If your first impulse is to answer that question with another question – namely, “What counts as a convertible?” – don’t worry about it. As long as enough of the top comes off for you to see the sky unobstructed and there’s sufficient airflow to give you a headache, it’s convertible enough for this AA. And it doesn’t matter if the car “converts” or the top is something you remove and stow in the trunk or leave in your garage. Top down, top off, entire roof goes away or just the bit over your head … whatever, it’s all good.
Now, me personally, I’m thinking of the classic “folding soft top” mode. And though the snobbery is entirely unearned, my feeling is a convertible car should either be designed for cruising, or if it’s going to be a sporting machine, it should be a roadster – that is, a car designed from the start to be topless. Once you start cutting the tops off muscular cars originally conceived with a stiffening roof, thus making them flexible flyers and neutering their handling (in my imagination, anyway), I cannot in good conscience condone the concoction.
So, while I do fancy a Mustang convertible, I would not get a GT (like below), as I would feel I was “wasting” the engine – never mind that the chassis is plenty stiff, I assume, given that it’s 2026 and engineers know things. No, give me the boostang minus a top. Or heck, let me get whatever was the last year for the V6 ‘Stang off Marketplace, that’ll be fine. Convertibles are more fun when you’re going slow, anyway.
With going slow in mind, I think the perfect convertible is a big boat, something you could fit your entire crew into for a night on the town or a trip to the beach. In college, a pal had a Chrysler Newport convertible that was the ideal machine for such things. Six people could fit comfortably, and as that massive trunk lid hints, there was ample space for beach paraphernalia (or smuggling more friends into the drive-in, I’m old).
What’s the perfect convertible to you (or targa, or whatever)?
Please, just keep it interesting, unlike Antti. I mean, get a load of this guy:
(“lol.” You don’t have to keep it interesting.)
A Chrysler that’s as big as a whale and about to set sail.
My brother in law has a ~1965 Dodge Coronet convertible. It fits that description nicely.
I got me a Chrysler, it seats about 20
Don’t forget your friends and juke box money.
Miata
Is
Always
The
Answer
Just to be contrary, I’m going with a Jaguar XJS with the V12. A comfortable grand tourer that can eat up the miles in style with the V12 song to boot. (Just remember to keep your AAA car handy.)
Meyers Manx. You start having fun even before you get in.
Any that encourage you to put the top down. So no bank vault quiet when up folding hardtops or it takes 10 minutes to convert jobs.
Bonus points if the car is actually slightly annoying to drive around with the top up, like most British roadsters, the first gen Viper, or Ferrari 308s if you’re Tom Selleck.
My Pinz has a removable canvas top (I have not taken off yet) and it flaps like a banshee at pretty much any speed.
One of the Air Cooled Pinzgauers will probably be my next convertible/first convertible purchase.
Unless a quality BEV convertible comes out first.
Had a 91 300GE cab that had pretty good fitment and was so fun roofless. That sounds great!
I’m not a convertible fan and prefer a targa or t-top solution, but with a soft top, I’d definitely want a cruiser. A late ’60s Cadillac or early ’90s E-class are about the only ones I’d buy, so those or something along those lines.
Well, I just bought a 1980 Fiat 124, so that’s the best convertible. I hope…
A convertible in the hand is worth two in the (face) book.
Hope is good.
I’ll know more after it arrives, but it looks good on the outside and is mechanically sound (or as sound as any 45 year old). Needs some interior work though.
Cool. They are classic roadster. I’d probably go X 1/9 myself if picking an old Fiat, but the 124 is a great choice. Best of luck.
I owned a 128SL. I will pray for you.
The best convertible? Easy.
1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible. Slow and easy, and you’re a one car parade.
We visited a friend in Saugatuck, MI and the first morning we were there a semi delivered a 1959 Series 62, black on black convertible with a black and white interior.
We zipped up our leather jackets, turned the heat on, and enjoyed a long drive around Lake Michigan with snow on the ground and brilliant blue sky. I’ll never forget it!
The best convertible is kind of like the best camera.
It’s the one you have available to use when you need it.
More seriously, I also lean towards the traditional folding soft top. The ability to put the top up or done with the press of a button at a stop light when it starts or stops raining is key.
Of cars that I’ve owned, the best was a new edge Mustang GT. V8 sounds, with the top down on a warm night out in the middle of nowhere brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. It’s as much nostalgia as anything
Objectively best is impossible to answer. Best at what? As a sports car, hauling stuff, cruising?
Great point! One of the reasons I love my Miata PRHT. A solid sporty coupe that can drop its top in 12 seconds. Easy to daily drive since it’s a hard top and always ready to put the top down (or up as necessary).
I loved my New Edge GT Vert. Chassis was flaccid as a noodle, squeaks and rattles galore and hideously unsupportive seats. But damn if the uncorked exhaust, tire squeal and warm summer nights made it all worth it. Had so much fun in that car.
How about that unloved oddball, the Suzuki X-90?
IMO there’s a lot to be said for convertibles made from unusual vehicles. I’m not a truck guy at all, but I completely want a Dodge Dakota convertible.
I had no idea these existed until I saw one in Calgary circa 2001. It wasn’t until years later I learned it was an actual option, not someone just hacking up theirs.
Of course it could have been a hack job.
