An ‘al fresco’ driving experience is a great way to refresh the senses, whether the sun’s out or you’re just hoping for the best.
The United Kingdom remains one of the world’s most receptive markets for open-top cars. Explaining why has always been tricky. Is it our changeable climate? Other countries may be sunnier; but because Britain isn’t, is our willingness to capture and savour every brighter moment all the greater? Might it be our flinty determination to blow out the cobwebs and enjoy al fresco motoring between rain showers, and even when the temperature’s low, that explains it?
Or is it simply that we’re a nation of car-lovers; and there’s no better way to enjoy driving than with the roof down? Whatever the reason, the choice we have when it comes to cabriolets and convertible cars remains pretty broad. Among the sports cars, compact cars, GT cruisers, mid-engined supercar cabrios and others, nobody in the UK could claim to be starved of options.
Our list here covers the full spectrum of convertible and cabriolets, but all of them share an ability to be used everyday. That means we’ve left out the hardcore lightweight specials with a Heath Robinson roof mechanism, and the hardcore hypercars that are more targas than true roadsters.
Some cars here are more affordable, others more exotic and expensive – but all are a great way to enjoy the elements. All have the ability to invigorate beyond the sum of their parts, as each one can turn an ordinary journey into a moment to savour. If you haven’t experienced open top motoring before then you really should; and any one of these machines could prove the perfect introduction.
1. Mazda MX-5
Pros: it’s affordable, usable, easy to convert, and supreme fun to drive
Cons: a bit of a squeeze for two occupants, with limited luggage space
There’s a reason the Mazda MX-5 is the world’s best selling roadster. In fact, there are many. Nearly thirty-five years after the original made its debut, the compact Japanese two-seater continues to serve-up affordable driver fun and represents one of the quickest as easy ways to enjoy good weather at the drop of a hat (or roof).
A large part of the MX-5’s appeal lies in its traditional front-engined rear drive layout, which continues to serve up agile, engaging, throttle adjustable handling. Then there’s the fact that it fits in largely the same compact footprint as its 1989 great-grandfather, and weighs around 1000kg. Few driver’s cars feel as lithe and right-sized on the road.
It also means that even the entry-level 130bhp 1.5-litre feels zingy enough, although the more muscular 181bhp 2.0-litre gets firmer suspension, a strengthening strut brace and a limited slip differential.
Then there’s the manual fabric roof, which can be flipped down in seconds with one hand, and raised just as easily when the weather closes in, without leaving the car. It’s a brilliantly simple design. For those looking for a little extra security and comfort, the RF version features a powered folding hardtop. Whichever you choose, the Mazda is perfectly placed to make the best of the sunshine.
Elsewhere, the MX-5 is pretty much as easy to live with as any Mazda, thanks to its light and precise controls, excellent build quality and low running costs. Yes the cabin is cosy-small, and the boot is just 150-litres; but there’s enough space here to handle weekends away, and enough refinement and comfort that the daily commute needn’t be a drag, particularly when the sun is shining.
Read our Mazda MX-5 review
2. Porsche 718 Boxster
Pros: twin boots and decent cabin space makes for surprising two-seat usability. Broad range of engines
Cons: four-cylinder engines are a little unappealing on the ear
It would be a stretch to call the Porsche 718 Boxster one of Porsche’s best kept secrets, but its entry-level status and the shadow cast by the legendary 911 means this mid-engined machine doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. You see, when the roads are good and the sun is shining, there are few cars that are more entertaining than this.
The arrival of four-cylinder engines in 2016 robbed the Porsche of some of its audible appeal, but there’s no doubting the potency of the turbocharged units, which knock the old flat-sixes for, erm, six when it comes to straight line pace. If you do want the full mechanical orchestra, then the 4.0-litre GTS will happily provide it; or, for that sky’s-the-limit budget, there’s even the epic, 911 GT3-engined, £123,000 Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder RS.
All Boxsters get better when the roof is down: something that can be easily achieved with the touch of a button. Speaking of which, once the fabric covering is stowed you’re treated to buffet-free progress, meaning topless long haul trips aren’t a chore.
Regardless of engine (right now, the 2.5 GTS and 2.0 T models are off-sale in the UK), it’s the Porsche’s chassis that shines the brightest, the perfectly balanced, tactile handling drawing you into the action. Then there’s the perfectly weighted steering, the strong, delicately balanced grip, the cast iron body control, and brakes that are as progressive as they are powerful.
