When the sun has got its hat on, these premium soft-tops come into their own, and each one is a bargain if you buy at two years old
SPRINGTIME CAN come as a wakeup call. Many people frantically hit the gym, searching for that Arnold Schwarzenegger physique ahead of swimsuit season. Others rush out and buy a convertible car in order to soak up as much sun as possible.
Unfortunately, we can’t help you on the former front, but the latter one is right up our alley, with two strong options being the classy Audi A5 Cabriolet and BMW 4 Series Convertible.
What’s more, buy one at three years old and you’ll save around £19,000 off new. You won’t see that kind of discount off your gym membership, plus you can’t use those newfound leg muscles to do your motorway commute; people get arrested for that sort of thing.
Anyway, at £31,000 each, there are cheaper alternatives, but few will come with the plethora of luxuries these cars get. Punchy engines, plush interiors and plenty of gadgets are on the menu.
DRIVING
Performance, ride, handling, refinement
Both of these convertibles use turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engines, but the A5’s produces more power and torque and is in a slightly lighter car. It has 201bhp, while its rival has 181bhp.
Given this advantage, you might be surprised that the A5 is just 0.3sec speedier from 0-60mph. However, while the 4 Series shoots off the line quicker, the A5’s greater muscle shows when you put your foot down at speed, such as when overtaking on a fast A-road.
With the 4 Series, if you sift through the regular M Sport-spec examples on the used market and find an M Sport Pro Edition like we have here, you get adaptive suspension, which can be softened or stiffened to suit the prevailing road conditions. Top-spec Vorsprung versions of the A5 also feature this sort of adaptive set-up.
Unfortunately, selecting the firmest setting in the A5 highlights the rigidity that
