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Best convertible and cabriolets 2020

Despite our dodgy weather here in the UK, we buy a huge amount of convertible cars. There’s something better about driving with the roof down and the wind in your hair, right? If you’re in the market, we’ve got together this list of the best across a range of budgets.
1. Mazda MX-5

1. Mazda MX-5

The Mazda MX-5 convertible offers some of the sweetest handling you’ll find anywhere, but when buying one you have the choice of a standard cloth-roofed model or the metal-roof Mazda MX-5 RF. The RF’s folding metal roof weighs a little more and costs a little more but it still handles superbly. So, take your choice.

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2. Mini Convertible

2. Mini Convertible

The MINI Convertible feels very upmarket and comes with an infotainment system that’s a doddle to use. It’s good fun to drive, too, and comes with absolutely masses of customisation options. There are more practical convertibles, however – the MINI is cramped in the back and it has a small boot, too.
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3. Audi TT Roadster

3. Audi TT Roadster

If it’s style and quality you’re after, few convertibles do it better than the Audi TT Roadster.  The latest car has a superbly well-built cabin, fantastic infotainment system and tidy handling that makes it one of the best open-tops on sale. Remember, it’s just a two-seater, though.

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4. Audi A3 Cabriolet

4. Audi A3 Cabriolet

The Audi A3 Sportback is a very good premium hatchback, so it’s perhaps little surprise that its cloth-roofed cousin the Audi A3 Cabriolet is a strong choice of convertible. There just about enough space for four adults – those in the back might feel a bit cramped. You will enjoy Audi’s typically superb cabin quality.

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5. Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet

5. Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet

You’ll struggle to find a more luxurious open-top experience than the Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet. It’s extremely comfortable to drive and its interior is both brilliantly built and fantastic to look at. The infotainment system isn’t the best out there, however.

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Best convertibles with hard tops

It’s no secret that we love our convertible cars here in the UK, but what if you love yours so much that you want to use it everyday, in town and on longer motorway journeys? Well, for a quieter cabin at high speeds it’s worth investigating a hardtop convertible. Their roofs are metal rather than cloth, but fold away with the touch of a button in the same manner. We’ve rounded the best.
1. Mazda MX-5 RF

1. Mazda MX-5 RF

The Mazda MX-5 RF has a metal folding roof which means it weighs a little more than the soft-top, but still is just the best fun to drive. It also costs a little more, too, but it’ll be worth it if you’re after a quieter cabin on the motorway.

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2. BMW 4 Series Convertible

2. BMW 4 Series Convertible

There are very few choices when it comes to hardtop cabriolets with room for four passengers. In fact, there’s just one: the BMW 4 Series. Folded away, that heavy roof hanging over its rear end means it’s not as fun to drive as the coupe, but with it up it keeps noise out better than its cloth-roofed Audi and Mercedes alternatives.
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3. BMW i8 Roadster

3. BMW i8 Roadster

The BMW i8 Roadster combines a three-cylinder petrol engine with batteries and electric motors. It means startling performance, yet low CO2 emissions. Its small folding roof is very light, so you’ll enjoy driving it as much as the coupe.

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Best cheap convertibles

Having a tight budget doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the thrills of wind-in-your-hair motoring. Here our experts list the best cheap convertible cars you can currently buy.
1. Citroen C1 Airscape

1. Citroen C1 Airscape

The Citroen C1 Airscape proves that you don’t need to spend much to buy a convertible. It comes with plenty of personalisation options, but just about any alternative has more interior space and perkier engines.

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2. Peugeot 108 TOP

2. Peugeot 108 TOP

The Peugeot 108 TOP is based on the Citroen C1 Airscape, so shares a similar back-to-basics interior, a range of economical engines and an all-important opening fabric roof. The 108 TOP’s small size makes it dead easy to park and drive around town, and there’s just enough space in the two back seats to bring some passengers along for the ride.

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3. Fiat 500C

3. Fiat 500C

The Fiat 500C costs a little more than the Citroen and Peugeot, but its folding fabric roof extends beyond just the top of your back-seat passengers’ heads. It looks great – both inside and out – and comes with a range of perky engines that’ll cost pennies to run.

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Frequently asked questions about convertibles

According to the dictionary of Google… there’s not much difference between a convertible and a cabriolet. A convertible is “a car with a folding or detachable roof”. A cabriolet means a “car with a roof that folds down”. Then there are roadsters, which are two-seater convertibles and are also sometimes called spiders – or spyders. Sounds confusing but essentially they all mean the same thing – a car that can drop its roof.

Interestingly, originally a cabriolet was a type of horse drawn carriage. It was a two-wheeled carriage with a soft hood and was pulled by a single horse. Cabriolet is from the French word cabriole which means ‘goats leap’, so called from the motion of the carriage.

Interestingly, originally a cabriolet was a type of horse drawn carriage. It was a two-wheeled carriage with a soft hood and was pulled by a single horse. Cabriolet is from the French word cabriole which means ‘goats leap’, so called from the motion of the carriage.

Types of convertible cars

Convertibles come in a range of shapes and sizes. You can get two-seat convertibles, four- seaters, five-seaters and even off-road convertibles.

You can get convertibles with diesel engines, but they are more enjoyable with petrol engines as these have a nicer exhaust note.

Convertibles with fabric roofs

Many convertibles have a roof made from fabric. Fabric roofs like the one on this Audi A5 are multi-layered to keep the cabin as serene as possible with the roof up but in general they aren’t usually as quiet as a convertible with a metal roof.

Convertibles with metal roofs

A metal-roofed convertible feels just as quiet and secure as a regular hard-top car with the top up, and watching the steel origami unfold looks pretty cool. However, the mechanism adds lots of weight, which affects fuel economy, and significantly eats boot space.

What’s the boot like in a convertible?

Folding roof mechanisms usually eat into boot space. For instance the Audi A5 Convertible’s boot is 85-litres less than the coupe’s with the roof up and you have to lower a compartment before you can retract the roof and this takes up a further 60 litres of space.

Driving a convertible

Convertibles don’t feel quite as sharp to drive as fixed roof cars. That’s because removing a car’s roof reduces its rigidity. Extra bracing is added to make up for this, but often a convertible will still shake a bit more over bumps and a hard topped car.

Performance of a convertible

The extra weight of the bracing and roof mechanism affect performance. With the 190hp diesel engine, the A5 Cabriolet takes 8.3 seconds to get to 62mph, but the coupe version is a full 0.6 seconds faster. The weight affects economy too – the Convertible is 6mpg less economical than the Coupe.

Safety of a convertible car

Convertibles are built to offer similar safety as hard-top cars. They often have strengthened windscreen pillars and either fixed rollover bars to protect your head, or ones which pop out the back of the cabin area within milliseconds of an accident being detected.

Convertible price

Convertibles are almost always pricier than hardtop coupes. For example an A5 Cabriolet costs over £4000 more than an A5 Coupe with a fixed roof. It’s more expensive to insure too, and it’ll use a little more fuel. So there is a price to put on a little extra fun, but do you think it’s worth it?

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