Golf Convertible is Back

I always liked the Golf Convertible. It was the small, fun little convertible which you could justify buying because it just did not cost that much. Similar in some ways to the older Saab 900/9-3 convertibles from the mid-90's, one of which I just sold. Get it with a stick-shift and even with less than 130hp, you could have a lot of fun in the summer. If I had a beach house, or a place on a little island off the east coast, I would love to keep one of the old ones around.

But in 2003, with the New Beetle convertible and the folding-hardtop Eos on the way, VW killed off the drop-top-golf.

And now its back. Convertibles are rarely a practical option. And at this price range, you are generally looking at the convertible as a second car, one which can do commuting duty and be fun in the summer. The Eos is too expensive and too heavy: folding hard-tops are nice, but they are often the worst of both worlds rather than the best (no trunk space, heavy, complex, expensive).

The new Golf? It looks good. Having just sold my convertible, I can tell you: I want one again, sometime. Any convertible is fun. Make it kind of sporty, give it a stickshift, and make the soft-top automatic, and its a hell of a fun car. So, I am glad VW decided to bring this fun little performer back.