Ready for some top-down, wind in your hair fun? Be warned, not every convertible is as cool as the fresh air you might be craving. By and large, convertibles have come a long way since someone thought to lop the roof off and give gearheads a flimsy bit of fabric "just in case" it should rain.
Worryingly, though, there are some duds both old and new that gearheads should avoid, ones that just plain don't make any sense and others that were terrible to begin with. We get that carmakers want to be part of the in-crowd, and milk every dime from their latest R&D projects, but sometimes they really should have said no. Steer clear of the later "me too" production additions, and you should be fine, otherwise expect some disappointing money pits.
10 Citroën C3 Pluriel
France, home of Citroën and birthplace of some of the quirkiest production cars we've ever seen, icons like the 2CV, Renault 5, and the C3 Pluriel. Credit where its due, Citroën dared to combine the practicalities of a small two-door coupe with roof-off fun, even throwing in the possibility of a car-based mini pick-up.
Small in size, the C3 Pluriel is aimed at the family man or woman with space for two kids in the back, even accommodating a dog if need be. However, It's once the roof comes off that things take a turn for the worse. Citroën overlooked the less than predictable weather, get caught in the rain with the roof off, and well you're getting wet because there is no space to bring the roof with you while driving.
9 Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible
Incredibly, despite a poor reputation for poor styling, dismal performance, and what-were-they-thinking criticism, Chrysler's PT Cruiser sold an astonishing 1.3 million cars by 2010. Think retro-modern with an emphasis on warm rather than hot thanks to a range of underpowered inline four motors, even the most potent Cruiser topped out at 125 mph.
Segment busting it wasn't, even if Chrysler intended it that way. Making matters worse, in 2005, they bolstered the range with a convertible option that, frankly, roof up or down, looks like a baby stroller. Fortunately, gearheads weren't easily fooled, the Cruiser Convertible died two years later.
8 Smart Fourtwo
Small and not so perfectly formed, Mercedes' city car sub-brand Smart Fourtwo tackled urban congestion with a tiny parking friendly two-seater wrapped up in a cutesy body. Seeking to add a touch more glamour, offering the Fourtwo in convertible format alongside the coupe. Sadly, on US shores, no one wanted a soft-top two-seat shopping cart.
Redeeming features? In older European cities its size made sense, In America less so. Chopping its metal roof for a canvas roll back option only serves to show passers-by who you are. Under the hood, or floor, at least the tiny three-cylinder turbo engine punches out 61 hp. Great concept, let down badly by pretty much everything else.
7 Suzuki X-90
Suzuki's X-90 identity crises on wheels, what niche exactly it fits into remains a mystery. Two-door, two-seater open-topped sports utility vehicle might suggest a small truck, only it has no load bed. Sports off-roaders? Sadly missing the mark by a country mile thanks to an uninspiring 1.6-liter four pot generating 95 hp.
Admittedly, Suzuki did at least give the X-90 some credibility with the option of all-wheel drive, but even that cannot save the cutesy which-way-is-it-facing convertible mini SUV.
6 BYD S8
Never heard of BYD? We don't blame you, BYD is one of the Chinese carmakers that takes European designs, blatantly copying them and making them a lot worse. Launched in 2006 under the BYD F8 before switching to S8 for production, this monstrosity combines the front end of a Mercedes CLK with a Renault Megane inspired rear.
Sure is going to be cheap, but given it's an obvious rip-off of western sports cars, we'd expect a little more than paltry in-line four 2-liter lumps producing 140 hp. Top speed? Who knows, unsurprisingly BYD never saw fit to export the S8 anywhere, that would undoubtedly have landed them in trouble with Mercedes.
5 BMW Mini Convertible
On the one hand, BMW's reinvention of the Mini has been a storming success, gearheads clamoring for a modern retro hatch building on the brand's origins, even if it has grown a touch more portly. Understandably, BMW brings a welcome bump in build quality and engineering, albeit for a price.
What is less forgivable is the German carmakers incessant range of Mini-derived variants, including the Countryman, Roadster and Convertible. By all means, build a turbocharged 2-liter four pot rag top, even adding Cooper branding is fine. However, ask owners what they like least, and it will be the unreliable folding soft top. We'll pass, thanks.
4 Alfa Romeo RZ
Unlike most coupe to soft top conversions, the Alfa Romeo RZ shared little in common with its tin top sibling, and we're not just talking about the roof here. Most of the bodywork undergoing revisions prior to launch meant panels were not interchangeable, adding to Alfa Romeo's financial woes.
One of the quirkiest cars of the '90s, the coupe dressed in an almost slab sided body that, on appearance, carried over to the RZ, losing its metal roof in favor of fabric adding weight and losing its structural rigidity. At least owners still got a fabulously tuneful 3-liter straight six, its exhaust resonance alone making a compelling argument for its purchase, if only the soft top had been a better fit and the RZ handled, sadly neither quite measured up.
3 Plymouth Prowler
When is a hot rod not a hot rod? Sadly, the Prowler started out with the best of intentions, a retro-styled low-nosed soft-top two-seater let down by Plymouth's less-than-exciting powertrain choice. Here was a golden opportunity to build something truly unique and exciting, only to be spoiled with a 3.5-liter V6 chucking out 253 hp.
The final nail in the coffin, performance per dollar, even with a curb weight of 2,800 lbs the Prowler struggled to reach a top speed of 126 mph, sixty taking a pedestrian 7.2-seconds, Chrysler, by the time production ended in 2002, was asking $44,000 for one of these.
2 Citroën 2CV Dolly
Built for farmers, who supposedly needed to transport eggs across plowed fields with zero breakages, Citroën's 2CV from 1948 initially served a purpose. Fast-forward three decades and the air-cooled 2-cylinder work horse was still in production, making a mockery of any gearhead brave enough to take one on (except Top Gear's Chris Harris).
Little changed from its original format, lacking safety and basic security equipment, one could argue who would ever steal one? Added to which, how do you secure a car with a rollback cloth roof? For its time it filled a purpose, these days you'd have to be crazy to consider any 2CV model, let alone a Dolly.
1 Cadillac Allante
Mercedes must have been laughing all the way to the bank at Cadillac's Allante, envisaged as a rival to the SL only slower, much slower, thanks to a Northstar 4.6-liter V8 pushing a mere 170hp resulting in a 0 to 60 time of 10.3-seconds.
Not a performance rival then, perhaps Cadillac could mount a recovery drive with the Atlantes' build and luxury trimmings. Unfortunately someone forgot to tell the factory how to assemble it correctly, leaky roofs plagued production cars from day one.