Cabrio versus Coupe

[cadfael_tex]

Been driving a Mini too long. The roof. The engine is under the bonnet right? Spanners? Tyres? You get the point ;)

[NCC1701]

The smart is a rear engine, rear wheel drive car. As Jet said, the front, or bonnet has radiator, horn, fluid reservoirs , and so on.

A few photos I found in the Gallery, how's this for overkill? The next to last photo is my car, on a rest stop going home from taking delivery.

[cadfael_tex]

Gracias NCC1701

[tongar]

Thanks for the info,

A couple of questions:
1. On the cabrio, do those small side-rear windows roll down or come off?

2. My use would be driving only when not raining and transported in an enclosed trailer. Any chance the convertible top comes off and can be left behind. This would appear to improve visibility and storage. This is common with Jeeps and a small, stationary-only rain cover is hooked on when you park.

thanks for any info,
tongar

[The Rigger]

Originally Posted by tongar

1. On the cabrio, do those small side-rear windows roll down or come off?

They don't roll down, and to take them off you'd have to take the door apart.

Originally Posted by tongar

Any chance the convertible top comes off and can be left behind.

Not easily. I suppose in theory, anything that is assembed can be disassembled, but it's not designed to be easily removable. It's not like a Jeep roof; it's a motorized cabriolet roof.

[SuperGeek]

I have an 08 Passion in coastal Alabama... and the panoramic roof lets in a LOT of heat during the summer - it's a greenhouse with black leather seats. But from what I hear, the 08 Pure roof is basically the same material, just painted.

I would imagine the cabrio not getting as hot and for that reason might make my next Smart a cabrio. I didn't initially because I was concerned about rollover safety (I didn't look at the diagrams, I just assumed, right?) and risk of someone cutting it open to steal something. As far as I can tell, both are just as safe because the cabrio's A-pillar is reinforced in a key spot and it has the rollover bar.

[Smart Enuf]

It is a scientific fact that the cabrio is better than the coupe. Flame on!

[Jeff C.]

We have the cabriolet version.It is the only "convertable" automobile that I have ever driven.While I dont have anything to compare the cabrio to as far as functioning,I CAN very strongly assure you that the mechanism is everything that you would want in a cabrio.We have had ours for over two months---all of our driving has been done during weather that would encourage top down driving.I do find that on highway driving ,where 55-70 mph is going to be necessary,the windows cranked up all the way or at least most of the way up is necessary. We are exceptionally happy with our cabrio and would heartily encourage anyone to experience the road in a cabriolet.

[Brabus]

It's a preference. I love the ability to open and close the roof at up to 70mph. To me it's a priceless feature. I rented a Coupe for 10 days in Europe and I really missed the feature to open and close the top. I found the shade on coupe to be not adequate when you wanted to block the sunshine. Again, a personal preference.

I noticed though on ebay the ratio of coupes versus cabrios historically was 2:1, but it has slowly risen to 1:1. People are very price point conscious in this economy. They want a Cabrio at coupe prices, so I'm noticing Coupes selling yet rarely do Cabrios sell. It's the second day of Summer, so maybe this trend will reverse as Summer is the best time to sell a Cabrio.

The Scion iQ will come to the states as a Coupe first, then it's guesstimated a year or two later they will produce a cabrio version. So I suspect that will help resale value on Cabrios in the short-term. Also, Smart sells a lot more coupes than they do Cabrios. While there aren't any official numbers to how many, the Cabrio Passion costs $3k more than the similarly equipped Coupe Passion (and $5k more than the Coupe Pure). What really makes the Coupe more attractive to many IMO is the price point. People see a car half the size of most cars and they think half the price of a Civic.

I expect to see the ratio go back to 2:1 as gas prices increase and now that it is Summer (thus making the price point less of an issue).

[Brabus]

I was surprised to find out that Kelly Blue Book values (It has 3 trade-in values and 3 private party values) has increased the book value for the 2008 Fortwo cabrio in the past week by $75.

Last week the value dropped $50 and this week it increased $75.

I've noticed the ratio of cabrios to coupes has gone back to the the 2 to 1 ratio, and they are starting to sell again. I guess it's finally Summer (though it still doesn't seem very Summery up in the Northeast).