Best convertible cars and cabriolets to buy 2024
Love the feeling of the wind in your hair while driving? These are the cars for you
Variously known as cabriolets, roadsters or convertibles, roofless car models have come a long way from the wobbly, soft-topped machines of the not too distant past. Today, the best convertible cars offer similar levels of refinement and security to their fixed-roof counterparts - especially when fitted with a metal folding roof.
So what are the best convertible cars to buy right now? Our expert road testers have driven every convertible car that you can buy in the UK, and we’ve assembled the top 10 drop-tops right here.
Best convertibles and cabriolets to buy
- Mazda MX-5
- Ferrari 296 GTS
- Porsche 718 Boxster
- Bentley Continental GTC
- Fiat 500e Convertible
- Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
- MG Cyberster
- Porsche 911 Cabriolet
- BMW Z4
- Maserati GranCabrio
1. Mazda MX-5
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- Prices from £28,000
The latest Mazda MX-5 looks sharp and modern, but it’s actually something of a blast from the past. That’s because affordable rear-wheel-drive, two-seat convertibles have all but disappeared from today’s car market. It doesn’t take long for the MX-5 to prove why it’s been so popular over the past 30-plus years, because the blend of modest power, nimble chassis and sublime manual gearbox provides an education in car handling and plenty of thrills.
Even so, the everyday usability and stellar reliability mean it’s capable of being more than a summertime plaything. An added bonus of the MX-5 being so light is claimed fuel efficiency of around 45mpg, which is handy because Mazda’s sports car has a tiny 45-litre fuel tank. This is a proper sports car with an affordable price tag and plenty of appeal, so it’s only fitting that we named it our Convertible of the Year at the 2024 Auto Express New Car Awards.
2. Ferrari 296 GTS
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- Prices from £278,000
- Best for performance
If money’s no object and you want nothing but the most thrilling wind-in-your-hair driving experience, then the Ferrari 296 GTS is the drop-top supercar we’d recommend.
A Ferrari roadster without a V8 engine might sound sacrilegious to some, but instead the 296 GTS features a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 that produces an exhaust note so sonorous that we feel it lives up to the “piccolo V12” moniker the company bestowed upon it.
It’s part of a 819bhp plug-in hybrid powertrain, with every ounce of power being sent to the rear wheels, and 0-62mph dispatched in a mere 2.9 seconds. The 296 GTS delivers all the theatre and thrills of a true Ferrari, with the added bonus of a 16-mile electric range for when you’re pottering around quiet Italian towns.
3. Porsche 718 Boxster
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- Prices from £56,000
- Best value for money
It may only be packing four cylinders, but the Porsche 718 Boxster’s mid-engined layout means it feels beautifully balanced mid-corner, plus it changes direction with acrobatic agility. There’s a huge amount of driving pleasure to be found here, and we wouldn’t expect anything less from a Porsche sports car.
Yes, the engine is less characterful than the brand’s signature flat-six that’s found in focused variants such as the GTS, but it makes up for it with blistering performance and decent efficiency. There’s a choice of a six-speed manual or Porsche’s excellent seven-speed PDK automatic gearbox, and both are a joy to use. The Boxster’s interior also feels beautifully made.
4. Bentley Continental GTC
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- Prices from £237,000
Another money-no-object convertible, the Bentley Continental GTC is devoted to delivering the most luxurious open-top driving experience possible. Opulent, finely crafted and full of the very latest technology, Bentley’s new-age interior design is a marvel. As befitting of a grand tourer, the cabin remains exceptionally hushed at high speeds – despite the fabric roof.
Gaining speed is just as effortless as the way the air suspension soaks up imperfections in the road, because the Continental GTC comes with the brand’s all-new V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain. This delivers a combined 771bhp and 1,000Nm of torque, meaning the GTC can sprint from 0-60mph in just 3.2 seconds. It also claims up to 50 miles of pure-electric battery range.
5. Fiat 500e Convertible
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- Prices from £31,000
Over the years, the Fiat 500 has evolved into a fully-electric city car, but it still retains plenty of the original model’s retro charm. It’s far from old-school when it comes to tech, though, as it features level 2 autonomous driving – this means it can automatically adjust acceleration and braking while staying in the correct lane. There’s plenty of standard on-board kit, too, and opting for the 500C adds a full-length retractable canvas roof into the mix.
While the little, all-electric Fiat, with its zippy and near-silent drivetrain, is at its best on city streets, it will also take on long motorway journeys without feeling out of its depth. Fiat says the 500C can cover up to 199 miles when fully charged, while a 10 to 80 per cent top-up takes around 30 minutes from most DC rapid chargers.
6. Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
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- Prices from £100,000
The C8 Corvette is a far more sophisticated machine than its ancestors, so much so that it can safely be regarded as a fully-fledged supercar. It still has a V8 heart, but this is now mid-mounted for better weight distribution. The eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox is also on par with Porsche’s renowned PDK system.
