How good are hard top convertibles (e.g BMW 3 series or Infiniti G37) in terms of safety or water proof?
Hard top look very similar to Coupes of same brand then why people buy coupes, why not just buy hard top covertibles to get best of both worlds!
The Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG is pretty nice, but if you want back seats go for the CL65.
The answer to why people don’t buy hardtop convertibles instead of coupes is MONEY. The hardtop convertible model is always more expensive.
Also, believe it or not, there are people who don’t want a convertible.
…and leg room in the rear seat and/or trunk space is severely restricted on these hardtop convertibles.
If you don’t know why this is so, please let us know so that we can explain it to you.
How about reliability of Hard top to rain water or mechanical issues vs coupe?
Don’t forget shoulder room. Rear seats are narrower in a drop top.
Most probably I will not need rear seats. I am a tall guy 6, 1" so is there any difference for front leg or height room?
In a few years I expect to read complaints from owners of these hardtop convertibles about the expense of repairing the top when it stops working.
Anything without a solid roof is prone to leaking. Search this forum for sunroof leak complaints and you’ll see what I mean.
A hole in the roof is a hole in the roof.
Hard top convertibles carry more weight than regular coupes or soft top convertibles.
Also, the mechanics needed to operate a hard top convertible need to be much stronger to move around the hard top bits, and lock them into place.
Usually, a hard top convertible takes up much more space in the trunk than a soft top convertible does, so you lose more cargo space that way, too.
As for safety concerns, a soft top is easier to break into using a knife.
For collisions, convertibles always have reinforced frames and door rails for added crash protection, so the missing top isn’t an issue.
There’s only one car that I can think of where the coupe version is more expensive than the convertible version, and that’s the Porsche Cayman and Porsche Boxster.
BC.