What's the convertible really like?
Discussion
Currently I run a 2008 280 Mercedes CLK convertible, great car for not much money.
I'm not really a fast driver and fairly low annual mileage. The reason for the change is I fancy something a bit more blokie, with a V8, not bothered about gadgets and spec, I'd rather not have them TBH. As long as it has A/C, auto, power hood and black leather seats I'm pretty relaxed.
Convertible with 4 reasonable seats are non negotiable.
I do like a refined car, decent ride, supportive seats, bright colours and a quiet cruiser roof up or down. Is the mustang going to be a disappointment?
I'm not really a fast driver and fairly low annual mileage. The reason for the change is I fancy something a bit more blokie, with a V8, not bothered about gadgets and spec, I'd rather not have them TBH. As long as it has A/C, auto, power hood and black leather seats I'm pretty relaxed.
Convertible with 4 reasonable seats are non negotiable.
I do like a refined car, decent ride, supportive seats, bright colours and a quiet cruiser roof up or down. Is the mustang going to be a disappointment?
I've always had a convertible in the household. Some 2-seat, some 4-seat.
In Florida a couple of years back we rented a Mustang convertible for a couple of weeks. Wonderful car. It was a modest 2.3 Ecoboost renter but did absolutely everything we needed. There's no reason to think it wouldn't be an excellent car for UK use.
The only question mark over mustangs is arguably that they start out a "cheap" car that gets loaded with more gear and bigger engines as the price rises. To some extent any car of that kind can struggle to escape its humble origins. For instance, interiors are expensive to design, engineer and build so the basic dashboard and so forth will be pretty much the same in all models.
If we didn't already own other cars would I give Mustang Convertible a serious look for UK? Most definitely!
In Florida a couple of years back we rented a Mustang convertible for a couple of weeks. Wonderful car. It was a modest 2.3 Ecoboost renter but did absolutely everything we needed. There's no reason to think it wouldn't be an excellent car for UK use.
The only question mark over mustangs is arguably that they start out a "cheap" car that gets loaded with more gear and bigger engines as the price rises. To some extent any car of that kind can struggle to escape its humble origins. For instance, interiors are expensive to design, engineer and build so the basic dashboard and so forth will be pretty much the same in all models.
If we didn't already own other cars would I give Mustang Convertible a serious look for UK? Most definitely!
My neighbour has one she doesn’t use which I help her look after. She’s done 1k miles since 2017 and I’ve probably done half of those taking it for service and mot. It’s a yellow 5.0 convertible manual.
I really enjoy driving it. No major or obvious scuttle shake. Fun when you want it to be, relaxed when you don’t. Piles of power. Lovely gear shift. It definitely exceeded my expectations.
I really enjoy driving it. No major or obvious scuttle shake. Fun when you want it to be, relaxed when you don’t. Piles of power. Lovely gear shift. It definitely exceeded my expectations.
PositronicRay said:
Currently I run a 2008 280 Mercedes CLK convertible, great car for not much money.
I'm not really a fast driver and fairly low annual mileage. The reason for the change is I fancy something a bit more blokie, with a V8, not bothered about gadgets and spec, I'd rather not have them TBH. As long as it has A/C, auto, power hood and black leather seats I'm pretty relaxed.
Convertible with 4 reasonable seats are non negotiable.
I do like a refined car, decent ride, supportive seats, bright colours and a quiet cruiser roof up or down. Is the mustang going to be a disappointment?
Assuming you are talking about a modern Mustang not classic, You say you like a refined smooth car with a decent ride,I'm not really a fast driver and fairly low annual mileage. The reason for the change is I fancy something a bit more blokie, with a V8, not bothered about gadgets and spec, I'd rather not have them TBH. As long as it has A/C, auto, power hood and black leather seats I'm pretty relaxed.
Convertible with 4 reasonable seats are non negotiable.
I do like a refined car, decent ride, supportive seats, bright colours and a quiet cruiser roof up or down. Is the mustang going to be a disappointment?