Perhaps most crucially, though, the Corvette now looks like a proper supercar, and opting for the convertible means you can feel the wind in your hair while blasting onto a top speed of 184mph.
7. MG Cyberster
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- Prices from £50,000
After a hiatus of over ten years, MG has finally brought its iconic octagonal badge back to the sports car sector. Don’t go thinking that this is just a brief nostalgia trip, either, as the Cyberster is an all-new electric car.
This zero-emission powertrain means the Cyberster keeps things sensible when it comes to running costs, and the 77kWh battery has a claimed maximum range of well over 250 miles. The MG Cyberster isn’t the most exciting car to hurl into corners but there is a healthy dose of power on offer, especially in the dual-motor GT model which produces 503bhp and 725Nm of torque. This is also one of very few EVs where you can fold the roof down completely.
8. Porsche 911 Cabriolet
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- Prices from £110,000
- Best driving experience
Buyers looking for the sharpest handling four-seat convertible should look no further than the Porsche 911 Cabriolet. The price is high – entry-level models will set you back by around £110k – but this car is as good to drive as the 911 coupe and, with the flick of a switch, the fabric roof folds in 13 seconds, even at speeds of up to 35mph.
When it comes to ownership, Porsche always performs well as a brand in our Driver Power satisfaction survey, so the experience should be a pleasant and drama-free one.
9. BMW Z4
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- Prices from £45,000
With three generations now under its belt, the BMW Z4 has been a great success story for the German car maker. While the previous model was a bit of a boulevardier with its folding metal hardtop, the latest version has a traditional feel once more thanks to its canvas soft-top. Format and fun-factor aside, there’s not much else that’s traditional about the Z4; it has sharp contemporary styling and efficient, powerful engines that offer solid levels of performance.
While the Z4 in any guise isn’t as nimble as some rivals, it’s still a great deal of fun to drive and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. All versions are well-equipped too, with 18-inch alloys, Live Cockpit infotainment system, dual-zone climate control, cruise control and LED headlights standard across the range.
10. Maserati GranCabrio
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- Prices from £170,000
If you’re planning to take a road trip to the Amalfi Coast, there are few cars that’ll be more at home on these sun-drenched Italian roads than the Maserati GranCabrio (although it doesn’t look too bad on the M25, either).
Maserati’s four-seater drop-top has lashings of style and comes with the choice of V6 or fully-electric power, and it has been designed with luxurious high-speed cruising in mind rather than track days. It’s anything but sluggish, though, with up to 750bhp on tap.
Britain’s love of convertibles
If you’ve ever wondered why rainy old Britain is one of Europe’s hot spots for convertible sales, it’s partly because it’s not too hot. Driving roof-down in sunnier climes can be a recipe for sweltering sticky car seats and sunburn, but here in the UK we combine an often dreary climate with occasional balmy summers. Even the UK’s generally mild spring and autumn can offer delightful opportunities for driving roofless, when it can be a genuinely exhilarating experience to waft along accompanied by the twitter of birdsong and the risk of an occasional cloudburst.
We Brits have always been outdoorsy in our transport choices, and at the dawn of motoring it was simply natural to continue where horses and open carriages left off. Early Rolls-Royce and Bentley models were typically open to the elements with phaeton and landaulette bodies from coachbuilders of old.
It wasn’t just the exotics either. Throughout the twentieth century marques such as MG, Austin Healey and Triumph made hay out of the British love affair with open sports cars, when light weight and agility were key to the best performance.
Nowadays, even the best convertibles tend to be considered less sporting than their coupe brethren by purist drivers, largely because a unibody with a roof is typically more rigid than a roadster. That means better suspension control, and ultimately faster cornering potential – although some brands like McLaren, with their super-rigid carbon fibre body tubs, would beg to differ.
Which convertible should you choose?
McLaren and fellow supercar makers like Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini sit at the top of the convertible tree, but there are a multitude of options available to open-air enthusiasts at all budget levels.
At the other end of the scale there’s a vast range of convertible models based on superminis, hatchbacks, coupes and saloons. Thanks to the demand for SUV and crossover models, you can even get a convertible version of the Volkswagen T-Roc – proving that demand for convertibles isn’t confined to drivers with sporting aspirations.
That’s not to say sporty drivers aren’t well served with convertible options, of course. There’s a vast array of fabulous open-topped sports cars available, from the BMW Z4 to the Maserati GranCabrio. And how could we forget the near iconic Mazda MX-5 or even the Caterham 7?
Our round-up of the best convertibles isn't a true top ten list, because the sheer diversity on offer means not all of these cars can be fairly compared. Instead it's our pick of the cars that will give you the wind-in-the-hair thrills of open-top motoring, while still delivering everyday usability that means they’re no hardship to run. And who knows? Some of these cars are so effective at keeping the cabin warm on a cold day that you could consider lowering the roof when it's cold outside.
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