The trees are in blossom, tulips are pressing their leaves up through the fertile earth and, for some, their fancy turns to driving through the stunning Colorado countryside in a convertible automobile.
Such a person had plenty to admire, desire and decide which would they pick, should the economy and life permit such a choice, at the recent Denver Auto Show.
New to the mix were interesting new models from Chrysler and Volkswagen, the 200c and Eos, respectively.
The 2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible is looking good – head and shoulders above the brand’s earlier Sebring soft-top. Starting at $30,995 it was the most reasonably priced convertible sedan we found at the show.
Though we have yet to drive this model, wider tires and a wider track reportedly make it feel more connected to the road. A 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine produces 283 horsepower, while still getting up to 29-mpg on the freeway. It is also available with a 4-cylinder coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission. Tail and headlights feature LED eyebrows with halogen lamps up front
The VW EOS comes in three trim levels starting at $33,995 and topping out at $39,220. This sharp looking 2-door roadster features a 2.0-liter TSI engine plus a 6-speed DSG automatic transmission with Tiptronic and Sport modes.
This car has an automatic, multi-piece folding hardtop roof with a heated rear glass window, while also having a sunroof function, allowing the top to open slightly like a sunroof or to full convertible status – a marvelous and unique feature. Having driven a TDI hardtop last year, we’re sure this little roadster would provide a delightful driving experience.
Also in this modest price range you’ll find the irrepressible Mini Cooper S decapotable, if you’ll pardon my French. At $28,500 the Mini S has less room for baggage, but a huge capacity for fun. It features a 1.6-liter, 16-valve turbocharged engine, that will make the agile stunt car perform near-legendary feats.
The Mini Cooper S convertible also has a three position ragtop, that apparently, with an easily storable sunroof insert, allows you to half open the top to the air or just to the light with the sunroof in place – an interesting feature.
The top opens or closes automatically in 15 seconds, so you can quickly protect the Harman Kardon HD radio sound system from open air driving’s main nemesis – raindrops.
The next level up brings us to the Chevy Camaro convertible based at $29,150 but with the same engine as the Corvette – a 436 horsepower, 6.2-liter V8 – it’s priced at $43,456.
Remarkably the smaller 3.6-liter V6 engine gets 17 city and 28 highway mileage. The powerful V8 still manages 16 in town and 24 on the road. Take a bow Chevy for a remarkable accomplishment in making this icon of the ‘60s respect the realities of today.
The Saab 9.3 convertible is a classy little number coming in at $45,905. Famed for their safety, my brother actually credits a Saab with saving his life in a serious disagreement with a 1600-lb boulder that hopped onto the highway right in front of him.
The absolutely beautiful 2011 Nissan Z Roadster boasts 332 horsepower and a 0 to 60 time of only 4.8 seconds – that’s wicked fast. Though we haven’t driven the hardtop convertible, we test drove the 360Z last year and suggest consideration of this model to anyone who values performance and the feel of the open road.
The devilishly seductive Infiniti G37 convertible is a crisp, clean beauty decidedly worth closer inspection. Starting at $45,750, the G37 roadster features a 3.7-liter V6 engine delivering 325 horsepower and a 7-speed automatic with optional paddle shifters, unless you prefer the old school six-speed manual shift.
This luxuriously appointed hardtop convertible features a 13 speaker Bose sound system that adapts to ambient sound when the top is down. An amazing pop-up rollover bar feature pops up behind the rear seats if such an event is presumed imminent by the onboard computer.
The Infiniti serious challenges our previous favorite – the Lexus IS-C. After attending the manufacturer intro for the IS-C in 2009, it became a top-rated convertible in our books – lovely and luxurious with performance to spare.
With a base price of from $40,390 for the IS 250 C manual to the top of the line IS 350 C at $45,840, you can add on a heavenly array of options and up the price as much as $20K. If you have the dinero, as we used to say, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”
Now if you want to do that with a little bit of “Euro-style,” look into the new Audi A5 Cabriolet, a sleek 211 horsepower roadster strutting a classy appearance and achieving 22-mpg in the city and 30-mpg on the open road. The A5 is loaded with luxury, style and performance in a package costing only $55,480.
Then there’s also the Volvo C70 convertible starting at only $39,950, another hardtop roadster. We drove the C70c, which was a triple-wall soft-top convertible years ago and absolutely loved it.
So there you have it – so many choices and so much sun to soak up. We didn’t even get into the pricey models like the BMW Z4 hardtop roadster, Chevy Corvettes, Audi R8 Spyder, Maserati Gran Tourismo, Aston Martin DB-10, Ferraris or Bentleys, but if you have over $60K to spend you have many more choices than we can cover here.
Besides, whether you can really afford one or not, how much fun can you have test driving them all and trying to make up your mind which one’s best?
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