You will not find that in a Mustang or any other American sports/muscle car, The ride will be hard and will have various rattles coming
from most parts of the car not helped by being a convertible ,The Mustang being a Ford is mass produced as is the Merc but the quality is
a hundred times higher in the Merc, Although the plastics in todays Mercs are not what they once were in earlier cars they are still much
better than you will find in the Mustangs which are cheap looking brittle items,
What you will find though is that every trip in the Mustang will be a event and the sheer theatre
that will get from the sound of the V8 with a decent after market exhaust will more than make up for the negatives,
Forget about it if you have a shy nature as you will get lots of thumbs up , photo's taken and fuel stops will take longer as you answer questions
about your car, Unlike Ferrari's and some Porsches people are nice to you and instead of a finger you will get a wave .
I'm fortunate as i have both a classic Merc and a modern Merc Wagon for daily use plus a few classic yanks so have the best of both worlds.
One thing i can guarantee you that a Mustang V8 will make you feel more blokie than a CLK every can .
Edited by ratrod 2 on Sunday 18th February 15:24
Totally off topic; there's someone around my way who's owned a red 11th generation Ford Thunderbird for at least a couple of decades. Rare creature indeed although interesting for its weirdness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Thunderbird_(el...
Mustangs improved hugely after 2005 IMO. I was never a fan of the 1990s-2000s styling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Thunderbird_(el...
Mustangs improved hugely after 2005 IMO. I was never a fan of the 1990s-2000s styling.
ratrod 2 said:
PositronicRay said:
Currently I run a 2008 280 Mercedes CLK convertible, great car for not much money.
I'm not really a fast driver and fairly low annual mileage. The reason for the change is I fancy something a bit more blokie, with a V8, not bothered about gadgets and spec, I'd rather not have them TBH. As long as it has A/C, auto, power hood and black leather seats I'm pretty relaxed.
Convertible with 4 reasonable seats are non negotiable.
I do like a refined car, decent ride, supportive seats, bright colours and a quiet cruiser roof up or down. Is the mustang going to be a disappointment?
Assuming you are talking about a modern Mustang not classic, You say you like a refined smooth car with a decent ride,I'm not really a fast driver and fairly low annual mileage. The reason for the change is I fancy something a bit more blokie, with a V8, not bothered about gadgets and spec, I'd rather not have them TBH. As long as it has A/C, auto, power hood and black leather seats I'm pretty relaxed.
Convertible with 4 reasonable seats are non negotiable.
I do like a refined car, decent ride, supportive seats, bright colours and a quiet cruiser roof up or down. Is the mustang going to be a disappointment?
You will not find that in a Mustang or any other American sports/muscle car, The ride will be hard and will have various rattles coming
from most parts of the car not helped by being a convertible ,The Mustang being a Ford is mass produced as is the Merc but the quality is
a hundred times higher in the Merc, Although the plastics in todays Mercs are not what they once were in earlier cars they are still much
better than you will find in the Mustangs which are cheap looking brittle items,
What you will find though is that every trip in the Mustang will be a event and the sheer theatre
that will get from the sound of the V8 with a decent after market exhaust will more than make up for the negatives,
Forget about it if you have a shy nature as you will get lots of thumbs up , photo's taken and fuel stops will take longer as you answer questions
about your car, Unlike Ferrari's and some Porsches people are nice to you and instead of a finger you will get a wave .
I'm fortunate as i have both a classic Merc and a modern Merc Wagon for daily use plus a few classic yanks so have the best of both worlds.
One thing i can guarantee you that a Mustang V8 will make you feel more blokie than a CLK every can .
Edited by ratrod 2 on Sunday 18th February 15:24
Haven’t driven the convertible, but have so the v6 and v8 hardtop. It’s heavy, not a gt nor a sports car. Steering and general handling is lazy which may be a good thing from the type of driving you describe, but refined it is not. Feels like it struggles with its weight in a way that a big merc or bmw doesn’t.
Ok in the main on wide smooth roads like we have here (if you avoid expansion joints on corners) but can imagine it being very skittish on UK roads. If you can find one with magneride dampers they are better at managing the weight but still lacking finesse over the rough stuff.
Most of its woes can be fixed by the aftermarket, but that would not be a straight forward undertaking in UK.
