Is there anything more romantic in car-dom than the notion of carefree cruising in a convertible? The wind in your hair, the sun on your face, the freedom of the open road before you? It’s pretty gosh-darn delightful, is it not?
Indeed, the notion of driving in a convertible is wonderful. The actual practice? Ehhh, I don’t love it. Now, don’t get me started on chassis rigidity, because you can’t get me started on chassis rigidity. I promise you, if you put me in a convertible, any convertible, chassis flex will not even be among my top 100 gripes.
Chief among the gripes: I find the entire affair to be unpleasant. The niceness that having the top down does add – sun on your face, wind in your hair – is more than made up for by the headache I get from wind noise, and the annoyance of all the head-buffeting turbulence that’s also making me miserable.
It all looks like fun, especially in movies and on TV. For example, consider Ben Gazzara in Road House below, just enjoying the weather in his 1988 Mustang GT drop-top, drifting from lane to lane and forcing any wayward Daltons off the road.
Or how about Jon Bernthal in the opening credits of American Gigolo (the Showtime series), taking in the California sun in that most phallic of convertibles, the Jaguar E-Type? Though second to the Jag, the Mercedes 450 SL Richard Gere drives in the 1980 movie also makes top-down driving look sexy and fun.
But it’s never sexy or fun for me! The not-sexy part, I get. After all, I’m in the car, so there you go. But it should be fun! And above 30mph or so, I don’t think I’ve ever really had fun in a convertible.
Now, to be fair, I haven’t yet ridden in a modern convertible, which I’m sure manages airflow much better and feels less like a car missing a roof and more like a car meant to operate well while roofless. But I’d love to give one a try!
Your turn:
I love top-down driving, it engages more senses and really opens up the experience. The sense of speed is greatly enhanced by the tactile feeling of wind over my head, it really takes the boredom out of driving around at legal speeds.
I also get a much fuller aural experience with the top down, the full breadth of my intake and exhaust note can fill the cabin without droning or buffeting, even tire noise is more present.
I also get to enjoy the weather (if it’s good) a lot more. When it’s around 10°C outside and the sun’s out, there are few feelings that beat the combination of the cold air in my hair and the sun warming up my skin, especially paired with heated seats and footwell vents keeping my lower half cozy. On a Fall/Spring morning or early Winter afternoon, it’s just lovely.
When the top is up, the sound of rain on canvas is really pleasant and elicits a strong nostalgia for camping. Wind noise is pretty loud compared to a tin-top, but not to an unacceptable degree.
I daily-drive my roadster year-round, and there are many days where I wish I had the later glass-windowed assembly (I will buy and retrofit it someday) for its rear defroster, but even more because my plastic rear window gets brittle in the cold, and sometimes I want to put the top down when it’s 5°C outside, which I currently can’t.
Now, I acknowledge that I have a power-operated canvas top with good seals, a pretty effective wind deflector and factory structural roll hoops, heated seats and an enclosed garage, so my car’s fairly pampered for a daily driver and I’m cozier than average when driving with the top down, so I kind of have the best-case scenario, but I’d be willing to make some more sacrifices for top-down driving if my budget was tighter.
All considered, I wouldn’t mind driving a Jetta through the Winter if I got to pull out a Miata or MR-S for the Summer.
In the 12 years I’ve owned my convertible, I’ve never regretted it.
When I lived in LA, my coworkers teased me – asking of my car even had a roof.
I’ve driven through downpours and in snow with the roof down.
I drive at night with the roof down – enjoying the stars and fresh air.
And when the roof finally does go up, it’s quite cozy inside – the sound of rain on the thick German canvas is quite soothing and romantic.
The way to deal with buffeting is simple: Keep the side windows up and use a draft-stop.
Too much sunshine? Ball caps and sunscreen.
Too hot? Turn on the A/C and divert all cool air from the rear cabin forward.
Too cold? Seat heaters, cabin heat, coat, hat and gloves.
Other than heavy rain/snow I would prefer all my driving to be top down.
Nothing better than top-down driving. Summer/ spring is great of course but I feel that fall/winter with the top down, windows up and heat blasting is very underrated. When my spitfire was my daily for 2 years every day without heavy precipitation was a top-down day.
Oh, I sure had my examples of both extremes.
A leasurely cruise on a calm evening to a place where you wan’t to be. Possible with one or more enjoyable persons in the car with you. Pretty much perfection.
On the other hand, Belgian weather is often pretty poor for a cabrio. And if you are on the road because you have to…
Even with top closed, months of moist weather makes every soft surface a mossy afair.