Take things a little easier and you’ll discover an interior that’s roomy and rich in material quality, plus a pair of luggage compartments (one front and another rear) that make this one of the most practical two-seater drop tops. Sure, it’s not cheap but the incredible engineering and depth of ability on offer mean that the Porsche feels like it’s worth every penny.
Read our full Porsche 718 Boxster review
3. Mercedes-AMG SL
Pros: huge performance, enhanced sports-car handling, enticing luxury appeal
Cons: doesn’t ride as demurely as predecessors
No other car in this roster can claim a history spanning almost seventy years. When Mercedes launched the roadster version of the revered ‘W198’ 300SL ‘Gullwing’ in 1957, the legend of the modern SL was born. It’s been reinterpreted through six model generations since; and, with the current ‘R232’ version, Mercedes claims to have taken the car back towards its motorsport roots, while retaining the luxury cruising credentials for which the SL is so celebrated.
Mercedes-AMG was given the job of model development of this car, which was twinned with that of the new Mercedes-AMG GT sports car. Affalterbach gave it a new mixed-material spaceframe chassis, but also junked the Airmatic and hydropneumatic suspension options that its predecessors embraced, optioning instead for steel coil springs as well as four-wheel steering, four-wheel drive (on most models), and active anti-roll bars (on upper-level cars). Engines now span a turbo four-cylinder SL 43 at the foot of the range, taking in V8-powered -55 and -63 options above that; but all SLs now come with proper Mercedes AMG model status – so there are no more relaxed, regular-series Mercedes derivatives.
And that’s a slight shame, with AMG’s typical sports-orientated tuning having taken some of the SL’s typical refinement and ride comfort from the current model; though it’s gained plenty in the trade. In 577bhp -63-badged form, this is now a predictably rapid sports car, needing just 3.5sec to hit 60mph from rest, and getting to 100mph quicker than an Aston Martin Vantage Roadster. But it also handles with greater grip and composure, and tighter body control, than any SL before it. Not quite with proper super sports car level driver entertainment – but not far off it.
The car comes crammed with Mercedes’ usual digital technology, and is supremely easy to convert from open to closed. It’s an enduringly special roadster; albeit a slightly different one than it fairly recently was.
Read our full Mercedes-AMG SL review
4. Maserati MC20 Cielo
Pros: it’s beautiful to behold, rides craggier roads comfortably, and is undemanding to drive by supercar class standards
Cons: doesn’t excite like some mid-engined Italians
Mid-engined sports- and supercars were, for so long, far better sampled as close-roof ‘berlinettas’ than cloth-topped ‘spiders’, because they traded so much body rigidity for that convertible status; but modern, carbon-tubbed supercars like the Maserati MC20 are changing all that.
But while this car’s construction is one of the reasons that it makes such a good convertible conversion, it’s not the only one. The MC20 is a supple-riding, light-touch, grand tourer amongst mid-engined options, with surprisingly gentle suspension, fluent, low-effort steering, and a turbocharged V6 engine with lots of accessible torque that responds well to a more relaxed pace.
Take the fixed roof away and you can simply enjoy more of the car’s charms in a richer groove, and in the laid-back touring mode of operation that the car’s tuning encourages. The roof itself is a folding metal panel with a built-in photochromic glass panel – so, unlike with so many cloth tops, you needn’t fold it back at all to enjoy an enhanced view of the world outside.
Read our full Maserati MC20 Cielo review
5. BMW 4-Series Convertible
Pros: four-seater usability, improved refinement, plenty of driver appeal
Cons: exterior styling is divisive, engine range is much reduced
BMW’s latest-generation 4-Series arrived in two-door coupe form to begin with, but made UK showrooms in convertible form in 2021. Like the BMW Z4, it has swapped a folding metal hood for a lighter cloth affair; it weighs 150kg more than an equivalent coupe because of the reinforcements necessary to compensate for chopping off the roof; and it has the same rather controversial radiator grille styling that has attracted so much criticism (about which you can make up your own mind).
This is a four-seater cabriolet that seeks to cover a lot of ground. At the upper end of the model range are the four-wheel drive M4 Competition and M440i xDrive versions, which trade on plenty of sporting aggression and driver appeal. Elsewhere in the range, there is now only the entry-level petrol 420i, with BMW’s mid-range petrol and diesel models now removed from showrooms.
