The sunroof: this year's must-have new car option?
Discussion
Disco3 HSE.
Have climate, heated front and rear seats, working and non leaking front sunroof, which i love using and also have the Alpine glass roof as well. Which is superb for letting in light to the car.
Makes it really open feeling and light.
Wouldn't have a car without a sunroof as all my car's have had them.
Good for opening fully when parked under shade to help keep the car cool for the dog when i very briefly leave him in it.
Have climate, heated front and rear seats, working and non leaking front sunroof, which i love using and also have the Alpine glass roof as well. Which is superb for letting in light to the car.
Makes it really open feeling and light.
Wouldn't have a car without a sunroof as all my car's have had them.
Good for opening fully when parked under shade to help keep the car cool for the dog when i very briefly leave him in it.
When air con started to become widespread here, mid-to-late 90s I suppose, I vaguely remember reading something about the UK being the only market in Europe where people asked for both sunroof and AC in the same car. The European manufacturers saw it as an either/or thing, with the sunroof being the cheaper and inferior option, and regarded the devotion to sunroofs at all costs as one of those quirks of the British market.
I had an A4 once with no AC but a rather swanky sunroof. I used it once or twice, mostly to admire the smooth one-shot mechanism. But it was noisy at speed, and generally not much better than simply winding a window down. It's not like the view through it was visible from the driving seat, either. Didn't really see the point of it.
I had an A4 once with no AC but a rather swanky sunroof. I used it once or twice, mostly to admire the smooth one-shot mechanism. But it was noisy at speed, and generally not much better than simply winding a window down. It's not like the view through it was visible from the driving seat, either. Didn't really see the point of it.
Clivey said:
Just how tall are you both? I'm 6'3" and the only cars I've had a problem with are ones the have been ergonomically crap/cramped regardless of whether they've had a sunroof of not.
being 6'4" - I have found them a pain literally, what I didn't realise was I was sitting slightly twisted to avoid the runner directly over head and that caused me problems with my shoulder.It depends on things like body/leg length and how you like to sit, as I tend to sit fairly upright then I am in roof - sitting more reclined then it probably doesn't have same impact.
Many years ago someone was convinced their car had plenty of headroom - until I sat it in and they realised perhaps not enough for me (though with Air-con and no sunroof it was OK for me)
JimmyTheHand said:
being 6'4" - I have found them a pain literally, what I didn't realise was I was sitting slightly twisted to avoid the runner directly over head and that caused me problems with my shoulder.
It depends on things like body/leg length and how you like to sit, as I tend to sit fairly upright then I am in roof - sitting more reclined then it probably doesn't have same impact.
Many years ago someone was convinced their car had plenty of headroom - until I sat it in and they realised perhaps not enough for me (though with Air-con and no sunroof it was OK for me)
I like to sit upright too...which cars have you had problems with?It depends on things like body/leg length and how you like to sit, as I tend to sit fairly upright then I am in roof - sitting more reclined then it probably doesn't have same impact.
Many years ago someone was convinced their car had plenty of headroom - until I sat it in and they realised perhaps not enough for me (though with Air-con and no sunroof it was OK for me)
I have just taken delivery of a new outlander and although I liked the toys on the higher spec models I went for a trim lower down the range. This did save me money but the main reason for not spending more was that all the trim levels above the one I chose came with a sunroof.
Although the headroom in the front was okay with the sunroof it was not good for an adult in the rear. With the sunroof the headliner was much lower to allow the sunroof to retract inside the car and adults seated in the rear had to tilt their heads rear wards to put it behind the lowered headliner section. Without the sunroof the headroom was fine.
Although the headroom in the front was okay with the sunroof it was not good for an adult in the rear. With the sunroof the headliner was much lower to allow the sunroof to retract inside the car and adults seated in the rear had to tilt their heads rear wards to put it behind the lowered headliner section. Without the sunroof the headroom was fine.
