BTW, Tridion safety is not compromised with the cabrio, but storage and visibility is.;)
I can accept that safety is not compromised to the extent that a cabrio with roof bars removed passes the Federal crash tests, but...
I know a bit about structures, and without those roof bars the Tridion is for sure less rigid of a structure than with them. If you hit it hard enough there's going to be a different outcome.
If you are inquiring about cab vs coupe because you're on the fence, here are my thoughts in deciding the same question.
One cannot beat the utility of the cabrio. Closed, it keeps you high and dry, part way open, it gives you some of the utility of the panoramic sunroof, and of course, then there's the full blown, rails off, windows down, let it all hang out full blown 'vert feel (of course, which I haven't experienced...yet! )
Main cons with the cabrio would include noise , thermal insulation and durability. The road noise doesn't seem too severe (....I don't plan to use the car zooming around in the 70 -80 mph range much), and thermal insulation can't be too worst then having the big panel of polycarbonate over head. (The Pure hardtop would gain this advantage). Durability always is a negative , I don't care who makes it - metal always holds up better then fabric! However I didn't see too many complaints in the 450 model, and surely the 451 cabrio top must be better.
Other factors- appearance! quite often the softtop has a "negative" appearance over the hardtop.....it usually spoils the lines of the car. But in the fortwo's case because of the roof rails, the 'vert has very much the same appearance - it does not detract from its appearance. I also think the fact that the panoramic roof on the coupe does not open helped my decision. A working sunroof might have tipped the scales back to the coupe...although I do already have one of those in my MINI anyway. So I'm looking forward to our smarts summer arrival, putting on the sunglasses and dropping the top!
What about someone slashing your top for your radio. An old GF had her geo tracker broken into like that 5 times just inthe 2 years we knew each other.
I had a '72 Mercedes SL. Removable hardtop, ragtop. Rarely took off the hardtop. When I did have it off and the ragtop down every time I parked the car, it was put up the top and pray it didn't get slashed. Fun driving, but noisy and windy.
The cab looks like a lot of fun, but you really have to be a convertible guy to love it. I adore the clear roof, it does get warm and bright on sunny days, but the shade slide works fine.
I can accept that safety is not compromised to the extent that a cabrio with roof bars removed passes the Federal crash tests, but...
I know a bit about structures, and without those roof bars the Tridion is for sure less rigid of a structure than with them. If you hit it hard enough there's going to be a different outcome.
I originally wanted the cabrio, and was all set to configure that way untill the road show. I plan to drive mine to work every day and my two golden retreivers ride with me to work. They had a hard time getting in the cabrio and the coupe was a breeze to load them up. So I went with the coupe. Besides, when we want to ride around with the top down we still have the 02 T-bird.
I drove the cabrio 450 model for three years, it held up very well with no wear and tear issues. I have a garage for most night parking. I debated about the coupe when i ordered my 451 model for about two seconds. The 451 is an even better top, much quieter, little wind noise below 70 mph. The back glass window (drop and stow feature) is very cool. The top like any convertable should be water proofed a couple times per year - spring/fall. Im in Ontario Canada so we got 90F summers and -30 winters and the top is great as an all round driving car ... i wouldn't hesitate to get it and see few comprimises. Even on a chilly winter day I crank up the seat heaters and heater and open the top. What many who have not driven the car forget is this is not a miata low roofed car. With the top all the way back (but not dropped) there is no wind buffiting inside with the windows up so it is usable much of the year. The interior of the convertable is quieter than the coupe due to the vibrations/noise of the engine where the soft top seems to muffle it and the poly-top allows it to echo, same as the 450 where the coupe had a hallow/echo type sound to it ... my two cents and observations but certainly - three years in with the old smart and now two months with the new smart - GET THE CABRIO ... this car is meant to be FUN!
James
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