There’s a good reason why it was unloved. So ugly.
And in that same vein, the 2-door Isuzu Amigo. I saw on one FB Marketplace that was cheap enough to be an impulse purchase. I haven’t seen a 2-door let alone any Isuzu Amigo in like 25 years.
https://imgur.com/a/fMyAe7d
There’s one somewhere in my local Safeway’s lot all the time so it must be someone’s daily. Makes me smile every time I see it. White, no top or roll bar.
I don’t know if it’s the *best* convertible, and you can’t buy one new…but I like my 2022 Audi S5 Cabriolet. It’s comfortable, sporty, brisk, well-styled, will let you operate the top at up to 30 MPH or so, and is my most efficient car currently (with the ability to average 35+ MPG highway).
The only thing I dislike is that Audi doesn’t let you combine the sport seats, which most of them (including mine) have, with the seat ventilation and neck vents.
The S5 Cabriolet is a nice machine. Really enjoyed my brief time with one.
Miata is an obvious answer for those who are much, much smaller than me.
That said, a few favorites that I have experienced:
1) Honda del Sol: Civic reliability, removable roof (with ingenious roof storage), handles nicely, good on gas and more room than a Miata.
2) Mid-70s Cadillac Eldorado convertible: A former co-worker had one, black on black. A bunch of us went out for lunch once, and were having conversations with other drivers at every single stoplight. That thing was awesome.
3) Jeep Wrangler: my cousin had a YJ when they were new. Bad on gas, awful handling, but endless fun on hot summer days.
Del Sol was my pick too. It is so versatile!
I have a fund for “fun car, right place / right time” impulse buys. A nice stock del sol is high on the list of pre approved in my mind.
Hm…Ferrari made a cool Cabriolet in 1983…
Oh man, I will be on record here as saying that convertibles are just the superior form of automobile. I find myself lusting after 30s Packards with a drop top, a big, luxurious 60s Cadillac to take out the whole family, Miatas of course. However, I do believe it’s quite hard to beat my current: a Mercedes-Benz R107. It’s a perfect vehicle, absolutely perfect design, perfect proportions. My 380SL won’t get you anywhere with bracing speed nor razor sharp handling, but there is just something to that whole package that makes every drive an occasion, and the design, the look over that hood, oh it’s just a marvelous atmosphere. I should know having driven it cross country!
I appreciate a convertible that is more about style and comfort than trying to be a sports car. Endgame for that is, I suppose, a Rolls-Royce Dawn…which I appreciated as a rental in LA last year.
Oh man that has to have been a blast! I did a photo shoot once for a tailor where we were all in suits and drove around LA in a 60s rolls and it was just such a fun time
First place: MGB
Second place: Karmann Ghia
Third place: late-1960s Dodge Darts
I currently have a Ghia ‘vert an a ’69 Alfa Spider.
I’ve owned Miatas in the past.
Miata Is Always The Answer. Full stop for me.
My dad had an NA Miata back in the day. Being able to lower and raise the roof single-handedly from the driver seat in a couple of seconds beats pretty much everything else on the road.
I’ve had NAs and NBs and that is easily one of the biggest selling points. I got really good about doing it on the fly too. It’s just the best.
Just because: Jeep CJs
Absolutely! I had a cj7 in high school and college. The top and doors were basically off from April through September.
2CV. Simple as that
A 2CV. You can peel back the rubber roof like the top of a sardine can.
Miata is always the answer. It’s the perfect distillation of the roadster ethos in a charming package that almost anyone can afford. It’s cheerful, fun, and accessible…truly the convertible for everyone.
Was looking for the ‘Miata is always the answer’… satisfied because it is the correct answer… especially in this case.
A Morgan.
Just not the cross-eyed one.
But do those have a top to “convert”?
If they do, you rarely see one with the top up… hence their place among the top of the topless hierarchy.
Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce is up there too, and they convert.
E type… well the iconic one is not the convertible.
I liked my neighbor’s Chevelle SS convertible (white with blue top) as a kid.
I like my MGB
A motorcycle!
I’ve driven many convertibles and such but nothing matches the open-air feeling of my bike.
The Answer is Always Miata.
Though personally would S2000 if they didn’t basically cost what they did new. Though would also hardtop it with the same fastback one some of the Spoon demo cars use.
New: LC500
Old: 1960s Lincoln Continental. Just use the delicate roof mechanism sparingly and stay out of Dallas.
New LC500 for me too. Old is a Suzuki Cappuccino. Sorry fellow GenXers, 90’s cars are now old.
Both in emerald green with a tan interior.
Cappuccino is a good pick. I kinda skimmed over the “keep it interesting” instruction. The Linc is obvious but was too spot-on for me to ignore.
“Keep it interesting” is only there in service of my Antti’s-pick joke 😉
Too soon
Well I just rented this nice 1961 Continental Convertible on Turo here in Dallas. What could possibly go wrong?
You never knoll until it happens.
I think I hear some firecrackers…
I’m bad at placing sounds… were they back and to the left?
What’s that pink stuff on the trunk lid?
Yeah! Ha ha…love the classic Lincolns. This made me think of that show called 11/22/63 involving time travel and was curious if anyone here has seen it? It’s actually pretty good and I’ve watched the series twice now so obviously recommend it