A.J.M said:
Disco3 HSE.
Have climate, heated front and rear seats, working and non leaking front sunroof, which i love using and also have the Alpine glass roof as well. Which is superb for letting in light to the car.
Makes it really open feeling and light.
Have climate, heated front and rear seats, working and non leaking front sunroof, which i love using and also have the Alpine glass roof as well. Which is superb for letting in light to the car.
Makes it really open feeling and light.
We had one of these and I agree the roof is fantastic.
More generally, I'm a big fan of panoramic sunroofs. I almost never open them (in fact I'm pretty sure I never opened the Disco one), but they make the cabin so much lighter.
And the only car I've had that leaked didn't have a sunroof!
Not read all the thread but, on a mini I dare not open it in hot weather for fear of it f
king up, known issue of the frame warping and the thing jamming solid, makes the interior feel a bit roomier by letting more light in but for the expense of speccing it from new,, what a waste of money.
king up, known issue of the frame warping and the thing jamming solid, makes the interior feel a bit roomier by letting more light in but for the expense of speccing it from new,, what a waste of money.s m said:
They're about £9 roughly - sometimes cheaper on EBay
Doing mine this afternoon - the bottom ones break with heat fatigue/poor design
Got any tips s m? I imagine the remains of mine are buried deep within the cassette. I also want to lubricate the rails with something that will enable them not to seize and warp again...Doing mine this afternoon - the bottom ones break with heat fatigue/poor design
Strange how attitudes have changed over the years.
A sunroof was a must have to many people and for those who did not have a factory fitted one as mentioned above glass hatch fitted by an aftermarket windscreen firm was the way forward.
I saw a car the other day with one and realised they are a thing of the past. It was some 55 plate Korean car driven by an old boy. He parked it up with the sun hatch popped open. they were made of thick glass not unlike a microwave oven glass.
Its been too hot for a soft top here in SW Scotland lately. The Landy has two glass sunroofs which have remained shut, with the blinds up and air con on full.
A sunroof is a pleasant enough thing to open on a hot summer evening with the windows. I wold only have one if it came as standard. There are plenty of nicer things to spec on a car, like cooled seats...Never had them but they sound like a great idea.
A sunroof was a must have to many people and for those who did not have a factory fitted one as mentioned above glass hatch fitted by an aftermarket windscreen firm was the way forward.
I saw a car the other day with one and realised they are a thing of the past. It was some 55 plate Korean car driven by an old boy. He parked it up with the sun hatch popped open. they were made of thick glass not unlike a microwave oven glass.
Its been too hot for a soft top here in SW Scotland lately. The Landy has two glass sunroofs which have remained shut, with the blinds up and air con on full.
A sunroof is a pleasant enough thing to open on a hot summer evening with the windows. I wold only have one if it came as standard. There are plenty of nicer things to spec on a car, like cooled seats...Never had them but they sound like a great idea.
Edited by wildcat45 on Sunday 27th July 00:06
You can still get the old school pop-up hatches.
http://sunroof.webasto.co.uk/products/roof-systems...
Fresh air makes you fit apparently.
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Polo Open Air. Factory fitted full length electric webasto roof, very suited to the time they were around 96-2000. Even at 13 years old it didn't leak a drop.
The gf's 1999 example pulled like a train and was sad to see it go when it she decided to go for a soulless Mk7 (with aircon).
This isn't her's, but is pretty much identical.
The gf's 1999 example pulled like a train and was sad to see it go when it she decided to go for a soulless Mk7 (with aircon).
This isn't her's, but is pretty much identical.
My well-maintained low mileage newish weekend car has air con. It rarely gets used as it was obviously a second thought and full whack in this undoubtedly heroic temperature is just about manageable.
My shed Rover that gets parked by touch and sees more kerbs than a prostitute has a sunroof and a/c. And a GSi badge. I feel like a 90s gangster driving around in my battered Rover. As well I should.
