convertibles

[HOGFAN]

so what is a good convertible that:

1. front wheel drive(better for the winters we get up here)

2.four seater(so its not considered a sports car)

thanks

 

[tvguy]

Well, you've stumped me, because for the life of me I can't think of a single front drive convertible. Most are performance models that are rear or 4 wheel drive.
I would think for snow you'd want rear drive anyway......living in sunny California I have no first hand experience, but my mom is from Canada and all my family in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario own rear wheel drive cars because ....they say.....they are far better in the snow.

 

[bfeller]

I have a VW convertible Beetle and it is front wheel drive. The back seat is very small so I don't know that I could say that it seats four comfortably.

I believe the Toyota Solaro convertible is also front wheel drive and it would seat 4 comfortably.

 

[Pakey]

We have a Solara convertible and a BMW Z4 convertible.

The Solara would probably fit your needs but I dislike the car and am glad the Z4 is mine and my husband drives the Toyota.

 

[Cee]

I enjoyed not one but TWO Chrysler Sebring convertibles over the past 10 years and loved them both. Front wheel drive, no leaks, just wonderful cars. I would recommend them highly.

 

[bdcp]

DH has a 2008 Toyota Solara convertible and it IS front wheel drive. It drives great in the snow. But, Toyota no longer makes them, 2008 or 2009 was the last year they made them. It's a great car and handles very well in all weather. He has the high end model with performance tires and a pretty powerful engine. As a result his tires are pretty expensive to replace. It does seat 4 easily, but it's also only a two door so backseat passengers have to climb in behind the front seats. But, we have no children at home anymore, both on their own, so we rarely ue the back seat. It also has a nice size backseat because it's a soft top and it doesn't take up much trunk space when the top is down.

My sister had an VW EOS which she loved but had to get rid of because once her son hit about 5', he couldn't fit in the back seat anymore. It's a hard top convertible (transformer is what we all called it).

 

[bdcp]

Well, you've stumped me, because for the life of me I can't think of a single front drive convertible. Most are performance models that are rear or 4 wheel drive.
I would think for snow you'd want rear drive anyway......living in sunny California I have no first hand experience, but my mom is from Canada and all my family in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario own rear wheel drive cars because ....they say.....they are far better in the snow.

No, you definitely don't want rear wheel drive for snow. Front wheel handles much better in snow. The cars that end up stuck in every storm are much more likely to be rear wheel drive.

 

[Bell30012]

Are you going to be driving your convertible in the winter? I have a 2002 Ford Thunderbird. It has a removable hard top and a normal convertible top. It is rear wheel drive and only seats two so it doesn't meet your requirements.

My experience with snow has always led me to rear wheel drives. Every time I've ever slid off a roadway, my rear wheels weren't the ones off the road.

 

[DisneyScraps]

I drove a Volvo convertible and I just loved it. It was comfortable, quick (had a turbo) and I loved how nice the interior was. Down side was a tiny trunk, I had to buy soft luggage because I could not fit a regular suitcase in it.

 

[bdcp]

I drove a Volvo convertible and I just loved it. It was comfortable, quick (had a turbo) and I loved how nice the interior was. Down side was a tiny trunk, I had to buy soft luggage because I could not fit a regular suitcase in it.

That's a more expensive car than the others mentioned. Brand new 2008 Solara was around $33,000. We looked at others, Volvo was one and we were looking at 10K more for some of them.

 

[BunsenH]

Mini Cooper

This is my '08 S Sidewalk edition.

 

[rie'smom]

I've had both a Chrysler Sebring convertible (2 of these) and a BMW convertible. Both could seat 4. The Sebring had more bells and whistles. To get these in BMW would cost many more dollars.
When I get another convertible, it will more than likely be a Ford Thunderbird from the early 60s. It may be a Cadillac Eldorado but I'm leaning towards a Thunderbird.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

That's a more expensive car than the others mentioned. Brand new 2008 Solara was around $33,000. We looked at others, Volvo was one and we were looking at 10K more for some of them.

The Volvo C70 is an excellent convertible option. It's a turbo'd 5 cylinder so it offers good performance, but the safety is the big thing with them.

Solara only comes in softtop, but Volvo's are a three piece hard top. They also have automatic deployable roll-over bars and one rare feature, side curtain airbags that deploy even with the top down (they deploy from the door panel upwards).

Sure, there is a price difference, but there is so much more to the equation.