Harsh traffic makes for smelly and noisy roads. High speeds are terrible, even with the top up. Beggars and homeless peope come right in your face (it’s a mazda, not a jaguar ffs).
And on the first good day in spring, you want to take it out and put the top down, and then you get an overdose of UV.
Yeah, it’s a bit like a tandem bike. Perfect for that one occasion, and pretty stupid for everything else.
Wow lots of comments on this!
I have owned my Saab vert for just over 2 years (first convertible and have only driven a few in the past) and while it took a little getting used to with the sun glare overhead, I absolutely love it!
I don’t mind the wind noise as long as I have the tunes cranking, but I do wish I coukd find a wind deflector. It is really the perfect beach car for summer at the Jersey Shore.
I saw someone mentioned worry about rollovers and that’s not a concern. The A pillars are structurally reinforced with the chassis and there are popup roll bars behind the rear seats.
I also feel very comfortable driving it – good visibility, handling, and brakes, so I hope to avoid any situations where I might imitate Erik Carlsson.
I love convertibles! I drive an NA Miata, and the top goes down every time the weather’s good. I love the feeling of driving while also being in touch with the atmosphere around me, so to speak. It’s simultaneously relaxing and thrilling, plus the added visibility is wonderful! I’m also the type who would rather drive with the windows down than the air conditioning on, which is a good thing because the air conditioning in my Miata doesn’t work anyway.
That said, however… I admittedly don’t always like driving with the top down on the highway. Around town, there’s nothing more fun than cruising with the wind in your hair, but once you get on the highway the breeze is no longer gentle and the wind noise overpowers everything. I can’t hear the radio anymore, I can’t hold a conversation with a passenger, all I can hear is wind and the tires of nearby trucks and it’s not comfortable. I only drive on the highway with the top down when it’s really really hot outside, due to the aforementioned air conditioning not working, and even then sometimes I just roll the window down to get some airflow without it being deafening.
Oh, and diesel truck guys suck. But I don’t consider that a problem with convertibles, I consider that a problem with people who don’t care whether it’s okay to illegally modify their trucks to spew black cancer dust because they just want to and it isn’t really enforced.
But, other than that, I really do love the convertible life around town. It just puts me in a fun carefree mood 🙂
It’s all the fresh air of driving a motorcycle, but you dont have to wear the ugly clothes or the boots. Love it.
3 kids, 1 wife. She drives a volt, I drove a flex. But it killed a bit of my soul every day. Last week I flew to South Carolina, bought a 2007 solstice GXP and drive it back to NJ. I’ve put another 500 miles on it since then. I have an 86 alfa spider I’m selling next season; I needed a convertible I could drive everyday and share with my kids. It makes every drive with them (1 at a time) special.
Since 1989, I’ve driven convertibles exclusively. I also rode motorcycles for 25 years, and dailied a motorcycle for a couple years in Pennsylvania. I would never drive anything else. One bonus for me is that it staves off carsickness, which I’m prone to feeling. My current daily is a 94 corvette convertible, and my wife drives a Jeep gladiator with a soft top.
For me, it’s the feeling of being outside. It’s a good way to bookend the work day. I have a 20 minute commute and I look forward to getting in the car. Despite my love of cars, I don’t actually love driving for the sake of it, and the top down experience turns the slog of commuting into a daily dose of sun.
I find modern convertibles (owned a Mustang and Camaro) to be quite pleasant with the top down, even at high speed. The biggest drawback is the modern cars, with the top up, have pretty bad visibility.
Buddy, you gotta live a little. I have had several Miatas which were the most fun you can have on four wheels. My 2024 Mustang GT convertible was an all-around great car as well. I did a bunch of road trips in it… top up or top down it was great. There’s nothing like putting the top down and taking the long way home on side roads.
Don’t own one at the moment, but I’ve owned four convertibles, rented a ton of them, and all I can say is, it depends on where you are Had two rag tops in the Houston area and between heat and humidity, top didn’t come down all that often. Moved the 2nd one to Cali central coast where the weather is decent most of the year, and only drove convertibles for about 10 years, because I could. Dropping the top on the way home on a twisty 2 lane for 45 minutes always cleared my mind and felt so good. Especially in the Saab 93, loved it.
I want another one, but there are so few available.
I thought I’d love my convertible but it was terrible here in Colorado. The sun is too intense in the summer, it’s too cold in the winter, leaving the spring and fall to drive with the top down. Even then, it’s not all that enjoyable, and most of the time the car had the top up. Sold it, and haven’t looked back.
Don’t blame you, wrong environment for a drop top.
I agree 100%!
