[QuentinTino]

Going by the news- come next month, there is going to be another convertible in Indian markets- Mercedes AMG E53 Cabriolet, which made me sadly realise that this is going to be another brick in the wall for the most of us, as it will likely be priced between ₹1.5-2 crores, hence only the UHNWIs (Ultra high net worth individuals) would be able to afford it.

Hence I feel like the Indian Car scene has No affordable/ non- ridiculously priced convertibles

The only “affordable” ones I can recount are the Mini Cooper Convertible ~65L and the BMW Z4 20i ~85L, rest all others are either gone from the market or from the 1Cr bracket!

What do my fellow TBHPians think about this dilemma?
God! How great it would be if we had options in the ₹20-40L category!

(Note- Thar is not being counted as a convertible here)

[GTO]

Nice thread.

Car OEMs are in the business of catering to demand. Hence, if there was demand for convertibles, they would gladly offer it . But our weather is too hot & too dusty, and there is also the fear of theft with a convertible.

Not just India, even in the USA, convertible & 2-door sales have tanked (Convertibles / Roadsters segment is dying | Sales in US & Europe down 80% since 2005).

If you want to enjoy a convertible in India, you can do so only in the evenings, night time and mornings. And it's totally worth it, I might add. Just that you'll have to be happy with a soft-top 4x4 to get your fix (Mahindras, Gypsys, Gurkhas).

[harry10]

I love convertibles.
My first experience was when I was 16 years old. We were on vacation at Dalhousie with extended family and one of their family friends brought a Mercedes convertible. He was a prominent businessman from Ludhiana who owned quite a few imports. I was extremely excited and he gave me a good ride in that car. Still remember the experience. Sadly, in our country where opening the sunroof brings dust, pollution in a second, convertibles will always be a dream.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by QuentinTino

Hence I feel like the Indian Car scene has No affordable/ non- ridiculously priced convertibles

This is true, but then again, if I am not mistaken, this is true in most countries. Convertibles are inherently expensive. They require complex design and complex construction, and are usually not cheap (with some exceptions like Mazda Miata in the US).

God! How great it would be if we had options in the ₹20-40L category!

Sure, it would be great to have that option. But even then, regardless of the price, convertibles are just not practical in India. Our weather, environmental conditions, road conditions, and safety hazards (including possibilities of crimes such as theft or vandalism) just do not allow a convertible car to be practical or useful in India. Sure, you can enjoy an evening ride once in a while. But that is all. Very few people in India can afford a separate car (and that too costing Rs. 20-40L) just for an occasional evening ride. But I agree that it would be good to have an option!

Originally Posted by GTO

But our weather is too hot & too dusty, and there is also the fear of theft with a convertible.

Agree 100% with you on this.

Originally Posted by GTO

Car OEMs are in the business of catering to demand. Hence, if there was demand for convertibles, they would gladly offer it .

I think the previous point (convertibles not being practical in India) is the crux of the matter. If there is a good use case, demand can be created! OEMs cater to demand for sure, but good OEMs can also (sometimes) create new demand from nowhere. A classic example is how Ford Ecosport created a demand for the C-SUV sector when none existed. However, the C-SUVs are so practical and so useful in India, that it was easy to create a fresh demand. The use case was inherently very strong and there was an opportunity to create a wave of fresh demands. Sadly, that can not be said about convertibles. Even if an adventurous manufacturer creates an affordable convertible in India (just like how Ford created an affordable C-SUV in the form of Ecosport), it is likely to fail anyways due to lack of potential of creating new demand, which is in turn due to inherent lack of usefulness in India.

[RedTerrano]

Convertibles!
Hell, I still haven't figured out the point of sun roofs on Indian cars.
As pointed already, the heat and dust are main pain points.

And then, there is also the other factor. People and culture.
One of my friends is a vintage car restorer. This dude.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vinta...ollection.html (Vikram Pendse's collection)

Once he took a restored vintage beauty (convertible) to visit his relatives. After he came back to the public parking, he noticed someone had tossed a banana peel inside the car.

These are the same types who spit inside brand new trains or intentionally scratch brand new vehicles.
I do not expect to see any improvement at least in my lifetime.

[IshaanIan]

On our very own car enthusiast forum we have several members who would scoff at sunroofs itself god only knows what little reception a convertible would gather here. That said, I have always wondered why we do not have anyone locally building a 20-40lac small convertible sports car designed for our road conditions. Always been a dream to own something like that.

[Nithesh_M]

See if you can find yourself a rare San Storm convertible.
Will be hard to come by. A shame it got discontinued by the time I graduated. Don't know how hard it will be to find spares.

[Maverick1977]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

See if you can find yourself a rare San Storm convertible. Will be hard to come by. A shame it got discontinued by the time I graduated. Don't know how hard it will be to find spares.