In regards of options out there, the following are front wheel drive (current model) convertibles:

Audi A5
Chrysler Sebring/200
MINI Cooper
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Saab 9-3
Volkswagon EOS
Volkswagon New Beetle
Volvo C70

Of these, I'd avoid the Chrysler Sebring (cannot comment on the 200 yet), Saab 9-3 and the Volkswagon Beetle. The Sebring is a poor quality car, it receives some of the worst reviews too. The Saab 9-3 is a decent car, but the company has some serious issues currently and you could find yourself with a major depreciation on your hand. The Volkswagon New Bettle is a decent car, but new model is coming out which will drive down the value of the current models (plus the backseat is pretty poor due to the roof curve).

I personally wouldn't rule out a RWD convertible. I owned a Camaro convertible (1995) when I was a kid, and I drove it in all weather with no issues. You just have to learn to drive appropriately and accelerate evenly.

 

[tvguy]

No, you definitely don't want rear wheel drive for snow. Front wheel handles much better in snow. The cars that end up stuck in every storm are much more likely to be rear wheel drive.

Like I said, no first hand experience. Just know 6 members of my family in Canada rushed out and bought 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis' last year when they found out Ford was discontinuing this rear drive model. Wish they were on this board to explain why. I just remember one uncle saying that in snow having the drive wheels also doing the steering just didn't work.

I do know one Aunt that has a front drive Chevy, but she parks it during the winter because it is.....according to her....useless in the snow.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

No, you definitely don't want rear wheel drive for snow. Front wheel handles much better in snow. The cars that end up stuck in every storm are much more likely to be rear wheel drive.

Actually the ones I see most often are the SUVs...

 

[shortbun]

I have a VW convertible Beetle and it is front wheel drive. The back seat is very small so I don't know that I could say that it seats four comfortably.

I believe the Toyota Solaro convertible is also front wheel drive and it would seat 4 comfortably.

VW Beetle! It qualifies as a four seater so no sports car. AND, people hit each other every time you drive by, lol!

 

[Squirlz]

Like I said, no first hand experience. Just know 6 members of my family in Canada rushed out and bought 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis' last year when they found out Ford was discontinuing this rear drive model. Wish they were on this board to explain why. I just remember one uncle saying that in snow having the drive wheels also doing the steering just didn't work.

I do know one Aunt that has a front drive Chevy, but she parks it during the winter because it is.....according to her....useless in the snow.

Definitely superior as long as you have the proper tires. People have gotten too lazy to change tires for the seasons so they muddle along with all-seasons on FWD cars without knowing what a real snow setup can do!

 

[minkydog]

So, you're just going to scratch the Jeep Wrangler off your list? I mean, I know it's not a front wheel drive, but it's has a high 4WD gear and a low 4WD, for snow and mud. We dont' get a lot of snow, but we get a lot of ice. In fact, we had ice & snow on our street for over a week last winter and we were one of two families who made it out--with our Jeeps! They're great little cars. Plus, they're made of steel. If someone hits you, they're going to sustain some damage,and you? not so much. We had a porch fall on my Jeep last spring. It tore up the top and crushed the fender. My DH walked out there with a crowbar and pulled the fender back in place. Good as new!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

So, you're just going to scratch the Jeep Wrangler off your list? I mean, I know it's not a front wheel drive, but it's has a high 4WD gear and a low 4WD, for snow and mud. We dont' get a lot of snow, but we get a lot of ice. In fact, we had ice & snow on our street for over a week last winter and we were one of two families who made it out--with our Jeeps! They're great little cars. Plus, they're made of steel. If someone hits you, they're going to sustain some damage,and you? not so much. We had a porch fall on my Jeep last spring. It tore up the top and crushed the fender. My DH walked out there with a crowbar and pulled the fender back in place. Good as new!

The build of Jeeps may be great in the 90s, but the new ones are more plastic, they no longer have the I-6 workhorses (the best engines pretty much ever made) and they are plagued by the Chrysler brush that brought down the company over the past 10 years.

I hope Chrysler changes because they have great opportunity with some of their models, but they need to really pick up the build quality.

 

[minkydog]

The build of Jeeps may be great in the 90s, but the new ones are more plastic, they no longer have the I-6 workhorses (the best engines pretty much ever made) and they are plagued by the Chrysler brush that brought down the company over the past 10 years.

I hope Chrysler changes because they have great opportunity with some of their models, but they need to really pick up the build quality.

Oh, I didn't know that. Mine is a '98, solid as a rock. Gets terrible gas mileage but who cares--it's just so darn cool!