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THEY WERE THREE tough adults, hardened in the ways of the world andcynical as . . . heck.

I figured they’d laugh when they saw the 1988 Volkswagen CabrioletBoutique, a puppy-dog convertible as cute as its name.

Anvari, the toughest of the lot, checked out the car first. Shewalked around it, cigarette posed in one hand. She took a long drag,blew smoke to the heavens, and looked down at the car.

“I want to drive,” she said, her voice a mixture of Lauren Bacall andWhoopi Goldberg.

Sue, a woman of passionate devotion to Swedish automobiles, wasshocked. “What about the Volvo?,” she yelled.

“What about it?” Anvari shrugged.

Jim, a compassionate man who’s also a Volvo owner, intervened.

“I rather like this little car,” he said, pointing to the Alpinewhite Volkswagen. “It has four seats. Let’s take it.”

Anvari finished her cigarette and dropped the remains to thepavement. She stepped on the butt and ground it into powder. With foldedarms and lowered head, still contemplating the results of her footwork,she said again: “I want to drive.”

Her manner and tone were reminiscent of something from “TheGodfather,” or maybe “The Sicilian.” I gave her the keys.

Complaints: Anvari and others think that the Cabriolet Boutique isunderpowered. I agree. The front-wheel-drive car’s 1.8-liter,fuel-injected, four-cylinder engine puts out a maximum 90 hp at 5,500rpm. The machine weighs 2,274 pounds.

The Cabriolet Boutique zips along reasonably well under the weight ofonly two adult occupants; but it seems to develop a case of the slowswhen two more full-sized bodies are put in the rear seats.

Also, despite VW’s use of structural reinforcements to keep thisconvertible’s body rigid, it flexes and shimmies noticeably onless-than-smooth roads.

Praise: Overall design and execution, particularly in the passengercabin. Unlike most four-seat convertibles and sports cars, the rearseats in the Cabriolet Boutique are real. There were absolutely noleg-room complaints from back-seat riders.

The manually operated convertible top gets kudos, too. It’swell-constructed and easy to use. Volkswagen was thoughtful enough toinstall a roll bar that, even with the top down, offers protection tobelted occupants in rollover accidents.

Neat touch: A usable, easily accessible trunk. You can actually putseveral pieces of regular luggage in this car. This is a welcomedeparture from convertible styling that takes for granted that peopleonly want to carry swimwear.

Head-turning-quotient: Very cute. Almost precious. It made Anvarismile, and that ain’t easy.

Ride, handling, braking: The ride is a little hard for some tastes,but it’s quite decent overall. Handling is first-rate — this car getsfour stars for “fun to drive.” Braking is superb.

Sound system: A greatly improved VW AM/FM stereo radio and Heidelbergauto-reverse cassette. Boogie to the wind!

Mileage: About 25 to the gallon (13.8-gallon ta nk, estimated 335-milerange on usable volume), running mostly on highway with loads rangingfrom one to four occupants.

The test car is equipped with a five-speed manual transaxletransmission, which helps to produce better mileage than the automaticmodel.

Price: The base price is $14,750. Add options totaling $1,295, adestination charge of $320, and another $180 for “dealer preparation,”and you’re looking at $16,545.

Purse-strings-note: Nearly $17,000 bucks is a lot to pay for aneconomy car (the Volkswagen Golf) that’s been turned into a fancyconvertible. Two less expensive Cabriolet models are available. Thereare also a number of reasonably priced, highly competitive models fromother auto makers. Shop around.