What is the most economical convertible?

[stumpage]

Need the wealth of knowledge of PH. I have a friend (yes really I do it's not me) who's better half needs a economical car but wants a convertible. The key word is economy so MPG is king (that's why it doesn't compute with me)

The best I can think of is Mini Cooper D Convertible.

Oh one other thing no electric she has a 100 mile each way commute.

[schmalex]

Nissan Micra. In Pink

[BoRED S2upid]

Smart Roadster or the little one 999cc engines wouldn't want to do a 100 miles comute in one though.

Audi A4 2l TDI will get you 55 mpg all day.

[Darren156]

A 1.6 Mazda MX5 must return at least 40MPG no???

[kiethton]

BMW 118d convertible? - longer wheelbase and better place to sit over a BINI IMO

[wemorgan]

Merc SLK 250CDi are cheap to lease and easily give 50-55mpg

[Thehandshake]

C70 D5

[mike13]

[quote=Darren156]A 1.6 Mazda MX5 must return at least 40MPG no???[/quote


Unlikely,never got great mpg with these cars.

Edited by mike13 on Wednesday 16th October 14:41

[RichwiththeS2000]

What a horrible question to ask. Jesus.

[anonymous-user]

Mitsubishi Colt CZC

[alangla]

I was lucky to crack 44mpg in nearly 6 years/42k miles of running a 2.0 TDCi Focus Convertible. Mainly motorway/open road miles,usually with the roof on. I reckoned having the top down & the windbreaker up shaved about 2-3mpg off the fuel economy.

[amusingduck]

The cheapest Convertible Mini Cooper D I can find on autotrader is banging on for £12k.

Spending £12k for economy?

[Motorrad]

It's going to be some stinky small engined diesel. Pick one.

[stumpage]

RichwiththeS2000 said:

What a horrible question to ask. Jesus.

Couldn't agree more!

Some good suggestions here although the 70.6mpg (claimed) on the MINI is still looking the best. Come on PH dig deep, you see there is another little problem which I will add to the mix. She has a Mint Classic Mini which she uses for fun days, Mini runs to Brighton etc. and the idea of a German fake MINI will be met with many expletives. This may also rule out the 118d for the fact that they had the cheek to make the MINI in the first place.

Hang on....what about the Fiat 500 Convertible (Ish) Twin Air claimed 70.6 also. Are these any good?

[stumpage]

amusingduck said:

The cheapest Convertible Mini Cooper D I can find on autotrader is banging on for £12k.

Spending £12k for economy?

The car will be brand new (lease against her business).

[ian_touring]

Daihatsu Copen.
Suzuki cappuccino.

[alangla]

stumpage said:

Hang on....what about the Fiat 500 Convertible (Ish) Twin Air claimed 70.6 also. Are these any good?

Make sure you run it at a steady 30/40/50 during your test drive. I found there was a really annoying vibration through the wheel at 50 in 5th, making you tend to drop it to 4th. Overall they seem to be decent cars with a fair bit of space & nicely specced (talking about the non-cabrio here), but just check that engine. Can't comment on fuel consumption.

[kambites]

Smart ForTwo diesel cabriolet - 85mpg on the EU combined cycle.

Probably not much fun for 100 miles a day, though.

[Harji]

Hmmm, a diesel convertible, is there anything more detestable?

[gdelargy]

Ignoring manufacturers' specious claims and checking real-world users' feedback:

Fiat 500 Lounge TwinAir: two users averaging 47.8mpg
Mercedes Benz 250CDi: ten users averaging 45.1mpg
MINI D convertible: four users averaging 49.5mpg
BMW 118d convertible: 14 users averaging 47.2mpg
(Source: Spritmonitor)

All much of a muchness, really. Under the described driving conditions (200 miles/day commuting, which I presume means a lot of motorway/A-roads) I suspect all of the diesels will be able to lope along more economically than the Fiat. Given that PH seems to revere Mercedes' current leasing deals, I'd go for the SLK250 as the "best value".



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