£5000, convertible, 4 seats, Euro road trip capable

[Gastons_Revenge]

I'm in the very conceptual stages of planning a summer road trip for 2025/2026, however in true PH fashion the vehicle itself must come first, even before the route!
I would love to do it in a convertible, I plan to have 2 or 3 fellow travellers with me so room for a moderate amount of luggage would be handy.
My very broad requirements so far:

• Budget of roughly £5000, stretching up to maybe £6500 for the perfect car
• Automatic gearbox highly preferable
• 6 cylinders
• 200BHP+
• Soft top preferable to avoid excess complexity
• Flexible on diesel or petrol engine

So far the main candidate that jumps out at me is a W212/A207 E350 CDI Cabriolet with the V6 and 7G gearbox, one example here looks perfect.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409254...

Any obvious candidates I've missed?

Edited by Gastons_Revenge on Wednesday 9th October 14:26

[blue_haddock]

My first thought was a CLK and you're not short of options but i'd definitely say you need petrol not diesel for top down summer fun.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409304...


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409103...

But there is also the Saab 9-3 cabbie too.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408162...

And a complete curve ball.....

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407201...

[Bonefish Blues]

Fine vehicle that the SC430 is, (at least) one thing it isn't is a 4-seater.

[EBRANDON1]

Should be able to get a 330i convertible which may be suitable, pit of performance. Although will be 2013 or older

[Jim Spencer]

BMW 6 series, the 3.0i is enough, you'll have a choice at a £5k budget.

[Gastons_Revenge]

blue_haddock said:

My first thought was a CLK and you're not short of options but i'd definitely say you need petrol not diesel for top down summer fun.

But there is also the Saab 9-3 cabbie too.

And a complete curve ball.....

Thanks for the suggestions! CLKs had crossed my mind, they seem a bit tighter inside for passengers than the E Class cabriolets though? Tight git I am that £710 VED has me closing my wallet in horror! Saab 9-3s are a couple of cylinders down and a bit too slow for what I'm after, would prefer a 0-60 sprint of about 6s or less. Would absolutely have the SC430 as they are pure waft however as intimated by another user they are barely a 4 seater, more of a 2+2.

[BenB91]

CLK.

E-class convertible at a push.

Has to be petrol.

[ZX10R NIN]

It sounds like the CLK55 AMG is the car you're looking for:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408193...

Or haggle hard & you should be able to get this 5.5 CLK500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405069...

[bennno]

Gastons_Revenge said:

I'm in the very conceptual stages of planning a summer road trip for 2025/2026, however in true PH fashion the vehicle itself must come first, even before the route!
I would love to do it in a convertible, I plan to have 2 or 3 fellow travellers with me so room for a moderate amount of luggage would be handy.
My very broad requirements so far:

• Budget of roughly £5000, stretching up to maybe £6500 for the perfect car
• Automatic gearbox highly preferable
• 6 cylinders
• 200BHP+
• Soft top preferable to avoid excess complexity
• Flexible on diesel or petrol engine

So far the main candidate that jumps out at me is a W212/A207 E350 CDI Cabriolet with the V6 and 7G gearbox, one example here looks perfect.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409254...

Any obvious candidates I've missed?

Edited by Gastons_Revenge on Wednesday 9th October 14:26

125i M Sport - 3L bmw engine

[blue_haddock]

Gastons_Revenge said:

Thanks for the suggestions! CLKs had crossed my mind, they seem a bit tighter inside for passengers than the E Class cabriolets though? Tight git I am that £710 VED has me closing my wallet in horror! Saab 9-3s are a couple of cylinders down and a bit too slow for what I'm after, would prefer a 0-60 sprint of about 6s or less. Would absolutely have the SC430 as they are pure waft however as intimated by another user they are barely a 4 seater, more of a 2+2.

You can get the saab 9-3 with a 2.8 v6 turbo but they seem pretty rare. As you dont need it just yet though i guess time is on your side.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407161...

The lexus may be a bit tight if the passengers are more than kids.

The audi A4 cab is another option thats probably a bit bigger than the merc or saab.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410064...

[Scootersp]

BMW 635D if you are taking only 2 extra?

[GreatGranny]

Just a word of caution re 4 seater convertibles.

We had an A4 convertible a few years ago which was an excellent car top down with 2 people.

However when we had people in the back they found it stupidly windy and uncomfortable asking for the roof to be put up after only 10-15 mins.

2 up I drove it 2-3 hours no issue.

If you can get one with decent wind deflection for rear passengers then that would be great.

