When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
If you don't like verts--no problem! It's good we have choices. And for the record I absolutely love the look of that hatchback--in ANY color! But let's not perpetuate the myth that you can't take verts on a road trip. I've taken three in the last year+ and just got back from a 3500 mile trip. I can place as much in the convertible trunk as I can in the trunk of my CTS Cadillac. I can't take my dog and the kitchen sink, but there is ample room for all you need in a vert with room left over for the inevitable stuff you buy on the way. I converted to soft duffel bags to make it a little easier, but other than that have made no sacrifices due to space constraints. Hate on the vert if you want, but don't hate on it for mythological reasons.
Just do it. I live in So Cal and the top is hardly ever up. I've had 3 generations of coupe, but the Vert is the just a whole different feel. Unless you need the big trunk, the vert is the way to go. I've also noticed that that vert is a much quieter than the coupe as well when the top is up. Way too much fun.
I agree. My top is down all summer and I love it. With the top down I can hear the radio with no problem as well as talk on the phone or just have a conversation with my passenger. With the top up, it is much quieter than a coupe with little to no road noise.
My 1st new Corvette 42 years ago, was a 1977 T-top coupe with automatic transmission. The T-tops were miserable to deal with the ON/OFF, and storing them while driving. The automatic transmission was also boring to drive. I decided, never again back then.
I post this picture of my 1989 corvette convertible every time this subject comes up which is several times a year. This WAS my 1989 Corvette Convertible. It was stolen out of my mechanic's parking lot. The thief floored it to probably over 100 miles per hour and tried to negotiate a right turn at that speed. The car flipped upside down onto railroad tracks. The wheels were sticking straight up in the air. This pic is what the car looked like after they flipped it upright. The windshield saved the life of the thief. He not only got out unharmed but ran several blocks away where he was apprehended by the police. Today's vettes are built much better than in 1989. The only thing that I considered a positive that day in 1991 was that a rollover in a vette convertible didn't kill the driver.
If you don't like verts--no problem! It's good we have choices. And for the record I absolutely love the look of that hatchback--in ANY color! But let's not perpetuate the myth that you can't take verts on a road trip. I've taken three in the last year+ and just got back from a 3500 mile trip. I can place as much in the convertible trunk as I can in the trunk of my CTS Cadillac. I can't take my dog and the kitchen sink, but there is ample room for all you need in a vert with room left over for the inevitable stuff you buy on the way. I converted to soft duffel bags to make it a little easier, but other than that have made no sacrifices dues to space constraints. Hate on the vert if you want, but don't hate on it for mythological reasons.
Agree completely. We recently completed a 9 day road trip and had no problems taking everything we needed.
People either love owning a convertible or hate them. I fall in the latter group.
I currently own a coupe and only removed it once because after driving it with the top off I found it too loud (and did not care for the wind blowing me around). A convertible would only be louder and just as much wind.
As far as hatch space. You will not miss it when you really need it then you’ll kick yourself!
Not true, at least for me as I like both, just feel verts have more to offer. A vert C7 with top down has no where near the noise and wind as a coup with the top off.
Not liking the wind blowing on you is one thing and understandable for some, but with regard to quietness, you've been around here long enough to know by now that perhaps paradoxically, convertibles are significantly quieter than coupes top up or down. With the top up, they are separated from rear tire noise without that cavernous echo chamber in the rear cargo area, and with top down, you don't have the buffeting associated with the targa roof off.
What I am saying is whether the top is down or the targa top is off the wind noise is too loud for my taste. And whether I’m riding in my buddy’s convertible with the top down or mine with the targa top removed the wind swirling around either is a big annoyance.
When my targa top is on I don’t get much road noise especially compared to no top.
So for me, not a convertible or targa top off fan.
If you don't like verts--no problem! It's good we have choices. And for the record I absolutely love the look of that hatchback--in ANY color! But let's not perpetuate the myth that you can't take verts on a road trip. I've taken three in the last year+ and just got back from a 3500 mile trip. I can place as much in the convertible trunk as I can in the trunk of my CTS Cadillac. I can't take my dog and the kitchen sink, but there is ample room for all you need in a vert with room left over for the inevitable stuff you buy on the way. I converted to soft duffel bags to make it a little easier, but other than that have made no sacrifices due to space constraints. Hate on the vert if you want, but don't hate on it for mythological reasons.
Judging by your avatar, its probably a good thing you can't bring your dog!
Not to reverse course here, but I gotta admit 80 mph with top down is not a lot of fun, and if it's hot out, you're going to get burned. At lower speeds the only bothersome thing is loud traffic, like dump trucks with the jake brake engaged. I can't even hear the engine then, so it's one of the few times I actually look at the tachometer to see where I'm at. First World Problems, though.
If you're not.going to buy a convertible C7, you're just wasting your Corvette money. That's how I look at it. I suppose it could flip, but unlike many C7 owners, I don't street race my Corvette as many are fond of reporting their hot rodding escapades on public streets and highways. So, I'm probably less likely to flip mine.