This was one car with one of the most horrible build quality. While still in production my boss had managed to get one, at a great discount though. The roof would not fit properly and the rain water would leak inside causing an unwanted swimming pool. The car was poor on power also, can vouch as he used to give it to me to take it to the company office/rep (don't recall exactly now as this was in 2006) often for repairs. He used to hate it and then it became a garage queen.
Spares were tough to get even when this thing was in production, can't imagine what the scene will be now.
We have never adapted to global car styles - even estates never took off.

[Jeroen]

If weather is a consideration for a convertible, you are not a convertible enthusiast. For decades the UK has been the European country with more convertibles on the road and sold than others

https://www.worldcarblog.com/en/blog...roof#gsc.tab=0

But again, even in the UK they all drive top up! If you are a true hardcore convertible enthousiast youmdrive top down, no matter what the weather. Blistering hot, freezing cold, sun, snow, rain, sleek, all part of of the fun of driving top down. I keep my Alfa Spider in immaculate condition. But the top has a big test in it. I can’t be bothered to fix it properly, because we drive it top down all the time. We drove it more than 8000 km this year, all over Europe, always top down!

I never understand folks that buy a convertible and the. Spend 99% of the time with the top up waiting for the one off perfect top down day per year.

Jeroen

[inwester]

Originally Posted by QuentinTino

Hence I feel like the Indian Car scene has No affordable/ non- ridiculously priced convertibles

Indian market simply doesn't have ANY affordable cars, in any segment, which is truly of international quality. At one end of the spectrum, we have cheap cars which will never get sold in developed markets and then we have luxury cars sold at a very high premium compared to other markets.

In between, we have a few cars, a typical cheap car like Compass or Octavia or Tucson in developed markets is considered premium here and fetches prices of 35-45 lakhs. That's $45-55k.

Forget convertibles, which is a niche product, give me an affordable international quality product in a mass market segment.

[condor]

Like GTO said, it's about demand. In India, the weather and to some extent safety of anything kept in the car are two deterrents to having a convertible. For people with single/two regularly used cars, a convertible is not practical. One just cant keep something in the vehicle and go about one's work, even if it is private parking.

A good friend is thinking about a Thar convertible top, but I am trying to discourage him there since it will be his only car.

For experience, a friend and I had driven a Chrysler Sebring back in 2002 from the Bay area to Kings Canyon National park. Weather was good, and a nice drive there, soaking all that scenery. A bucket-list item checked off there.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by QuentinTino

The only “affordable” ones I can recount are the Mini Cooper Convertible ~65L and the BMW Z4 20i ~85L, rest all others are either gone from the market or from the 1Cr bracket!

What do my fellow TBHPians think about this dilemma?
God! How great it would be if we had options in the ₹20-40L category!

(Note- Thar is not being counted as a convertible here)

I LOVE Convertibles.
I absolutely adore them.

Sadly, as many others have said, while they are off the charts in desirability, they just aren't practical in India. Huge premium price - completely unaffordable for the normal working person, Heat, Dust, Pollution, Theft of items inside,
Spitting, Envy, Wanton vandalism. The list of negstives is endless.
If at all I buy one in India, it will most definitely be second hand and it will be the hard top convertible type such as Merc SLK or BMW Z4.
I would dearly love to own a Porsche Boxster 987 with its lovely growly engine and rag top but I dont know if I will ever find a good one at a fair price.
For now, I will indulge my convertible fantasies by renting one when I go abroad sometime, either on work or on holiday.

[ajmat]

I had the pleasure of using an M4 convertible over the summer holidays and used to hang out with a colleague as a passenger in a Porsche 993 convertible many moons ago.

Pro’s

• Makes the experience more tactile, you hear the sounds, feel the heat, smell the oil
• Gives the sense of speed
• You can swallow insects
• There is a feel good factor

Cons

• Not practical in dusty, extreme weather
• Wearing at speed
• Exposed to people accosting you at traffic lights. One rich scion in Delhi, found 3 transgender hustlers jumping into his car and it cost him Rs 3000 to get them out
• Scuttle shake is unavoidable, more so in India with out roads
• Your windscreen becomes a key torsion brace, break that and your car becomes soggy around corners

In India, it’s okay for an evening drive with less traffic or if you keep it at your holiday home on the coast or in a hill station. It’s a toy and the price reflects that. The saloon based convertibles like the Saab 900, Golf, Megane, Escorts are all dead

[shankar.balan]

Here’s what May and Hammond and Co had to say;

https://youtu.be/pvqjaTFmGiU

[GeeTee TSI]

Indian market at large is sadly not about thrill of driving as opposed to other priorities (stated ruefully here) which is very evident from the offerings (or the absence of some like convertibles or sporty hatches)

Cars at the premium end sell, so it's not a disposable income issue I feel.

Having missed the golden decades of ICE motoring with protectionist regimes, we can add convertibles as something we never experienced to even miss them