I wish we had the option to do polls here. There seem to be die hard convertible fans here, plus those (who are obviously wrong 
) who don't see the point of or like drop tops.
So, who likes drop tops and who likes hard tops.
I'm obviously a drop top fan.
Who else either way?
I want a convertible. Driving around in open air is a special kind of fun.
For looks and day to day practicality, almost without exception coupe/hatch/shooting brake.
But personally, I will take the convertible almost every single time.
I used to be militant convertible, but all my personal Miatas now have permanently mounted hard tops. Driving an ND, I find myself dropping the top fairly often just because it's so easy. I would never want a convertible with more than two seats, the airflow is undesirable.
My favorite time to drive a convertible is at night.
Ade knows how I feel. 
Convertibles are louder, heavier, less rigid, ugly with the top up, and cost more. And where I live, it's either too hot or too cold to have the top down 95% of the time. Also, if you want to do track days you need some kind of roll bar, though some organizations don't require it. Even so, it's probably a good idea.
A nice big sunroof gives you most of the open-air enjoyment with fewer compromises, mostly in headroom and weight up high.
In reply to Tom_Spangler :
I’m going to disagree. A sunroof just isn’t the same as you still have a shell between you and the world 
In reply to Adrian_Thompson :
I really don’t like convertibles much. I just bought 2 Miatas.
Hard top convertible origami style for the win. Think of your m3 with both options for a small weight penalty and live the dream.
Hardtops only for me. Unless it's a roadster with no top. No convertibles ever.
¿por qué no los dos?
I love a convertible and think that 35 degrees to 110 degrees is the acceptable temperature range to have the top down in one. Somewhere I have a photo of my rental 'vette's climate control showing the outside temp of 117 degrees and climate control set to 50 with a/c on and top down. It was .. fine. I wouldn't have wanted the top up or to have a hardtop.
But it depends on what you're doing. Racing it doesn't make a huge difference either way for me since the roll cage you're inside of it so restrictive that a hard top doesn't make much difference in visibility or rigidity. (A cage is way more rigid than any tin top.) Commuting I would always prefer a convertible. Spirited canyon road driving - not that we have any canyons around here - a convertible is one BILLION times better. Hauling crap in it - just drive a wagon, you're not going to have any fun when you have a bunch of loose crap in the back.
My ideal fleet is pretty close to where I'm at now: Small convertible (MR2 spyder), station wagon (Mazda6 wagon), and a truck.
It gladdens my heart to see more people are right than wrong in their responses so far.
Today is a convertible day and the top will be down :)
Tom_Spangler said:A nice big sunroof gives you most of the open-air enjoyment with fewer compromises, mostly in headroom and weight up high.
I have a couple of cars with sunroofs. I never open them. It's all the experiential downsides of a convertible (wind noise, baking hot sun, etc) without the open-air experience.
Adrian_Thompson said:It gladdens my heart to see more people are right than wrong in their responses so far.
Today is a convertible day and the top will be down :)
Today is only the 2nd day since Thursday that the top hasn't been down. Of course, that has been one trip so far and it was chilly when I walked out, so I just left it up. I'll probably drop it for the drive home.
The two convertibles I’ve driven: an early Audi TT and a Sebring. I would have hated them if they weren’t convertibles. Therefore: convertible tops improve a car
Keith Tanner said:I have a couple of cars with sunroofs. I never open them. It's all the experiential downsides of a convertible (wind noise, baking hot sun, etc) without the open-air experience.
For cars where a convertible isn't practical sunroofs rock. I get a new company car every year. For the first time this year I didn't spec a sunroof on our Edge. Never again. We knew we liked it, but we didn't realize how much we'd miss it. Next years Flex is already ordered and you can be sure it has a full size sunroof.
I have three open tops. They are rarely down. I have a small temperature window where it’s not too cold or hot to ride topless. However, most of my drives are so boring that I don’t see the point. If I had scenic roads on my daily commute things might be different. Meds that make me sensitive to the sun don’t help either.
I'm a closet fan of drop tops. I don't think I could ever own one. With the possible exception of some 50s vintage american iron with the top cut off and doors welded shut.
But the right car, in the right weather (night, clear skies, >65*f) it is a wonderful way to get about.
Once our youngest is old enough to go forward facing, I hope to never be without a convertible in my garage again.
Sunroofs are pretty much useless to front seat occupants. Since there is an insistence on having a sizable overhead console option, the sunroof is necessarily placed so far back that no sky is visible through it without awkwardly looking up.
Adrian_Thompson said:It gladdens my heart to see more people are right than wrong in their responses so far.
Today is a convertible day and the top will be down :)
when I had my Fiat spiders, I had the top down unless it was raining and or snowing. I dispise the cold, but even in sub-freezing temps, I had the top down. Yes, I was bundled up, yes I had the windows up, and yes I had the heat cranked, but the top was still down.
As an aside.. never ever EVER drive with the top down when it is snowing. While it is a lot of fun, it's VERY messy to clean up. The snow gets everywhere and when it melts, everything gets soaked
Sunroofs are the worst of both worlds.
I like convertibles designed as convertibles. Miata, s2000, etc. Anything with a coupe version I would most likely choose the coupe.
That said, the top is an expensive (especially on S2000) wear item that I don't want to deal with on a car if I don't have to.
I had a convertible for many years (a 1961 Pontiac Bonneville) and enjoyed it, but overall I prefer a hardtop. Nowadays I have a couple cars with sunroofs, but I rarely open them.
ProDarwin said:That said, the top is an expensive (especially on S2000) wear item that I don't want to deal with on a car if I don't have to.
Tell me about it. I've just finished fitting a new (glass rear window) soft top to the Boxster. The top was $650 and it was the biggest PIA to fit ever. I'd rather split a FWD trans and fit an LSD than do that again.
I would also add that simpler = better. The more complicated a top, the less I'll use it, the more i will wish I had a coupe instead.
I'm looking at you, Honda S2000. The Miata top is a lot easier to deal with. And of course the other extreme is the Solstice top which is a ridiculous abortion.
All coupe no sunroof. Kind of militant about it.
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