The UK's love of the convertible.

[Riknos]

Apparently, here in the UK, we buy more convertible/cabriolet/soft top etc cars every year, than the rest of Europe. Despite having one of the WORST climates in Europe, why are we buying more drop heads?

It's not a drop-top knocking thread, I have one and love it, but I'm curious to see everyone's opinions why they want to have a car that can de-roof itself?

Is it to do with image? In the UK we seem to be obsessed with having the latest, newest car with the newest plate, to the point we finance up to our eyeballs to get it, whilst other countries laugh at us as they drive around in 10 year old cars and nicer houses with lower paid jobs, whilst we have our Spyders that only get used twice a year.

Oh, and yes, I was trying to get as many versions of 'convertible' in my post as I can

[Matt UK]

Riknos said:

Apparently, here in the UK, we buy more convertible/cabriolet/soft top etc cars every year, than the rest of Europe. Despite having one of the WORST climates in Europe, why are we buying more drop heads?

It's not a drop-top knocking thread, I have one and love it, but I'm curious to see everyone's opinions why they want to have a car that can de-roof itself?

I reckon two reasons:
Other European countries have enough sun that they get used to it. Sometimes it's actually too hot to not want a roof. In the UK the sun only pops out every now nd again - so we frinkin worship it! We all rush home from work to fire up the BBQ and take the soft top for a spin!

Secondly, the UK is indeed a very green and pleasant land.
A warm summer evening, Kent back lanes, a fine meal in a counry pub as your destination, driving there with the roof down - nowhere else on planet Earth can match that!

[Crusoe]

It lets you make the most of the good weather we have. Say you live in Spain and you get roasted by the heat so want a nice cool air con car in white and you know you will get plenty of sun when you get home from work or the next weekend at the beach etc. Here you wake up and it is sunny on the way to work so you can get 30min of open air enjoyment before you sit at work watching it rain knowing that the weekend will likely be a wash out. You would be surprised how often you can get the hood down even in the uk plus you tend to drive slower with the roof down enjoying the sounds and smells rather than cocooned in your metal box.

[ajb85]

We do seem pretty fixated with them. Once my mum learnt that convertibles were no longer akin to dropheads in the 70s (more's the pity!) she's never looked back. I find people also tend to keep them longer, as they look forward to the summer when they can enjoy their cars, which makes economical sense I think, less likely to get bored.

Has to be said though, most convertibles to come out of the 90s and not a product of Germany, were without excuse horrendous to drive.

[ImpossiblyDaft]

There's a novelty value around sunshine that means it becomes "wooo! top down time!" instead of "ugh, hot today. Better turn the air-con up", combined with that it rarely gets so scorching that you'd get a sunburnt head. OK, it rains a lot, but that aside its not so bad for it.

[GroundEffect]

I'd never really given convertibles much thought until I drove my parents Z3M with the roof down.

The noise coupled with the extra sense of speed made me realise the error of my ways - I PX'd my Z4 Coupe and bought a Z4M Roadster

[otolith]

Matt UK said:

Other European countries have enough sun that they get used to it. Sometimes it's actually too hot to not want a roof. In the UK the sun only pops out every now nd again - so we frinkin worship it! We all rush home from work to fire up the BBQ and take the soft top for a spin!

[pherlopolus]

I tend to have the roof down if it isn't raining and is above 10c, as mentioned before we have just about perfect weather for a soft top, for 9 months of the year it's warm enough to use, and doesnt get so hot in the summer that you have to put it back up again to stop sun stroke.

You feel a lot more involved in the are you are driving through, part of it as apposed to just observing it.

I've already had the roof down twice this month

[Trefy5]

If the roof's not soaking or frozen solid then it is down
Come winter or summer
There is something to be said for top-droppng in winter sunshine on a frosty day!
Beats summer sunshine on a few levels.


