‘WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?’ CONVERTIBLES
01 Nissan Micra C+C
The bug-eyed Nissan Micra was never top of the chic list, so it was obviously not a suitable candidate for a folding hard-top roof that made it look like Barbie’s pickup truck. Worse still, Nissan decided that it would offer pink as a paint option.
02 Lexus IS-C
The old Lexus IS was already a fairly left-field choice, but at least it was fairly inoffensive to look at. The IS-C, meanwhile, is so dumpy at the back, it looks like a snake digesting an antelope.
03 Mitsubishi Colt CZC
Another classic of the ‘no-one wanted the hard-top version of this car, so why would they buy a heavier, more expensive version that made it impossible to hide in?’ genre. Plus, the Colt CZC has one of the sillier names ever applied to a drop-top.
04 Renault Wind
Speaking of silly names... In fairness, the Wind was at least decent to drive – the chassis was set up by RenaultSport, using bits from the Clio 182. However, the flip FerrariSuperamericastyle roof ate up space and meant visibility was worse than in any Italian supercar.
05 Chevy SSR
Pickup trucks appealto a certain mindset that thrives on an outdoorsy, masculine, ready-foranything toughness. Why Chevrolet decided that a rear-wheel-drive convertible truck – offered in Cadbury purple – was a creation the world needed is a puzzle.
06 Peugeot 308 CC
Peugeot’s 206 CC had been a smash hit, so it tried the same trick with the 307, and then the 308. The latter is the worst, partly because the idea was already going stale, and partly because the 308 CC holds the world record for having the most-OTT-yet-pointless rear diffuser of alltime.
07 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet
The problem with the Murano CrossCabriolet isn’t so much that it’s ugly, or pointless. No, the issue is that the likes of Land Rover and VW saw it and thought, “Let’s have a go at one of those.” The Evoque Cabrio is now off-sale, but the T-Roc R Convertible arrives this summer.
08 Citroen C3 Pluriel
The Plurielis the odd one out in this hallof infamy because, in fairness, Citroen was doing its best to be quirky and build a cheap, versatile cabrio inspired by the 2CV. Problem was, the company tried to include too many ideas. So most people who bought a Plurieljust used it like a normalcar.
09 Chrysler PT Cruiser
The only car ever sold that had a supermarket shopping basket on the designer’s mood board. Not just the worst sun-seeking car of alltime, but possibly one of the worst objects devised by humankind.