BMW has boosted cabin isolation and cruising refinement in this car by quite a margin; it’s the sort of convertible you can easily hold a conversation in when the roof is down and the windows up, but if you want a more refined version, best avoid the runflat-equipped M440i.
Driver appeal is present to greater effect than it was in the floppier former version, and perceived cabin quality has likewise taken a leap. This is a very complete convertible, in other words and – grille styling aside, perhaps – an easy one to recommend to anyone.
Read our BMW 4-Series Convertible review
6. Bentley Continental GTC
Pros: combines luxury and sporting appeal like little else, and is truly special to travel in
Cons: it’s a £200k prospect at its cheapest, and it always handles like a big luxury car
Could this be the ultimate iteration of the Bentley Continental GT? If you’re going to have one of the most opulent, expensive and attention-grabbing grand tourers of the lot, then you might as well go the whole hog and go for the convertible, so you can more clearly see the world that you’re lording it over.
You can have the car with the firm’s hugely decadent W12 (although it’s soon to be pensioned off), but the Conti is at its best with the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 and in driver-oriented S guise. With 543bhp, it’s got more than enough velvet-lined muscle to get a real wriggle on when you’re in a hurry, while aurally it runs the gamut from bellowing brute to something altogether softer and more restrained when just cruising. The V8 also acts like less of a boat anchor in the nose, helping the big Benters feel remarkably light on its feet when pressing on through a series of corners.
Of course, this is still a luxury GT at heart; so the air suspension can waft with the best of them, while the interior embraces you and three travelling companions in true splendour. The richness of the materials, quality of the craftsmanship, and sheer sense of occasion are hard to beat.
Throw in the appeal of a folding fabric roof that’s coupe-quiet when erect yet allows you bask in the glow of admiring (or resentful, delete as applicable) looks in a matter of seconds, and you have one of the most opulently desirable drop tops on the planet. Just add the Cote d’Azure for the ultimate convertible experience.
Read our full Bentley Continental GTC review
7. Chevrolet Corvette ‘Stingray’
Pros: appealing, big-hearted V8 engine, enhanced mid-engined handling manners
Cons: it’s not quite in the supercar performance league, and the styling’s derivative
Much has been written about General Motors’ decision to gamble with this, the eighth generation of its iconic Chevrolet Corvette, by switching from a front-mounted engine to a mid-mounted one. There were objective reasons to do it: because it improves the car’s weight distribution, enhances its outright handling potential, and makes it more competitive for motorsport use. And there was a more complex argument: that a mid-engined layout has become expected of an operator within this part of the sports car market, and the old C7 Corvette’s front-engined configuration made it something of a relic.
Whatever it took to finally convince GM to make the switch, you could say it was worth it. The C8 Corvette has all of the metal-for-the-money and bang-for-your-buck appeal as any of its forebears possessed, its supercar-looks-for-sports-car-cash shtick earning it the Dream Car accolade in the 2022 Autocar Awards. Yet there’s more to its appeal than simple showroom sparkle and prices that run to £81,700 for the coupé and £87,110 for the convertible.
Bristling with small-block-V8 combustive charm, the Corvette’s engine has excellent throttle response and a wonderful mid-range power delivery, liking to rev to beyond 6500rpm and sounding superb doing it. The car handles with plenty of stability and precision, feeling instantly more benign and easier to drive quickly than any of its front-engined forebears.
And what is so seldom remarked upon is the Corvette’s enduring versatility as a sports car: the fact that, even if you buy a hard-top car, it comes with a removable targa top that can fairly easily be lifted out and stowed in the rear cargo compartment; or, if you want to go the whole American hog, there’s a cloth-topped convertible version, too.
Yes, its cabin has plenty of ergonomic quirks and it still lags behind the best for perceived quality, but we can’t help but feel grateful that a car like the Corvette exists at all, and in right-hand-drive form to boot. The fact that it’s an unexpected convertible – for so many of owners, at any rate – makes it all the sweeter.
Read our full Chevrolet Corvette review
Read our full Chevrolet Corvette Z06 review
Read our full Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray review
8. Lexus LC Convertible
Pros: rich, high-quality, enveloping cabin, knock-out concept car design
Cons: slightly wooden ride & ten-speed automatic gearbox are dynamic turn-offs
With its esoteric concept-car design appeal, superbly inviting luxury interior and 457bhp atmospheric V8 engine, the Lexus LC has no trouble grabbing attention. Whether that might be enough to tempt you to part with close-to £100,000 for a Lexus LC, which became available in convertible form in 2020, will no doubt come down to whether you like its alternative looks and character, and whether you wouldn’t prefer one of the more sporting convertibles that your money might buy.
