POTHOLES AND 20MPH ZONES ARE RUINING THE JOYS OF CONVERTIBLES
I own two convertibles – a 1992 Mercedes SL and a 2001 BMW 330Ci. I’m not even sure I ever made a conscious decision to buy a convertible. I just fell in love with the cars.
The BMW is driven daily by my husband, but it’s also a fun machine that the whole family, including our nine-year-old daughter, can fit in and enjoy. The SL is a complete financial folly that has only two seats and is my guilty pleasure and form of weekend escapism. We live in the New Forest, so we’re not short of beautiful places to drive to, while I’m also a big fan of car meets at Bicester, Goodwood and beyond.
We drive both of our convertibles with the roof down at any time of year, unless it’s pouring with rain. It’s those chilly mornings when the world feels bright and brand new that are the absolute best for driving with the roof down. The heater keeps you toasty but the air is biting and blustery… It’s an instant mood lifter.
But sadly that joy of experiencing the elements is ebbing away for many drivers thanks to the proliferation of potholes, increasing risk of flash floods and perhaps a more practical, less nostalgic approach to driving as car prices increase exponentially. And while we still love ours and have no intention of swapping them, other convertible drivers are trading in the soft-top for the SUV.
Sales of convertible cars peaked in the UK in 2004, with 94,000 sold, and we remained the largest market in Europe for open-top models for many years. Fast forward 20 years and only 12,173 convertibles were registered in the UK in 2024. Last year, sales declined again to 11,484.
Counting the cost
There are many reasons for the convertible’s decline. Costs are an obvious one. They are usually more expensive to buy than conventional “tin-top” models – you’ll pay more than £7,000 extra for a new BMW 4-Series Convertible compared with the Coupé, for instance – so they have always been more of an indulgence than a necessity.
My cars are all decades old and worth a few thousand pounds; at this lower end of the market there’s much less of a disparity between purchase prices of a convertible and hard-top.
There is, however, still a potential difference in running costs since convertibles are generally seen as a higher risk by insurers. Whether you’re buying new or a charmingly shabby older car like mine, going for the soft-top or performance version usually pushes up the cost of premiums. This immediately rules out younger drivers or anyone who passed their test recently, given that the average annual insurance cost for a new driver was already at £1,640 in 2025, according to MoneySuperMarket – and that will be for hatchbacks in low insurance groups. On that basis, paying even more to insure a flashy convertible simply isn’t realistic.
We have also seen buyer trends change drastically; the SUV or crossover classes are not only the default family vehicle now, but also the default status car for all kinds of buyers. In the nostalgic TV show Rivals, television producer Cameron Cook drives a cool Lotus Elan – these days it would probably be a Range Rover Sport.
State of the roads
Drive down any A or B-road in the UK and it’s easy to see why motorists might also favour such high-riding cars, thanks to the inevitable potholes that can destroy even the most robust of tyres. Residents in my area have taken to posting photos of rubber ducks in rain-filled potholes on local groups, just to cheer up everyone about the situation. One pothole that had materialised in a gravel passing bay (which are everywhere around here, on narrow yet surprisingly busy roads) recently claimed 14 tyres in one morning.
And with flooding also now a routine part of mid-winter in the UK, owning a higher car is beginning to feel like a necessity. Again, I’m sure my local neighbourhood groups aren’t the only ones currently occupied with informing others whether a notorious flood spot is passable or not. Very often the news is that it may be – but only to a higher-riding vehicle.
Lower speed limits – including the dreaded 20mph zones – and generally more crowded roads also add to the underlying sense that in 2026 it may just not be worth buying a fun, “joy of the open road” convertible because, well… the roads just aren’t that joyful any more.
With all of that in mind it’s no wonder that people are being put off convertibles. Roof down or not, it hardly conjures up the John Steed or James Bond vibes when you’re stuck in temporary roadworks on the school run.
Declining choice
You might think that the best of both worlds would be a convertible SUV. But Range Rover did precisely that with the Evoque Convertible and it’s fair to say that it proved to be the worst of both worlds and was discontinued in 2019. Volkswagen’s T-Roc Cabriolet was a very similar drop-top SUV prospect, doing far better in terms of sales across the UK and Europe, but is now also on its way out, with a replacement unlikely.
Which brings me to another factor in the fall in demand for open-top cars: these days there simply isn’t much choice. There are currently only 16 new convertibles priced under £150,000 and of those only two – the Mazda MX-5 and Mini Cooper Convertible – cost less than £30,000.
The “affordable” convertible has virtually disappeared as manufacturers struggle to make profitable cars; with cabriolets in such low demand, it simply doesn’t make financial sense to offer them.
Then there’s the move towards electric cars. EVs typically require a higher floor than a combustion-engined car as they have a mattress of batteries to fit down there, which means that EV platforms suit more slab-sided, higher-riding cars. Manufacturers have proven that you can make fun-to-drive, low-riding sports EVs – the Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N come to mind – but adding a complex, hydraulically-operated convertible roof adds further weight to an already heavy car. And again, there isn’t the demand, so why would they bother?
MG could tell you that. It produces the Cyberster EV, a battery-powered roadster with Lamborghini-like upward-opening doors. But the driving position and the costs are too high, while the range is too low, so I’m not surprised that it hasn’t been a big seller.
Simple pleasures
It’s a shame, because the convertible is a thing of uncomplicated delight – and we all need more of that in our lives. But there is still time to reignite our love affair with the soft top. You don’t have to get an old or potentially troublesome one, like my gently degrading fleet of open-air classics. Buy a new Mazda MX-5 or Mini Convertible: you can’t be unhappy or stressed while driving them with the roof down. In addition, the used convertible market has been experiencing slow demand, so you can get a brilliant second-hand soft-top at a great price.
I’m tempted by the very clean 2018 Audi A3 1.5 TFSI convertible, with low mileage and heated leather seats, that I found for £14,500. It’s cheap to run, you’ll easily get the kids in, the boot is large enough for the big weekly shop – and it looks cool yet not too attention-grabbing. For less than £15,000 you’re getting a brilliant, safe, affordable, easy-living daily driver that is also a guaranteed memory maker.
We seem to have forgotten that driving used to be considered a privilege and a pleasure. Something to celebrate. And there’s no better way to turn a routine drive into a moment of celebration than by lowering the roof.
2026-02-05T16:30:46Z