Ya, true… sunroof is better in CO… 4 months of the year
Yeah absolutely! Even then, my wife completely forgets that she has one in her 4runner because it’s always closed and covered because she doesn’t like the sun in her eyes
I fair weather daily drive a topless kit car 6 months out of the year in Wisconsin. I put 5k miles on it this summer alone including a 1400 mile trip to Tennessee.
That’s how I really feel.
Fellow Wisconsinite here. Have 2 convertibles. Had 3 but sold the Saab 900. In the upper midwest but def not on freeways, it’s one of life’s true joys. 100% visibility, the thrill of the unknown (rain, sleet, snow etc) and being out of the bunker cocoon of the metal box. It is also a throwback to the joys of youth and frankly not as life endangering as motorcycles dodging idiot drivers in cars
I don’t even like open sunroofs. When wearing glasses the sun gets behind the lens and my eyes interfering with vision. And then there is the long hair in my face thing. Both end up requiring a hat, and then one has to worry about said hat flying off due to the buffeting. So, don’t like ’em.
I’m not a big fan mostly because I live in a hot, humid, southern state. Even at night it’s just too darned hot. Two weeks of Autumn, two weeks of Spring. I rode motorcycles most of my life so that filled that need. During the dead of Summer it was too hot to ride.
I’ve gone without a convertible for about 8 months of the past 25 years and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Granted, a sedan for a daily is a key part of what makes this work, but I’m still here hoping for a couple more top down drives before winter sets in.
I’m over it. I like AC on motoring.
I Sawzalled three cars into toplessness, so I must enjoy it.
26 years with an MX-5 Miata and I can say that I still love driving it top down. That being said, as I am nearing 70 years old, the rides are getting shorter and less frequent. Even as a youngster, I tended to keep my top down cruises to under 60 mph.
I don’t like convertibles for one reason; my irrational fear that one day I will be sliding down the road upside down. I don’t want my head dragging on the ground getting ground into nothing.
Besides that, they’re great.
Most coupes don’t fair much, if any, better in a rollover. Convertibles have reinforced windshields and many include some form of deployable roll bar as well.
I’ve had essentially zero experience with convertibles but thought it might be nice to try something new. And I’m in the San Diego area, so the weather is usually nice. So a couple of weeks ago I bought a 2006 Z4 3.0si roadster (with only 13k miles, somehow). It’s the 4th car in our household, and I just got it registered a couple days ago, so I haven’t driven it much yet. But I’m very excited to give it a shot!
My older brother’s last several cars have all been convertibles, and he refuses to drive anything else (I’m the same way except with sunroofs). As long as there’s not a lot of anything falling from the sky, he’ll have the top down.
Right now he’s dailying a Miata NC, before that a nice BMW folding hardtop coupe that seemed to burn cash instead of gasoline, lots of repairs. A couple of Chrysler verts before that, and the one that set him on his path of toplessness, a Geo Metro convertible. No judgment, it was fun.
I owned a 986 Boxster S for many years. I’m not a “convertible guy” but I enjoyed that car. The air flowed pretty well past the open top.
The only thing I didn’t love was the feeling of being on display in slow traffic and red lights.
By FAR my fav experience with that car was summer nights driving on non-city roads feeling the warm air and occasional peeking up at the stars.
Between my wife and me we have three convertibles out of four vehicles, but her main vehicle is a 4 runner and mine is a gladiator with a hard top that only comes off a few times a year. The other two are fun vehicles that are top down 8 months out of the year weather dependent. Convertibles are great but best enjoyed as a second vehicle and on slow roads
I’ve owned a 2007 Toyota Solara convertible in a nice shade of blue since May 2024 after a typhoon hit Guam and totaled my 2005 Toyota Echo. It’s what was available 2 days after the typhoon on a used car lot in my price range. I never would have considered a convertible prior to the typhoon and it’s just random chance that I own it now. I’ve enjoyed it numerous times with the top down and Toyota did a great job of minimizing any wind buffeting. Guam weather is basically high 80’s during the day and mid 70’s at night 365 days a year, so it’s a fantastic place to live with a convertible. It’s my daily driver and has been pretty much trouble free mechanically. Cosmetically for a 18 year old car it has a bit of wear on the interior that I’m slowly getting back up to respectable shape. So for me it’s been a great experience since I can enjoy top down motoring year round.
We have a great friend who’s in love with her Solara, and it’s the perfect cruiser.
If you just treat it as a smooth cruiser instead of a wannabe sports car they advertised it as, it’s fantastic. Nice to hear your friend enjoys hers so much!