More Topless Cars Bought In The Uk Than The Rest Of Europe Combined
One of the strangest facts in the motor industry
, one that is strange but true and that is that more soft top / convertible cars are bought in the UK than the rest of Europe combined. For those of us who live there, with all the bad weather, this may seem a bit strange. Until, that is we start remembering the holidays we've had in Europe when we complained (you never can get the weather right for a Brit) about the sun...
The sad fact of the matter is that for many mainland Europeans, the last thing they want is a car that leaves them open to the sun's rays. What they need is a nice air conditioned haven away from the sun and that means a nice shady roof.
For other countries it is a matter of the low temperature, it being too cold to have the roof down on most days, even when the sun is out. Sure for a few days they could use one, but for many owning one would be just a waste of time and money.
So, the UK with all the rain and cold, is in fact a perfect growing ground for the convertible and it sure does flourish, well at least in other than the coldest winter. For many Brits, who of course constantly battle with the weather in all its many moods, it is a bit of a challenge to go out on these chilly days in their soft top car with the hood down. On these occasions you will see them muffled to the eyeballs with coats, hats, gloves and scarfs, shooting about the countryside, all quite oblivious to the fact that it is only 12 C.
Of course in the summer (or what passes for a summer in the UK, and all too frequently it passes too fast) the soft top brigade come out in force. No longer having to cover themselves in layers of clothing, they now have to resort to sun cream (most native Brits have little resistance to the sun - they see it so infrequently) and large floppy hats.
Of course, even in the UK the sun can get too hot (yes it does happen) and then of course, like our European cousins, we have to resort to the shade of having the roof up, but it does not happen than often .
All in all though, you can use a soft top on a whole lot more days in the UK than you can in many countries and with the advent of the 'hard top convertible' you can even have one of these cars as your main car, as there are in fact a number that have metal roofs and still allow you to carry four adults about. True there is not as much room as in a conventional saloon and the boot will be smaller, but they can and do, work for many as their only car.
These metal roof cars have the extra advantages of being quieter (with the roof up) and offering better protection in an accident, as well as being more resistant to vandal attack. As an added bonus, some like the Renault Megane have glass roofs, which mean you can have the sun with the roof up, whilst the VW Eos has a glass sunroof that you can tilt to have light and some extra ventilation, or slide it right back and have just a little sun (great for those days when having the roof right off is simply not on).
On the downside, they are heavier so can lose some performance and cost more to run. That is not the case for all however, notably the VW Eos with its new 1.4 engine.
So if you fancy a big of 'soft top' action, remember that you can have your cake (or should I say car) and eat it these days.
by: Graham Baylis
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