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The best convertible isn't one - its a bike !
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Have you got a budget in mind?
Something with a diesel engine and a folding hardtop should be quite practical. Probably I'd go for an Astra 1.9 Twintop for about £17k.
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That was the sort of thing....
Maybe a Beetle, as I started off on ackered VW's 30 years ago!
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well ive hired soft tops for the odd holiday of a week or two
and ive been in friends convertables many times
i wouldnt buy one for my own use, dry hair, covered in dust, added danger of theft etc just dont make it practical as a year round proposition
i wouldnt mind an MX5 with a hardtop on as my regular car, and i guess the hardtop could come off for the holidays, or the newer MX5 with foldy down hardtop, however need to occasionally ferry parents in back, and lack of auto option in the UK put me off this MX5 option
dont really rate any other convertables available in the UK, short of an old XJS maybe, or if i lived a rural lifestyle a Jimny would be quite fun (yes I know everyone else thinks theyre naff)
i think ill just stick to hiring them on hols when the mood takes me
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Nice 3 series with a hardtop for winter ?
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Go for it!
I got a new A4 3.2i convertible from work. Best car that I have had. Roof down on every possible occasion. It is noisier than a hard roof. It does have some scuttle and shake but it is just sooo much fun!
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Are soft tops more for the occasional run to the sea side, not for 1,000 miles a week? I can't think of anything worse than driving along a motorway in a soft top. Well I can but you know...
One problem with soft tops is that because you are cooled by the breeze you don't notice your skin getting fried. Untill you stop.
There are only 2 way to do open air motoring
1 Caterham
2 Motor bike.
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Hmm. Did Land's End to John O Groats 2 years back on a motorbike.
Hottest Summer since time immemorial.
Lost 14lbs in 3 days.
Almost enough to incline me against wearing leather.
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Agree the Astra suggestion, think it looks a smart & modern car.
& if it were into BIG £$£$, something like a XK, would HAVE to be the soft top option. Can't see why anyone would spend so much & go for coupe. The roof would be more than good enough insulation & a quality music system, for overcoming any noise issues.
Mr's V has her top down on Mx5 at every opportunity - she's even using the tonnau cover as a permanent fixture, just now. Did have to put it up last week though!!
VB
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I bought an MG TF recently and now have no plans to leave the open top motoring fold! :-)
It's absolutely brilliant fun, even at 1am on a clear night, it makes every drive more of an experience than in a hardtop, I even enjoy the drive to work! Sure the car is more noisy than a hardtop, I noticed it a lot at first as I went from an E46 3 Series into a little TF with plenty of wind and engine noise, but now that I'm used to it I barely notice it. I wouldn't do 1000 miles a week in mine though!
I've had no problems so far with ths soft top aspect except for an unfortunate incident last night where somebody ran at the car full pelt from the drivers side and tried to attack me or the car (I'm not sure which) when I had the top down. I didn't hang around to find out what he wanted and literally ran a ring around him by executing a quite impressive u-turn by sliding the back end out and taking off in the other direction almost travelling sideways up the road using opposite lock leaving him standing in the middle of my u-turn circle. I would have carried on straight up the road I was on but it was a dead end and I didn't fancy being trapped in the car with a psychopath leaning in!
I'm now thinking about taking an evasive driving course or something like that to teach me how to handle the car under more extreme circumstances, I got lucky that the car leapt into action the moment I stood on the throttle and behaved exactly how I wanted it to, next time I may not be so fortunate.
Anyway, I digress, I'm assured that incidences like this are pretty rare, and to be honest I should have known better than to be where I was at the time I was there.
My solution to the bad winter weather in my soft top is to stick it in the garage for 6 months and drive a Cougar through the bad weather, it should handle a lot better than the TF in the wet due to it's front wheel drive setup, I also still have an itch for a 6 cylinder engine that the TF can't quite scratch...
You must get a convertible, I agree with the Astra twintop suggestion, the Focus CC will also be good, but not as pretty as the Astra. A folding tin top like the Astra really should offer the fun that I get from my convertible but with the practicality of a motorway mile muncher.
Blue
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Blue,
What on earth were you doing in such a dodgy area? My cynical mind has now gone into overdrive.
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He lives in a dodgy area ;-)
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Blue What on earth were you doing in such a dodgy area? My cynical mind has now gone into overdrive.
It was just off Scotswood Road in Newcastle, not normally too bad, but I should have clicked that looking for parking on a Saturday night out in a major city up a dark, dead end road wasn't the brightest of ideas, I just went on the theory that "I've been coming here for 5 years and never had a problem yet..." Well never again up that particular street with the hood down!
Just for reference there's actually a secure car park off this particular road, I wasn't planning on leaving my baby up a dodgy sidestreet!
Blue
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Mr's V has her top down at every opportunity
Wow, bet she gets some looks!
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Despite my irreverent comments above, this has been a useful thread. I hanker after, variously, the latest MX-5, the latest TT convertible or a Lotus Elise (or the Vauxhall version). This, as a replacement sometime, for a MINI Cooper S.
I suppose that you all have confirmed what I suspected - that long-distance high-speed top-down motoring is not a pleasure. But for shorter journeys in what seems to be my very crowded part of our crowded isle it could be fun. And I'd like to be able to say I've owned/done it, just as I did after running a Porsche 911 (993) for two years. Now, when would it be right to start persuading Mrs M that we need a change of wheels?
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Why get a car that's heavier, slower, less stiff and noisier than one with a tin roof?
It's nice to be in the open air in good weather but it's tiring over a long distance. Canvas or whatever they use these days won't prevent anyone from getting into the car more or less silently. And it tends to drum or vibrate at speed.
Barchetta or roadster type cars with no roof at all are OK as long as there's another one for practical transport. But only very expensive convertibles are going to be comfortable long term. And even they would be better with metal roofs.
IMFFHO of course.
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