Our pick of the best convertibles for summer

17.05.12

Despite our variable weather the UK is ideal for open-top motoring. It seldom gets too hot and although it frequently rains there are plenty of dry spells in between. Anyway, if you keep moving, most of the rain stays out. We also have the roads for it. Miles and miles of winding country lanes that are begging to be enjoyed in a convertible car. For those vain souls who like to be seen, they make a fine statement in London too.

UK sales of topless cars enjoyed a resurgence from the late 1990s and then shot skywards – as surely as an electrically-powered cabrio-top – from the early 2000s, in line with the economy. In 1996, only 30,628 convertible cars were sold, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, but by 2000 we had developed quite a taste for open-air motoring. Sales shot to 47,481, taking a 2.14 per cent share of the car market. The following year, sales rose to 59,820, rising to a heady 116,903 in 2004; a 4.55 per cent share, buoyed by sales of cars such as the Peugeot 206, BMW 3-Series and the then new Mini Convertible.

Source: The Independent