What Car? Personal Shopper: best convertible car for £30,000
Buying used
- Our recommended choice: 2018 Audi A5 Cabriolet
- Price: £29,490
- Mileage: 6000
At this price point, you can get yourself behind the wheel of one of our favourite convertibles, the Audi A5 Cabriolet. There has always been plenty to like about the drop-top A5: it’s sporty, elegant and comes with all the high-quality touches that typically sets an Audi apart from its competitors.
Being based on the award-winning Audi A4 executive saloon, a supremely refined and competent performer, it's comfortable and handles well. It doesn’t disappoint inside, either, pipping the quality of its rivals with upmarket materials everywhere you look and touch. It's a drop-top bargain.
Read our used Audi A5 Cabriolet review
- Also consider: 2015 Porsche Boxster 2.7
- Price: £30,000
- Mileage: 40,000
Now things are beginning to get a bit serious. If you're after pure, unadulterated fun (and let's be honest, who isn't?) on this budget, you can buy a Porsche Boxster. It's a brilliant sports car with a prestige badge that combines five-star straight-line performance with unequalled cornering delight; nothing can match it for sheer driver involvement. Our money buys a well-kept three-year-old example of the previous-generation model with its far more popular flat-six engine. So, with strong performance and strong residual values, it's a great buy.
Read our used Porsche Boxster review
- Also consider: 2015 Lotus Elise 1.8 S
- Price: £28,140
- Mileage: 11,000
The Lotus Elise is possibly the most fun you can have for £30,000 while keeping things decent. Few cars handle as well; it has unbelievable grip and superb balance, making any corner a joy to push through. The steering, meanwhile, is a lesson to other car makers in providing communication. Performance is terrific, too; although it has a relatively small engine, the Elise weighs about as much as a bag of crisps, meaning it doesn't need much power to provide blistering speed. So that's exactly what you get, along with top residual values.
Read our used Lotus Elise review
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