If you’re in the market for a new car now, chances are you won’t be on the look-out for a convertible. Driving down the gloomy rain-soaked streets of Britain at this time of year with the top down? You may as well just pitch up to the office just in your Speedos and ask your boss to rub some cream into your back.
But when the sun’s out and it’s a scorcher, there’s nothing finer than cruising about with the wind in your hair. You feel like a 1950′s movie idol. Let’s look a little closer at the convertible, shall we? Explore the advantages and of course, the disadvantages of these roofless little numbers…
PROS:
Keeping cool in the summer. With a convertible you can say goodbye to cloying freezing cold air blasted right into your face by the air conditioning and wave hello to a natural, refreshing breeze.
Looking cool in the summer. Let’s face it, even the most irritating-looking 
idiot driving about with no roof looks a bit suave. Do it properly though, with a sexy car, wayfarers and an unbuttoned white cotton shirt on and hey presto! Hollywood chic. You’re looking smooth…
You can get a good deal in Winter. Buy in Winter, sell in Spring/Summer if you want to make money. Or buy in Winter and sell the following Winter. Just don’t buy in Summer and sell in Winter…
If you want to pretend you’re Starsky (or Hutch), you can jump straight in your convertible without using the door. Not that doors are that inconvenient, but still…
Convertibles has superior side impact protection, so in the event of a collision into the side of your car, you should be fine.
CONS:
The side impact protection is better, because it has to be. The vulnerability of the roof in a rollover accident is hugely worrying. Especially in a soft top (hard tops offer slightly more safety). And that’s with the top up. You don’t want to think about what would happen with the top down (we suspect you can guess…)
Vandalism. Idiots seem to like knifing soft top roofs.
Susceptible to theft. They’re also easier to break into.
Liable to wear and tear. They don’t always need thugs and thieves to help, some soft top models’ roofs tear annoyingly easily.
Ladies – how long did you spend on your hair this morning…? Hmmm… Yeah. We hope you’ve got a hairbrush with you.
Oh, look – it’s started raining. You’re wet. And the entire interior of your car is too.
Without a traditional roof, extra beams have to be inserted in the body of the car during production to increase rigidity. This has a negative affect on the car’s performance and handling.
Heating. In the Winter, the car can take longer to heat up inside than a ‘normal’ car.
You pay well over the odds for what the car is actually worth – just take a quick look at how much the non-convertible version retails at.
It looks like the cons just shade it for us. A proper roof it is. Have you made your mind up?
