means that you do not have to hire for one-off jobs.

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