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Driving with the hood down…

MUTTY1

MUTTY1

Waste of bandwidth
Going to test drive a Volvo C70 tomorrow. I’m not a fan of cars but as this could be my last I’d like something unusual. My question is, does it actually feel good? I followed one of those small merc converts today and their hair seemed undisturbed.

Ps: I got collared by the trader as I was checking it over for the third time. He immediately operated the four piece roof. Good move! You can’t help but to be impressed as it moves elegantly between a standard coupe and film-star topless. Mr Sensible noticed it looked factory fresh with nary a creak or groan after fifteen years mostly in a garage I’m guessing.
 
MUTTY1 said:
Going to test drive a Volvo C70 tomorrow. I’m not a fan of cars but as this could be my last I’d like something unusual. My question is, does it actually feel good? I followed one of those small merc converts today and their hair seemed undisturbed.

Ps: I got collared by the trader as I was checking it over for the third time. He immediately operated the four piece roof. Good move! You can’t help but to be impressed as it moves elegantly between a standard coupe and film-star topless. Mr Sensible noticed it looked factory fresh with nary a creak or groan after fifteen years mostly in a garage I’m guessing.
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Go for it!
 
I don’t know if the Volvo has a similar arrangement as our Mercedes, there was a vertical mesh screen between the front seats and a horizontal mesh screen covering the void between the back of the front seats and the rear seats. There was little turbulence at the legal limit.

Gary
 
Most cars of newer vintage have a screen or similar to lower the buffeting you will get. I would suggest that unless you have a very full head of hair a baseball cap and sunscreen are essentails if travelling any distance. Oh and some cool shades of course. I have a Boxster and mx5 and love the top down even on a brisk day in winter.
 
Didn't think I liked convertibles but I've been riding round in a Boxster convert and its quite nice. Why not take it for a spin?
 
MUTTY1 said:
Going to test drive a Volvo C70 tomorrow. I’m not a fan of cars but as this could be my last I’d like something unusual. My question is, does it actually feel good? I followed one of those small merc converts today and their hair seemed undisturbed.

Ps: I got collared by the trader as I was checking it over for the third time. He immediately operated the four piece roof. Good move! You can’t help but to be impressed as it moves elegantly between a standard coupe and film-star topless. Mr Sensible noticed it looked factory fresh with nary a creak or groan after fifteen years mostly in a garage I’m guessing.
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SLK? Love mine, the metal roof mech is uber slick. There’s a neck heater on some Mercs called Airscarf, dunno if Volvo do similar, think the wind deflector mesh is a normalish thing. Give it a blast, reckon wind and noise are not really an issue in these newish droptops unless you’re on a mission.
 
of our last 11 cars 10 have been convertibles. On all apart from the S2000 the wind noise was tolerable. The S2000 caused my tinnitus. SLKs arnt bad ( we had 2, a V6 350 and a V8 5.5l AMG) but unexciting (even the SLK 55 AMG wasn't that exciting). The roof mechanism is great but costs a fortune to repair, and they will go wrong. Air Scarf is a nice accessory, but relies on you being a certain height- all a bit pointless really. Heated seats are essential in the winter, and a heated steering wheel is useful.

IME, the mesh things help with buffeting but not noise. My 2019 911 has a mesh thing that pops up at a push of a button. We never bother with it, only get bothered with a tiny bit of buffeting at higher speeds

99% of our journeys are with the roof down all year round. Rain can be a problem if you are travelling slowly.

Folding tin tops have loads to go wrong with them. My 911 Targa spent a long time in the dealer (under warranty thanfully) for diagnosing and fixing a roof sensor issue.

Baseball caps are pointless as they get blown off. A beanie is way better.
 
Thanks for the informative replies! My hair has never been longer. Despite tying it back, a following wind will dislodge strands and flick around irritatingly, so that could be an issue. A beanie hat would fix it but that’s far too racy for a Volvo surely:)
I don’t recall seeing a screen but an image on the net showed a later model with one behind the passenger seats.

Not sure how much I’d even use the open air option, but, once it got a look-in I’m finding it more and more difficult to ignore. I found a minty ‘68 Volvo D2 Momentum with just 1795 miles for 15k just down the road. It’s almost twice as much for a seriously ordinary car. Mr sensible will hopefully take a back seat tomorrow!


MikeMA said:
Go for it!
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:)
 
Convertibles … well, we’ve had 2 so far, the last one a BMW M240i (even had the M Perf exhaust, so in theory even more reason to drop the hood down). We realised that neither of us at home really liked the convertible experience as much as I thought we would - too much sun, too little sun, all that noise, looking silly, and then sitting breathing all pollution in traffic and in town?
… Having said all of this, these cars have a strange appeal, I know it’s more likely than not that I end up getting another one some sunny day lol - ideally, when we move to the Amalfi coast!
 
Currently driving a 2017 M4 cab and what fun it is. Went for the M4 because there’s plenty of room for the two kids in the back and they wanted a cab but wouldn’t you know it, they don’t like the buffeting with the top down.

Drivers seats with the wind deflector up are very calm with only very minor buffeting at speed. I drive top down at every opportunity including winter and in the rain (over about 40mph the rain goes straight over the top).
 
A girlfriend had a C70 for years. I would often pass her, top always down, blonde hair in perfect order, sunglasses etc. If she didn't worry about buffeting, you won't.

Back in the 1970s I remember a couple of ladies of that certain age that often brings a brief 'kicking over of the traces' buying Triumph Stags. My father, whose observations were frank, used to refer to the cars as 'cockcatchers'. When my (ex-) wife bought a Merc SLK AMG I should have read the writing on the wall.

Anyway, it was fun to drive home fast on that perfectly winding A road between Ongar and the Rodings after dark in the heat of mid-summer, with all that stylish composure and unruffled hair. One felt oddly cosseted.
 
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eternumviti said:
One felt oddly cosseted.
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Another example of an ‘out of ordinary car’ experience…. I have to say I have been looking about dealers the last few days and the idea of spending upto 30k on something that is generally bigger but not too different than something half the price just doesn’t grab me by the gonads.
 
Of all the cars I've had, my £750 E36 328i was the one I've probably enjoyed the most. I'll have another convertible one day, that's for sure.

TuEqI58l.jpg
 
I've never owned or even driven a convertible! Had a few rides in friends and colleagues motors with the top down, which was admittedly good fun.
Maybe all the stories of roof leaks have subconsciously put me off, even knowing todays car rooves are vastly superior than those of yore.
 
What generation is it? The first was based on the 850/S70, the factory was run by TWR, second gen, based on the S40 (in turn based on Ford Focus) was made in the same factory but then run by Pinninfarina.

Convertibles are fun, has been having one or other since 1999.
 
Ryder35 said:
get an idea of how it is in winter,
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drive with the top down in the winter - it is fun. Rain is only a problem if you are stationary or driving slowly.

Test driving now with the roof up will this time of year is incomparable to the winter. You would need winter weather conditions to even start to compare.
 
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