Comparison Tests
Just in time for those lazy, hazy days of summer, a comparison of convertibles that don't break the bank.
Think of them as resort wear. You're vacationing on Cape Cod, or Jackson Hole, or Coeur d'Alene. You'll need wheels for a week. You could rent something boring or, what the heck, why not a convertible?
Call the 800 numbers and all the agencies read from the same menu: Chrysler Sebring, or Ford Mustang, or Pontiac G6? These are Detroit's mass-market convertibles. They sell in volume, to rental companies and to real people. That gets the production numbers up so the price can be small-d democratic. "Less than 30 large" was the target for this comparison.
Chrysler's Sebring convertible is the defining model of this group, and the largest seller for seven of the past 11 years, averaging about 40,000 per annum since 2000. An all-new 2008 version has just debuted, starting at $26,145 with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder. We've driven that car exactly-it's an excellent value-but our staffers have no patience with such leisurely acceleration. So we opted up one level to the smooth-revving 2.7-liter V-6.
The Sebring breaks new four-seater ground by offering a choice of a soft- or hardtop. The base car gets a fully lined and insulated folding vinyl roof. Stepping up to the Sebring Touring brings a low-sheen cloth outer layer. For about $2000 more, you can select a folding steel top. Is it worth the extra dough? See Soft vs Steel tops.
A folding steel roof is standard equipment on the Pontiac G6 GT. You get tautly stretched sheetmetal with a steeply swept windshield and a 3.5-liter V-6 as standard equipment, for a base price of $29,400. The only test vehicle available to meet our deadline, however, was endowed with the Sport package; it includes ( heh-heh) a pushrod 3.9-liter V-6 of 227 horsepower. The price: $32,560. So much for the target.
The Ford Mustang convertible was all new for 2006. Forget the hard roofs-Mustang convertibles are ragtops only, with that classic long-hood, short-tail silhouette of the 1960s. A 4.0-liter V-6 is standard equipment. Adding a five-speed automatic and sundry options ups the sticker to $30,700.
Value convertibles, that's our theme going in. But the balloting reminds us of that old secretary-wanted joke. Three women apply for the job: One has an MBA, one types a flawless 200 words a minute, one has a phone voice as sexy as Blaise Lantana's. So which one gets the job? The one with the big bazooms, of course. You'll understand as you read on.