Caban Coch Dam (Elan Valley) a few days ago

[Timberwolf]

Convertibles are very much a northern European thing (they're popular over in Sweden, too) because of our climate; it's mild enough that you can have the roof down for most of the summer. Further south it gets too warm, and an open-top car is merely a good way to find yourself uncomfortably scorched and developing skin cancer. (Southern Europe tends to prefer tin-tops with air conditioning for this reason.)

[ajb85]

Trefy5 said:

If the roof's not soaking or frozen solid then it is down
Come winter or summer
There is something to be said for top-droppng in winter sunshine on a frosty day!
Beats summer sunshine on a few levels.


Caban Coch Dam (Elan Valley) a few days ago

Roof down on a winter's day, in an MX-5. You're not helping yourself here!!

[Snowboy]

We have a fairly good climate for convertibles.
Our summers aren't too hot, so we can have the roof down from spring to autumn.

In the rest of europe there's either too much sun, so you want a hard top with air con; or too much snow so you want a solid metal roof.

[Riknos]

I pretty much agree with all of the above to be honest.

I get a lift from a friend at work, who has an MG TF that he is now thinking of selling (but doesn't know what to replace it with) and one of the reasons he told me he was selling it was "There is no point in having a convertible, I barely have the roof down and it rains a lot).

My response to him was - "You didn't buy a convertible car. You bought a 2 setater, mid engine, rwd, cheap to buy, cheap to run car that does 0-60 in 6.9 seconds, has been 100% reliable the whole time you've had it, and just so happens in have a soft top when you need it". That pretty much sums it up for me.

[vrooom]

i find this whole convertible very tacky. lots of people want to show off and pose.....

[Trefy5]

ajb85 said:

Roof down on a winter's day, in an MX-5. You're not helping yourself here!!

'ow d'ya mean, dear?

[Riknos]

doogz said:

vrooom said:

i find this whole convertible very tacky. lots of people want to show off and pose.....

Really? You think I drive about in a ten year old girl's car because i'm trying to pose and show off?

The car is ten years old. I'm not talking about ten year old girls.

Yes.

But seriously, 'Joe public' assume that convertible cars are worth more / more flashy / more sports car? Why else would you opt for a convertible S4, which weighs about 400kg more than the hard top version? (Not that I would ever own an S4, but the weight difference made me laugh).

I once pulled up to a house party in my '94 mk1 mx-5 in white, and a chap there not only exclaimed how cool the car was, but also made comments such as "and the pop-up headlights just add another £4k to the value easily". Obviously he was utterly clueless, but that's how they're perceived by the public.

[Hoofy]

doogz said:

Really? You think I drive about in a ten year old girl's car because i'm trying to pose and show off?

The car is ten years old. I'm not talking about ten year old girls.

Agreed though. My Golf is rusty and 15 years old. Poser is not a word you'd use. "Why??" is probably a word you'd use.

[Ari]

vrooom said:

i find this whole convertible very tacky. lots of people want to show off and pose.....

What a genuinely bizarre post...

To add to the soft top UK debate, I've had soft top cars for years, wouldn't want to be without. On a nice evening, warm sun, summer smells, burbling exhaust note, there's just nothing like it. Driving at night too, stars out, heater and heated seats on, crisp clear air, fantastic!

And in my case when the roof is up it's a proper tin top coupe anyway, so really is the best of both worlds.

[Ari]

Riknos said:

But seriously, 'Joe public' assume that convertible cars are worth more / more flashy / more sports car? Why else would you opt for a convertible S4, which weighs about 400kg more than the hard top version?

Err, because you like driving an open top car..?

What's so difficult to understand (and why are people SO obsessed with image and what their car "says" about them)?

[thescamper]

Gaz. said:

The wind in hair experience is fantastic, I wish I had bought one sooner.

Once the temperature is above 10 (sunny)-15C (overcast) the roof is down if the wipers aren't on. Our weather is better and our country is greener than many people give it credit for. Long way to work in the summer - you bet

What he said, and top down i find i drive in a much more relaxed way. What better way to travel.

Also love driving top down in the dark.

Oh and by the way the car is 17 years old and was free and i don't care what any one says about that.