If you want a luxury, two-seater cruiser, you’ll find an awful lot to like here. The LC is now a more refined car than it was when launched in 2017, having had its runflat tyres traded for better rubber and its suspension retuned for a more supple ride and more poised handling. Unlike in the coupe version, you can’t get the LC’s 3.5-litre V6 hybrid powertrain here; nor the car’s optional four-wheel steering.
But the LC Convertible handles quite neatly for such a heavy car in any case. It’s better in rich, laid-back cruising mode than when driven like a sports car, when the car’s superficially direct steering and its woolly-feeling brake pedal stand in the way of top-level driver reward. But still it’s a car that it’s easy to enjoy at just the right pace; and what engine that atmo V8 is.
Read our full Lexus LC review
9. Fiat 500C & Abarth 500C
Pros: affordable, cheery and genuinely fun to drive
Cons: they’re only four-seaters in the most technical sense, and range will limit your enjoyment
Electric cars with convertible bodies have been slow to emerge as the industry has adopted EV technology. One of the earliest EV pioneers, the Tesla Roadster, was an open-top, of course: but if you want a zero-emissions car with a cockpit that’s open to the elements now, your options are very few. Fiat’s funky 500 is one of them, however – and the hotted-up Abarth spin-off version is another.
These cars are convertibles in as much as they have a sliding cloth hood that you can wind back behind the rear seats – although you never lose the car’s pillars or cantrails. The 500C is the only 500 you can’t get in entry-level form; so all versions come with a 117bhp front-mounted electric motor and a 42kWh battery for a claimed 199 miles of WLTP electric range.
Like most EVs, the 500 Electric is good for between 75- and 90 percent of that claimed range in real-world driving. It has marginally more second-row occupant space than the old 500, but still makes a cramped four-seater. Performance is strong up to about 50mph, and ride and handling are pleasant enough, although they’re not as much fun as some might hope.
If you want fun, of course, the Abarth 500C should certainly supply plenty of that. It doesn’t handle with textbook sporting precision, but it’s a vivacious, busy, charming car to drive; assuming you can tolerate the exterior speaker that broadcasts fake engine noise to the world around you (or you can turn it off).
Read our full Fiat 500C review
Read our full Abarth 500 review
10. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Pros: unmatched offroad capability, and equally supreme if you want mud in your eye and grit in your teeth
Cons: likely to get breezy on the work commute; and converting it isn’t the work of 30 seconds, and can not be done at up to 30mph
We wind up our list with a car most convertible buyers won’t have contemplated. Well, perhaps they should. Because among the many things you can do in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is the option either to remove its roof in part; or get the Torx screwdriver out and remove the top half of the car almost entirely, to end up with a safari-style, fully-open offroader.
Jeep has now removed the three-door version of the car from UK sale, but the larger five-door remains; with the engine range set to expand to include a plug-in hybrid in addition to the four-cylinder turbo petrol engine.
Lower-tier models come with a fixed-roof body construction, but the extra-tough-looking Rubicon has a composite roof that can be fully removed, a windscreen that can be folded flat, and passenger doors than can be taken off their hinges, too – leaving only the car’s endoskeleton-like rollover protection exposed. You won’t get a more open driving experience in anything of a similar size and brief.
Read our full Jeep Wrangler review
Coming soon
MG Cyberster
On sale: summer 2024
Coming to put a stake in the ground for MG Motor in the electric roadster market. 309- and 536bhp versions are expected, in a car roughly the size of a BMW Z4, and priced from £55,000.
Mini Convertible
On sale: tbc
New-generation, Chinese-produced Mini Cooper E gets a hike on power and range. Convertible version is likely, but timing is still unconfirmed. Combustion-engined new-gen Mini Convertibles, made at Cowley, are likely too.
Mercedes CLE Cabriolet
On sale: spring 2024
Ragtop version of the CLE Coupe is expected in the UK soon, replacing both equivalent C- and E-Class Cabrios. It’ll bring four-seat practicality, and a choice of four- and six-cylinder engines.
Tesla Roadster
On sale: late 2024
Final UK prices on Tesla’s much-previewed Roadster supercar are still unconfirmed (think somewhere between £150- and £200k). It’s expected to do 62mph in less than two seconds, have a top speed in excess of 250mph – and come with a removable targa top.