I wanted (2) absolute basics in my new C7: 1) Manual transmission, & 2) Convertible. Everything else could be compromised on. But NOT those two.
The hatchbacks are miserable in the wind. They'll beat the hall out of you, and they're noisy in that cavern echo chamber.
To pretend a targa hatchback is a convertible, , is laughable.
I love my C7 convertible:
My new 2017 Stingray convertible:
Completely untrue. My C6 coupes were miserable with the the top off, but I do no have the same issues in my C7. Is it the same experience as a convertible? No...but it's damn sure close enough and the added storage, the beautiful roof line, and the solidity of a coupe made it my choice this time. I do miss my C6 convertible at times...the ease of dropping the top from the driver seat means that I have my top off less on the C7, but when it is off, it's wonderful.
I was going to make a new post about this as I just got the opportunity to drive a convertible C7 for an appreciable amount of time. Full disclosure, I am a coupe guy and I LOVE the targa. To me it just looks cool with the roof on or off and I love driving it roofless as much as is reasonable. Add in the functionality of the hatch and it is just another bonus for me. As another posted mentioned, I think the convertible looks sexy top down, but not so much top up (for me that is a general rule across convertibles, not just the C7). Now I have read people saying that the targa off doesn't even compare to the open air feeling of driving the convertible. Fortunately, we visited family last weekend for the 4th and my father in law just so happens to have a convertible 1LT Z51 that is 2 years older than mine. I was kind of surprised as I drove it because it honestly didn't feel that different to driving mine with the top off. The big differences were the improved visibility when backing up and when looking over my shoulder to merge. But that represented approximately 1% of my total visual input maybe. 99% of the time I was looking forward and the view through the windshield, the view of the sky over the windshield, the side view out the doors, etc all felt the same.
Completely untrue. My C6 coupes were miserable with the the top off, but I do no have the same issues in my C7.
Not for the consensus of reports here on C7s. We're not much concerned with your C6es...
The fact of the matter is that there is excessive wind buffeting experienced in the hatchback C7 with roof off, vs the convertible C7. You're way out in the weeds on this one.
Last edited by Skid Row Joe; 07-13-2018 at 08:21 PM.
Not for the consensus of reports here on C7s. We're not much concerned with your C6es...
The fact of the matter is that there is excessive wind buffeting experienced in the hatchback C7 with roof off, vs the convertible C7. You're way out in the weeds on this one.
I own a coupe and you don’t. Until you have some personal experience living with one every day, your opinion is irrelevant.
The only protection that hardtop provides is from sunburn and bird poop. There is zero structural integrity in a Fiberglass hard top. In a rollover the A pillars collapse and the top comes apart. There is a small margin of protection vs no top at all , but to count on it protecting you is unwise.
I look at it that it is better than no protection at all in a roll over and your buckled in the seats. At least you have a sporting chance. Better to be in the car than ejected and rolled over by your own Vette.
Did you ever see some of the poop that comes out of these birds too?
OP: I bought a C7 convertible - my first convertible and my first Vette. Your concerns are valid for sure, but it is impossible to be 100% safe. What extra degree of risk puts you, uh, over the top? I feel that the primary way a Vette is going to roll is not from hard cornering per se, but from what happens if you leave the road in a curve. It is doubtful that you will exceed the front stick of the car on dry roads but if the tail goes out in a curve, or you hit heavy sand, or any other reason that causes you to leave pavement, it certainly possible that you will roll the car when the two tires on any given side get tripped by a curb, or by the transition to dirt. Especially if you are going down an embankment. In fact, there was a story on this site about an old guy who just bought a Vette and rolled it just that way and killed himself. That said, the C7 has a beefy windshield frame, thanks to rollover requirements. Unless the speeds are really crazy I think there will be enough strength in the C7 structure to prevent a complete pancaking of the car.
I'm not reckless, but I do drive fast where conditions allow, and I rip through curves when appropriate. Go for it. As for travel, if you need extra space just drop the cover in the back to free up the space meant to store the roof when folded. Just remember not to try to lower the roof!!
Perhaps the only real negative is that the vert is not as stiff as the coupe. if you opt for the coupe. you get an additional 20% torsional rigidity of the structure. I do see a bit of steering column shake over bad pavement, and transitions over steep curb-cuts can induce a bit of chassis flex. But these cars were designed from the outset to be verts, so the issue I just mentioned is nothing like what you would get in a 5th gen Camaro or Toyota Solara. And if you live where there are smooth roads you might not notice anything at all.
Go for it. You will not regret it.
Last edited by golden2husky; 07-14-2018 at 08:18 AM.
Well I would think being contained in the car with my lap belt, having a shot of surviving a roll over, than being thrown out of the car and crushed by it. There is at least some protection there.
Dont underestimate the strength of the factory hard top, it is actually a stout piece, seven anchor points to hold it into place so it is at least secure to the car.
I come from the school that if you crash and roll a Vette your we’re doing something you shouldn’t have been doing anyway- although we cannot control others...
Hardtop- Because racecar- Murica-
07-13-2018, 02:48 PM
