E46 M3 Coupe vs. Convertible

[timskipper]

Anyone direct experience of driving a Coupe vs. Convertible E46 M3? How wobbly is the cab compared to the coop?

My experiences of convertibles are those which were designed that way (Boxster, Elise) rather than variations of.

[Slurms]

I drove these basically back to back when I was buying my car.

There is noticable flex in the convertible especially on less than perfect roads.

It was bad enough to put me off buying one.

[tjw110]

Buy a cab with a hard top, summer time wobble with the roof down, but you can forgive it for the lines and the open top driving experience. With the hard top on in the winter, the lines get even better and it stiffens up the ride...

[Nedz]

I agree with the above. Apart from the odd creak the car stiffens up considerably with the hard top fitted.
When summer comes and you remove the hard top the wobble is noticeable but you soon get used to it then forget its even there.

The cab will never be quite as good as the coupe to drive so it all depends on what you want.For me driving with the roof down on a nice day adds considerably to the driving experience and the shortfalls in the cabs dynamic abilities compared with the coupe are only a small price to pay.

[Andrew Coates]

timskipper said:

Anyone direct experience of driving a Coupe vs. Convertible E46 M3? How wobbly is the cab compared to the coop?

My experiences of convertibles are those which were designed that way (Boxster, Elise) rather than variations of.

I think that cars like the Boxster and Elise which were made to be convertibles are the only ones I would buy. I have an M3 coupe and never considered the convertible for this reason. The cabs look nice with the roof down, but for me that is the only advantage over the coupe. For the driving experience and the feel of the car (what the M3 was built for) the coupe is noticeably better.

[rash_decision]

I never had any issues at all with my Cab. It was fine, unlike many other Cabrios I've been in. In fact, I had mine on track. I went to spectate at a public night at Knockhill, and couldn't resist when I heard there were spaces left.