[maz8062]

Gastons_Revenge said:

I'm in the very conceptual stages of planning a summer road trip for 2025/2026, however in true PH fashion the vehicle itself must come first, even before the route!
I would love to do it in a convertible, I plan to have 2 or 3 fellow travellers with me so room for a moderate amount of luggage would be handy.
My very broad requirements so far:

• Budget of roughly £5000, stretching up to maybe £6500 for the perfect car
• Automatic gearbox highly preferable
• 6 cylinders
• 200BHP+
• Soft top preferable to avoid excess complexity
• Flexible on diesel or petrol engine

So far the main candidate that jumps out at me is a W212/A207 E350 CDI Cabriolet with the V6 and 7G gearbox, one example here looks perfect.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409254...

Any obvious candidates I've missed?

Edited by Gastons_Revenge on Wednesday 9th October 14:26

The E350 CDI is the one to go for. Get the best you can for your budget and concentrate on service history and condition. That engine is a peach and diesel would be perfect for long distance driving especially in Europe.

[boyse7en]

Gastons_Revenge said:

...Saab 9-3s are a couple of cylinders down and a bit too slow for what I'm after, would prefer a 0-60 sprint of about 6s or less.

You can get V6 Saab 'verts...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335589690175?_skw=saab+...

That one is a Hirsch, which has about 275hp. Not sure of 0-60 time, but they have plenty of mid-range.
They are also a decent four-seater with quite a bit of boot space when the roof is up.

[Jimjimhim]

Your budget might force you into one, but I can't see why anyone would want a diesel soft top.

[Bonefish Blues]

GreatGranny said:

Just a word of caution re 4 seater convertibles.

We had an A4 convertible a few years ago which was an excellent car top down with 2 people.

However when we had people in the back they found it stupidly windy and uncomfortable asking for the roof to be put up after only 10-15 mins.

2 up I drove it 2-3 hours no issue.

If you can get one with decent wind deflection for rear passengers then that would be great.

Very good point - I proudly dropped the 996 roof with my nieces in the back, who were thrilled.

5 minutes down the road and they wanted it up again. Cue one deflated uncle

[Gastons_Revenge]

Thanks for all of the recommendations so far guys, got some more looking to do! This is a longer term project, I have a house move on at the moment so definitely not in any rush- will find the most likely candidate and try to research as much as I can so I go into ownership both eyes open as I have been stung by both of the more sporty/interesting cars I've bought so far in my own history.

Brief question as I'm a bit clueless when it comes to Mercs; why is the CLK placed over the E Class cab, are the Es lesser cars? From what I can see there are a lot more (admittedly diesel so lesser from a beardy perspective) E Class cabs in my budget than CLKs.

GreatGranny said:

Just a word of caution re 4 seater convertibles.

We had an A4 convertible a few years ago which was an excellent car top down with 2 people.

However when we had people in the back they found it stupidly windy and uncomfortable asking for the roof to be put up after only 10-15 mins.

2 up I drove it 2-3 hours no issue.

If you can get one with decent wind deflection for rear passengers then that would be great.

Good point, will definitely bear that in mind! Have some familiarity with the early 2000s convertible market as I used to own an E85 Z4, Mercedes seem to be most known for designing their convertibles with comfort & wind noise in mind so will bias my enquiries down that avenue.

[macron]

bennno said:

125i M Sport - 3L bmw engine

Rear space is dire, which you might expect, but it's very upright and the padding really does curve around you close to the door.

With a lot of these it depends on who you have in the back, if it's tiny ones you might get away with it, but if it is actual people you might regret it. Or they will.

The 3 series is the pick on that front, it's quite angled actually, moreso than the CLK or E class.

The good news OP, great time of year to be buying a cab, I've seen a fair few come down in price of late. Beware anything that's been on the market a while, owners wanting silly money or traders clinging on for dear life having overpaid in spring and still needing to make rent.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd actually suggest going for the E Coupe with the Panoramic roof, once you open the roof & drop all the windows away you really won't miss the convertible & you'll also have more to choose from:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406291...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409194...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409043...

[blue_haddock]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd actually suggest going for the E Coupe with the Panoramic roof, once you open the roof & drop all the windows away you really won't miss the convertible & you'll also have more to choose from:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202406291...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409194...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409043...

If your looking at pillarless coupes with panroof, then surely it's got to be the Renault avantine?

I had one as a demonstrator when new and it was ace with all the windows down cruising round Birmingham as a young car sales guy!

https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/2003-renaul...