German Car Zone

of course next CLK will be better than current CLK. But the current CLK doenst have much on the M3 E93. M3 E93 is also a better car than M3 E46 Cabrio despite having higher weight. As I said M3 E93 is more modern and more state of art than CLK63 thats why its so much better.
When next CLK63 comes the gap will be closer.

I still believe next CLK will be heavier than current one. Its going to be larger and if it gets hardtop ala E93 then the weight will raise even higher.

CLK for me. It has better side profile + it's faster. M3 is best as a coupe with carbon roof.

Do you mean that because you can safely stow a hard top when it's wet?
Other than that I cannot see any advantages as far as the weather's concerned. My partner has a CLK 200 Convertible and last week we were out in it in a horrendous thunderstorm. The rain was torrential, bouncing off the road and causing flash floods in no time at all. Even with the wipers on full speed it was difficult to see clearly. There wasn't a single droplet of water anywhere in the car when we stopped; that roof is absolutely watertight.

Last year a friend and I drove down the Le Mans in similar conditions (anyone who was there will know what I mean!) We were in his S4 Cabriolet and that was the same - completely dry inside even after being left standing in pouring rain for hours on end. IMO a well engineered soft top is equally as effective as a hard top in inclement weather.

In Sweden real hardtop is better than cloth roof thanks to bad wheather and snowy winters. Personally I wouldnt buy a convertible since we only have summer like 3 months a year .

Good things with hard-top is:
- It will last long as the rest of the car
- weatherproof
- thieves can't knife it open
- The hard-top is quieter
- Visibility. (With the top in place, the convertible’s visibility is a good as a coupe.)
- temperature insulation
- better rigidity
- better safety if you crash(?)

Bad things:
- weight
- trunk space

Of course there here might be a few exceptions...

Good points Andreas, only I have to say that Sweden is the ultimate convertible country... since you really need to take advantage of every possible ray of sunlight you don't want to get caught in traffic and not have the possibility to get some sun.

The CLK is a pricey and outdated car, but the 6.2 V8 makes it fly. That engine is a gem.

I also agree, great points JM.. thing is a 2+2 hardtop convertible is very hard to style. I would never buy one no matter how well it performs. A droptop has to look sexy, thats a must!