The best convertibles Car deals. View all deals. Rolls-Royce Dawn. Smart Fortwo Cabriolet. Top 10 Best convertibles.
News and advice. Get the best deal Read our review Get the best deal Read our review Get the best deal Read our review Get the best deal Read our review. Follow What Car? Information for dealers Sitemap Contact What Car? Subscribe to our newsletter Subscribe to What Car? The fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 had some big boots to fill. Undeniably stylish both inside and out, the plush cabin - inspired by the S-Class - contains high quality materials and an advanced infotainment system.
The fact that there are sharper cabriolets to drive must be factored into the equation, but admittedly, few are as nice to be in or offer as much sophistication on the road, either with the roof up or down. Whether you go for the bhp 2. Both models come with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed PDK automatic gearboxes , with fuel consumption around the 31mpg mark for both versions. While the update to the models mainly focused on the engines, the dimensions remained the same.
That means there's plenty of space inside for two — driver and passenger have decent room in the well-built two-seat interior. Plus, the soft-top folds in nine seconds, and can be operated even at low speeds, while pop-up rollover hoops boost safety. Mercedes has a history of building classy convertibles, and the latest C-Class Cabriolet maintains that tradition. It's helped by the fact it's based on the cool looking C-Class Coupe, which is an elegant four-seater already.
But the Cabrio gets a thickly insulated folding fabric top that lets you choose between closed roof refinement or wind-in-the-hair fun. The engine range stretches from mild to wild, with the C and C d models offering cruising comfort and efficiency, while the C d raises the performance stakes before you get to the proper fast C 43 AMG and insane C 63 S AMG high-performance versions.
While the AMG cars are fun to experience, you're better off with the smaller engines, because they deliver the kind of comfortable pace that makes top-down driving fun, but without particularly heavy running costs. Buyers looking for the sharpest handling four-seat convertible should look no further than the Porsche Cabriolet.
The Convertible comes in bhp 3. All models offer exhilarating performance, although that means steep running costs — even the basic cars manage fuel consumption of only mpg, while insurance group ratings are high, too. The interior feels reassuringly expensive, though, and buyers can expect to have few problems with their car. Mazda has a reputation for excellent reliability and the MX-5 is good value for money, making it a very tempting proposition for convertible buyers.
Positioned between the smaller Mercedes C-Class Cabriolet and the eye-wateringly expensive S-Class Cabriolet, the E-Class has a big gap to plug, but it does so with aplomb. The E-Class Cabriolet is advanced too, with the option of two The Porsche is one of the very best cars to drive on sale now, and the soft-top cabriolet version lets you enjoy the sound of the six-cylinder engine even more.
You can drop the roof in just 12 seconds at speeds of up to 30mph, so making the most of a quick spot of sunshine is easy. Carrera S and 4S models get bhp and hit mph in just 3. Porsche also offers a Targa version, which is halfway between a convertible and a coupe; the top roof panel is removable and can be stowed away electronically.
It has its engine up front, rear-wheel drive and, in the M40i model, a relatively large 3. The interior blends luxury, comfort and quality, making the Z4 a very competent car in which to cover big distances when necessary.
Some lighter rivals with smaller engines will make sense for a certain demographic but there are few modern convertibles with the same character as the Z4, so it's certainly worthy of consideration if you're looking for a convertible and have the budget. The Audi TT Roadster is another stylish option for those in the convertible car market and benefits from clever design elements including a triple-layer fabric roof, which helps to reduce interior noise when driving with the roof up, giving the car a more refined feel.
Even the entry-level model has bhp, thanks to a 1. Losing the fixed roof of the TT Coupe doesn't spoil the car from a driving point of view, and the beautifully stylish and modern interior remains exactly the same. Even with the roof stowed, the interior is impressively refined and free from buffeting. The C and C produce and bhp, and return around mpg respectively. If you want sports car levels of performance, the AMG C43 is fitted with a 3.
Audi has long specialised in the four-seat convertible, and the Audi A5 Cabriolet is the latest of this kind of car from the German brand.
The engine line-up is made up of 2. The BMW 4 Series convertible is one of the best four-seater convertibles on the market. If you look past the bold and somewhat divisive front grille, the 4 Series is packed with the latest tech and high-quality materials, making it a very comfortable car on even the longest of journeys. That fact also makes Mercedes' cruiser cabriolets well-equipped to do well in this chart, and they are, by and large, machines of a mature, secure and self-possessed charm which are great at enriching a roof-down journey without necessarily enticing you to breakneck speeds.
The best of them is the middle-sized one, the E-Class Cabriolet , which offers proper four-seater space and usability, and somehow confers greater stature than the smaller C-, without trespassing to the price levels of the open S-Class and SL-. The car's got all the technological refinements and luxury cabin lures of other E-Class bodystyles, and feels genuinely rich and enveloping to travel in.
Its ride is comfortable and quiet, its character genteel and long-striding; but it needn't be slow or exciting. The engine range takes in a surprisingly broad selection of diesel options of both four- and six cylinders and also includes four- and six-cylinder petrols, although we'd recommend the six-pot options for refinement and smoothness better-suited to the role of a cruiser. The Mini Convertible feels like a much better-engineered car than it needs to be, one of integrity and attention to detail, improved significantly over the car it replaces.
It comes in Cooper, Cooper S and Cooper Works forms, the last of those topping horsepower for those who want open-top motoring speed and fun.
Most importanly, the car opens up the vivacious Mini driving experience to the elements without compromising it. Little on four wheels is better at slowly sucking out the marrow from a long summer day than a Morgan. These singular, traditional, aristocratic English roadsters are a breed apart both from converted cabriolets and more modern, conventional sports cars.
They look like nothing else and, despite having BMW engines and a new all-aluminium chassis , they still drive in exactly the same way.
Advertisement Back to top Surprisingly rich and laid back in some ways, a bit rough and physical in others, and yet with plenty of turbocharged pace when you need it, the Plus Four can be a busy, testing car to drive quickly. It's anything but refined, and both body control and outright grip have appreciably modest limits. But deploy the car at just the right pace, on narrowish country roads where its narrowness is a virtue and its medium-paced steering suits the radius of the corners ahead, and it's a rare pleasure to take in.
The car's six-cylinder sibling the Plus Six is quicker and grippier still, of course. But it's the Plus Four which is more ideally suited to pootling down a sunny British lane with the roof down, and that is able to enrich your journey and add sense of occasion like few others. Giant-killing feats of performance and handling are really neither promised nor expected of this car - and there's something both liberating and wonderful about that. Steering and roof-down body shimmy flaws on their own might not be big problems, but together they add up to turn this into a slightly disappointing sports convertible in some ways, despite its stylish advantages.
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