2012 & 2013 Nissan Convertible Reviews & Ratings

Nissan has never been particularly well known for its Convertibles even though strangely it is well respected for its sports cars which until recently were almost exclusively hard tops. The first real assembly line Nissan Convertible was a Convertible version of the Nissan Altima. The Convertible market has always been somewhat a niche version of the Coupe and sports car market with most Convertibles coming at a substantial premium over the hard top version, prone to damage more than the sof... (full review continues below)

Nissan has never been particularly well known for its Convertibles even though strangely it is well respected for its sports cars which until recently were almost exclusively hard tops. The first real assembly line Nissan Convertible was a Convertible version of the Nissan Altima. The Convertible market has always been somewhat a niche version of the Coupe and sports car market with most Convertibles coming at a substantial premium over the hard top version, prone to damage more than the softer roof and less secure. But there has always been a romanticism associated with Convertibles and Nissan Convertibles are no exception.

Modern Convertibles come in a wide variety of different types nowadays with models with retractable hard tops, folding hard tops and vastly superior well insulated and durable soft tops available on the market. These days a Convertible offers similar comfort to a regular Coupe and Mazda in particular is very keen on producing a wide range of different Convertible alternatives. Surprisingly Nissan doesn't make a Convertible version of their top end Coupe unlike a lot of other manufacturers and the only traditional Convertible they have in their entire range of 2012 cars is the Nissan 370Z. Nissan did report in 2011 that they will be producing a Convertible version of their popular SUV, the Murano, priced at $47,000 to be released sometime in 2012, however, and this was touted as the first all wheel drive Convertible SUV on the market.

The cheapest new Convertibles on the market are not cheap, a purchase of an entry level Convertible will not leave you with much change out of $30,000. While there are not as many Convertibles as there are Coupes most major manufacturers do have at least one in their line-up just to ensure that they do not miss out on any segment of the potential market. On the budget end of the Convertible scale, there is the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the Ford Mustang. Following these vehicles, there is somewhat of a gap in the market which is only really filled by the BMW 1 series Convertible. The Nissan Convertible falls into the budget range. Once you get around $50,000 and up, there is a sudden explosion of Convertible models such as the Mercedes Benz SLK Class, Porsche Boxster, Audi A5 and the BMW 3 series all of which are vying for the wealthier end of the market where the Convertible is often used as a second or weekend car.

The Nissan Convertible, the 370Z has basically the same performance as the Coupe and comes in 2 trims, the Base Convertible and the Touring Convertible. The Base Convertible costs $42,000 and has the same 3.7 liter V6 engine as the Coupe with 332 horsepower and an electric soft convertible roof and fixed roll bar. Fuel consumption is 18 miles per gallon in the city and 25 miles per gallon on the highway although Convertibles tend to burn more fuel when the top is down due to the reduced aerodynamics.