Ive had many a coupe (M6, CTSV, FRS,e tc) and while the coupe body lines look better, there is no replacement for top down driving in a roadster. It's just more fun and allows you to enjoy the vehicle and your surroundings more.

The only thing that could have possibly made car better for me was if it was offered in a manual transmission with a v8. But I am happy w/ the auto. The the convertible.

 

Convertible is not a practical year-round car for places that have winter. If you intend to drive it in the snow and can't 100% avoid parking it outside, get coupe.

I have a vert and a winter beater car. Convertible is A LOT more enjoyable to drive with a top down.

 

Enough said!!

 

Yep

 

 

Still wishing they made a power moonroof, to me that offers 80% of the convertible experience, with no downside. If you get the coupe, definitely consider the panoramic roof, even fixed it makes the car seem much more spacious inside. And, if you get the VAP valvetronic exhaust, you get to hear more of that sweet engine sound with the coupe, windows up or down.

 

I had the same question and my original intent was to buy a vert but once I saw my brother-in-laws SVR coupe's panoramic roof I shifted gears. I also wanted a bit more storage for golf clubs every once in a while & could not see getting them comfortably into that teeny-tiny space in the vert. It was a great decision IMHO to go coupe as it's also significantly quieter (when you want it to be). Now having said that, there is NO WAY I would have bought the coupe without the Pano roof as that would have been too confining IMHO. With the pano roof you can still pull the cover closed if the sunshine beating down gets to be excessive.

 

I always advise if you are not going to put roof down a lot don't get vert!

 

The vert version of the Gen 2 MINI actually had an Openometer to make certain you were keeping accurate accounting of the fun:

 

My $0.02 - coupe.

I'm allergic to heat. Here in VA, its simply too hot from April through September to fry my brain with a vert. I also hate (with a passion) having the sun shine in from above - my current (non f-type) car has a removable glass roof with removable interior panels - I never take them out, and almost never take the roof out, and it always rains when I do...

My ideal would be a coupe with solid metal roof, but with the 'gray morzine' headlining option (to lighten up the interior). Pluses are larger cargo capacity (with the option for a spare tire that wont fit in the vert) and a non degrading top (opinions vary, say what you will, but vert tops don't last forever and $$$ to replace). Plus the coupe is slightly less expensive to begin with.

 

I always wished the F-Type came with a hard top convertible. Given the price and market these cars are going after, it always surprised me they used a soft top.

 

Sensible solution : buy a coupe and if your really want to get some fresh air.. ..stick your head out of the window..

 

And where would they have put it? In the rear glove compartment. The soft top is preferable in terms of weight, complexity (things to go wrong), and space. I watched the top on an EOS (I think it was) go up yesterday and I thought how nice we have simple soft tops on the F-Type. If you were thinking of a detachable hardtop, I expect it would be quite heavy and difficult to handle.

 

You can't go wring with either.
I wanted a V8 coupe, but I found a steal of a deal on a 2016 S convertible at the dealer I bought my wife her F Pace at.
I can tell you, I have not regretted my purchase.
Still cold, but the 5 or 6 times I have been able to put the top down were an amazing experience.
The 6 cylinder engine sound with the top up is great, with the top down, WOW!

 

 

I had Mercedes SL with a hard top, and while it was decent setup, fabric top is superior. Lighter, doesn't creak, and doesn't take entire trunk when down.

What Jaguar should have done is designed removable hard top "lid" that you could put on your car in off-season. I have it on few of my classic convertibles, and when it is on the car feels like a coupe. However, they are always PITA to put on and take off to store.

 

I live in Florida, too. In my opinion, about 75% of the time it is too dang hot to enjoy a convertible. 20% of the time it is raining. And 5% of the time it is too hot AND raining.

 

I am driving a convertible all year round here in Winnipeg and I am all smiles Cabin keeps extremely warm (and warms up very quickly), seat warmers go from light to mid to volcanic, so you can warm your butt no matter what the temp is, and the heated steering wheel is very nice too! Don't have the windshield heater, but I bet that makes it even better!

 

I went through the same decision process and ended up getting a convertible because of the great deal. After experiencing it for the first summer I don’t think I can go back. Debates such as rigidity, sun roof is almost the same(not even close btw), visibility etc all go out the non existent roof when your cruising your favourite back roads. I bought the car to have fun with and the extra element it brings can’t be easily quantified until you live with one. Is it for everyone? No. My advice is to borrow, steal or rent a convertible for a weekend and try it out.

 

As you can probably see from the responses, it boils down to personal preference and also climate/usage.

When I shortlisted the cars I wanted to buy they were all convertibles because that was something I wasn't prepared to change my mind about; I purchased my F type as a fun summer driver and weekend getaway car......our climate is conducive to having the top down most of the time that I keep the car insured. Also, the car was partially purchased to replace our touring motorcycle which I had to sell due to my wife's health issues so the drop top was as close as we could get to that experience.

I'm very happy the F type top is a soft top; the vert doesn't pay a big weight penalty price compared to the coupe version, unlike an M4 for eg. I find the soft top to be quick, convenient and quiet though I don't drive the car in the winter or bad weather if I can avoid it.

The coupe is a better looking car IMO, though both versions are stunning....but that isn't enough for me to give up the joys of open top motoring.

2 cents,
Dave