Convertible Reviews

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is an evergreen performer for the three-pointed star in Australia. And the entry-level C 200's hybrid heart has given it a fresh lease of life.

The BMW Z4 could well have been called the Z5. If it had followed the logic of the Z3 and Z4 that came before it, this new-generation model might well have adopted a new badge to accompany its new body, new chassis, new engines, new underpinnings and new technology. But it's not - it's still the Z4, but its very different, all the same.

The big, bad Camaro is Chevrolet's answer to the mean Ford Mustang, but will the price put you off?

Sure, it's just a tiny bit Japanese underneath, thanks to its clear family tree connections with the Mazda MX-5, but there's no doubt there's plenty of Italian passion in the fabulously brio-filled Fiat 124 Abarth.

The Alfa Romeo 4C is something else. It's outside of the mould of the Italian brand's staple offerings, which consist of a hatchback, sedan and SUV. But the 4C is a purebred, unadulterated sports coupe. It's almost like a shrunken supercar, with a shrunken price tag, too.

Can a car company show off? It seems absurd; the kind of embarrassing, unedifying behaviour that only ego-driven, status-obsessed human beings engage in.

It’s a rare treat when the convertible version of a beautiful car is actually more attractive than the Coupe or sedan it’s based on, and this is not one of those occasions. While the M850i is a scintillatingly sharp thing to look at, the Convertible is slightly softer, as is the way it drives.But it does allow you the option of letting the sun in on a warm day, with the roof dropping - or raising - in an impressively quiet 15 seconds.Your $9000 extra spend - at $281,900 - over the Coupe does get you the very lovely Air Collar Neck Warmer.The big Beemer’s brawny 4.4-litre, V8 twin-turbocharged engine makes a whopping 390kW and 750Nm, which is enough to fire the Convertible to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. Which is hugely fast for a rag top, and particularly one as luxurious as this.The 850i xDrive might have super-car-like power figures - so much so that it needs to be all-wheel drive (or xDrive) to get all its power to the ground, rather than in the traditional, rear-drive BMW fashion, but It is not a snapping sports car unless you want it to be. Its default setting is very much as a classic grand tourer, capable of crossing vast distances in VIP comfort. The standard inclusion list is as long as Lebron’s arm and includes the BMW Air Collar, to keep your neck warm when it’s cold, and then everything you get in the Coupe - 20-inch M-branded light-alloy wheels, a tyre-pressure indicator, M Sport Brakes, M Sport Differential, Adaptive M Suspension Professional with Integral Active Steering, Active anti-roll stabilisation, Comfort Access including a kick-open tailgate, wireless phone charging, Soft Close Doors, BMW Crafted Clarity Glass Application, Driving Assistant Professional, Parking Assistant Plus, including 3D View and Reverse Assistant, Laserlights, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch Control Display, metallics, paint, merino leather upholstery, heated steering wheel and arm rests, and seats, a 16-speaker harmon.kardon sound system, a Head-Up Display and the hugely pointless Gesture Control. 

Buying a sports car is a bit like getting a tattoo - it’s not a sensible, practical or necessary choice, it’s an emotional one, and, if we’re honest, the most important factor is that it looks good, and makes us look good. At least in our own eyes.

Move beyond the middle child in the Z4 range, and you hit the wild-child variant, the range-topping M40i, which scores the more traditional, straight-six-cylinder engine, albeit a very modern, turbocharged version.

It might sound cruel, but there’s a reasonable chance that the sDrive20i will be referred to by BMW dealers as “showroom bait”.