My shed Rover that gets parked by touch and sees more kerbs than a prostitute has a sunroof and a/c. And a GSi badge. I feel like a 90s gangster driving around in my battered Rover. As well I should.
Am I the only person who remembers people gluing their sunroof all over the place to stop the things leaking? I have memories of a lot of old bangers with white/yellow smeary marks around the edges of a sunroof they now clearly hated.
Give me a/c any day please. And cooled seats would be a big advance.
Give me a/c any day please. And cooled seats would be a big advance.
blearyeyedboy said:
Am I the only person who remembers people gluing their sunroof all over the place to stop the things leaking? I have memories of a lot of old bangers with white/yellow smeary marks around the edges of a sunroof they now clearly hated.
Give me a/c any day please. And cooled seats would be a big advance.
Never had to do that - but then I have replaced the seals properly on a few over the years if they've been a bit wornGive me a/c any day please. And cooled seats would be a big advance.
A sunroof came as standard on my current car and I love it. I'd not had one since my first car (Rover 414) which was from the era when you could have A/C or sunroof as standard but not both. Given the choice I'd have A/C but if you can have both then great.
The Merc has a pretty good deflector when fully open so although noisy at high speed it's not blustery at all. It wasn't on my radar when ordering the car but now I wish I'd ticked the panoramic roof option.
The Merc has a pretty good deflector when fully open so although noisy at high speed it's not blustery at all. It wasn't on my radar when ordering the car but now I wish I'd ticked the panoramic roof option.
jimmyjimjim said:
oilslick said:
I believe they call them moonroofs when they're glass and sunroofs when they're metal.
I'll take aircon over a sunroof any day
Thank you, and the other poster below - I've always wondered about this.I'll take aircon over a sunroof any day
Which is kind of ironic as most factory fit sunroofs and all the dealer and aftermarket sunroofs supplied over the last 50 years were glass and Not metal. 95/5% ish overall.
Clivey said:
JimmyTheHand said:
being 6'4" - I have found them a pain literally, what I didn't realise was I was sitting slightly twisted to avoid the runner directly over head and that caused me problems with my shoulder.
It depends on things like body/leg length and how you like to sit, as I tend to sit fairly upright then I am in roof - sitting more reclined then it probably doesn't have same impact.
Many years ago someone was convinced their car had plenty of headroom - until I sat it in and they realised perhaps not enough for me (though with Air-con and no sunroof it was OK for me)
I like to sit upright too...which cars have you had problems with?It depends on things like body/leg length and how you like to sit, as I tend to sit fairly upright then I am in roof - sitting more reclined then it probably doesn't have same impact.
Many years ago someone was convinced their car had plenty of headroom - until I sat it in and they realised perhaps not enough for me (though with Air-con and no sunroof it was OK for me)
There was a good 40mm difference.
Hol said:
Moonroof is a very recent marketing term for just the glass sunroof though. (although it could possibly be an American or European term manufacturers have imposed on us).
Which is kind of ironic as most factory fit sunroofs and all the dealer and aftermarket sunroofs supplied over the last 50 years were glass and Not metal. 95/5% ish overall.
I think its been around a long time. I am not near by brochure collection right now, but I think the term Moonroof is used in a late '80s Sterling (US Rover 800) sales literature I have.Which is kind of ironic as most factory fit sunroofs and all the dealer and aftermarket sunroofs supplied over the last 50 years were glass and Not metal. 95/5% ish overall.
Clivey said:
I like to sit upright too...which cars have you had problems with?
Citroen XM was where I had problems, Xantia was OK if no sunroof, but sunroof and I was hitting roof. Since then I have made sure I have enough head and leg room and last couple of cars have been soft-roaders which I have found more comfortable to drive.The previous couple of BMW 3 Series when I have been in them seem rather cramped for me even without sunroofs. I think if you have more than an inch of headroom it feels plenty of space, but if you are 10 mm too little then you have issues.
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