Just had a quick look at ph classifieds and the ‘manliness’ aspect would have to be a big factor in making me look past a 6series v8. Drove one of those the other week, with the roof up it was almost imperceptible that I was driving a soft top in terms of NVH.
shirt said:
Haven’t driven the convertible, but have so the v6 and v8 hardtop. It’s heavy, not a gt nor a sports car. Steering and general handling is lazy which may be a good thing from the type of driving you describe, but refined it is not. Feels like it struggles with its weight in a way that a big merc or bmw doesn’t.
Ok in the main on wide smooth roads like we have here (if you avoid expansion joints on corners) but can imagine it being very skittish on UK roads. If you can find one with magneride dampers they are better at managing the weight but still lacking finesse over the rough stuff.
Most of its woes can be fixed by the aftermarket, but that would not be a straight forward undertaking in UK.
Just had a quick look at ph classifieds and the ‘manliness’ aspect would have to be a big factor in making me look past a 6series v8. Drove one of those the other week, with the roof up it was almost imperceptible that I was driving a soft top in terms of NVH.
That's a good point, sounds like the flaws would drive me to distraction. I deliberately chose std suspension and 17" wheels for my current CLK, favouring a supple compliant ride. My SL ended up on 16"s for the same reason.Ok in the main on wide smooth roads like we have here (if you avoid expansion joints on corners) but can imagine it being very skittish on UK roads. If you can find one with magneride dampers they are better at managing the weight but still lacking finesse over the rough stuff.
Most of its woes can be fixed by the aftermarket, but that would not be a straight forward undertaking in UK.
Just had a quick look at ph classifieds and the ‘manliness’ aspect would have to be a big factor in making me look past a 6series v8. Drove one of those the other week, with the roof up it was almost imperceptible that I was driving a soft top in terms of NVH.
A Mustang would cost many multiples of my CLK and for what?
Perhaps I should just man up and buy some gym membership.
Or simply disregard the connection between your machismo and choice of wheels entirely 
I’d say still drive one, if only to be comfortable with your choice. They’re not bad cars per se, I just struggle to see £30k+ of value in one.
Perhaps an older car is more your thing. R129 or even older. I bought a C107 last summer and selling my Elise as a result. Lovely wafty drive, bags of character, gentleman’s express. Alternatively an R230 SL shouldn’t be too troublesome given the annual mileage.
I’d say still drive one, if only to be comfortable with your choice. They’re not bad cars per se, I just struggle to see £30k+ of value in one.
Perhaps an older car is more your thing. R129 or even older. I bought a C107 last summer and selling my Elise as a result. Lovely wafty drive, bags of character, gentleman’s express. Alternatively an R230 SL shouldn’t be too troublesome given the annual mileage.
Not a true comparison with our roads but I had the 2.3 Ecoboost in California a few years ago and it was fabulous to a point that my next car will most likely be a Mustang Convertible. However probably the V8.
It was nice to cruise in, good in San Francisco city traffic and all round a nice drive.
It was nice to cruise in, good in San Francisco city traffic and all round a nice drive.
A bit late to the party but did the OP buy a Mustang?
I own a late 2020 GT vert. I cant say its refined but it can be quiet if thats what you want, the exhaust have several different modes and can be very subtle in quiet mode. Mine also has the magna ride system so the ride is comfortable but hardens up significantly in sport+.
There is some scuttle shake over big bumps but the ride is generally very smooth. The interior finish is good especially for an American car and is far superior to my last 2011 coyote coupe. Cruising is a breeze and that big lazy V8 makes it a pleasure to drive. As some one said earlier every trip is an event.
I own a late 2020 GT vert. I cant say its refined but it can be quiet if thats what you want, the exhaust have several different modes and can be very subtle in quiet mode. Mine also has the magna ride system so the ride is comfortable but hardens up significantly in sport+.
There is some scuttle shake over big bumps but the ride is generally very smooth. The interior finish is good especially for an American car and is far superior to my last 2011 coyote coupe. Cruising is a breeze and that big lazy V8 makes it a pleasure to drive. As some one said earlier every trip is an event.
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