You might not be allowed to wander the streets topless in Spain, but you can get your top off on UK roads. We’ve listed the five best convertibles for British weather based on affordability and ease of exposure. We’d hate for you to get caught in a sudden downpour and not be able to get your top back on!

When it comes to convertibles, Brits are the Queens of the road. We love the sun and because we don’t get so much of it, a convertible is the perfect solution. These five best convertibles are great for home or taking on a trip to Europe. Just make sure you keep your top on when away from the beach.

Jeep Wrangler – one of the best convertibles in 4WD style

Price range used: £3,500 – £10,000

Ease of getting your top off: 3-stars

Not all convertibles are sports cars, in fact, some of the best convertibles are go-anywhere 4WDs. The Jeep Wrangler is one of the best in this category with a strong history of go-anywhere-ness that links right back to WW2!

The Wrangler convertible can just about squeeze in five people, but convertibles aren’t known for their roomy back seats. It’s not just the roof that comes off on this convertible, the doors and front windscreen are removable too – great for the UK’s annual 4-day heatwave.

That said, the hard tops and soft tops are both a bit of a faff to remove and replace.

Soft tops are a little better as they fold away neatly with side and back windows fitting easily in the boot. But there’s lots of Velcro, clipping/unclipping, and folding to get everything tucked neatly away.

Hard tops have a bunch of clips and screws that need to be released before pushing the roof off from the inside. Start from the driver’s side and move across to the passenger’s side. Once the roof’s popped off, getting the pieces into the back storage compartment can feel a little like a game of Tetris. However, after doing it a few times, it becomes pretty routine.

Mazda MX5 – most popular convertible

Price range used: £8,000 – £25,000

Ease of getting your top off: 4-stars

Sporty, reliable and one of the world’s most popular roadsters, the Mazda MX5 is a classic convertible. It’d be remiss of us not to include it in our line-up. It’s because it’s so lightweight, fun to drive and has some good insulation to keep the cold and noise out, that it makes our top five best convertibles.

This little number is compact and sporty. There’s only room for two, but you should be able to adjust the seat and steering wheel to get your ideal position and passengers get just enough leg room. The firmer suspension delivers a comfortable ride and excellent cornering control.

Getting the soft-top roof down is fairly straightforward. Undo a few clips, unlock a few leavers and push everything back until it locks into the down position. The hard top version is even easier, it has an electric mechanism that does everything for you. You’ll just need to make sure the area where the top connects with the body is kept clear of leaves and other random debris.

Mini Cooper convertible – easiest to convert convertible

Price range used: £8,000 – £29,000

Ease of getting your top off: 5-stars

The Mini Cooper is as fun as it is classic. The soft-top convertible is a great choice for those who want to make the most of summer. The roof won’t completely tuck away as the Wrangler or MX5 does. Instead, it sits neatly folded at the back, like a baby buggy’s hood. We quite like this as it’s in keeping with the whole Mini styling.

The interior is quality and feels top-notch. She’s also a fairly cheap car to run and maintain. Rear visibility isn’t great for the convertible as the rear windscreen is a clear plastic that can distort your view. Handling is good and just like her hard top sisters, she’s fun to drive in the city or take on longer journeys.

The Mini Cooper convertible gets a full 5-stars for ease of getting your top down. At the click of a button, things fold back. You’ll be open to the elements in around 18 seconds and can even get your top up and down while moving – just keep your speed to under 30 MPH.

BMW Z4 – speedy sports car convertible

Price range used: £23,800 – £47,000

Ease of getting your top off: 4-stars

Even the lowest spec Z4 has excellent handling and there’s plenty of power available for zooming along open winding roads too. The BMW Z4 is a sports car through and through and all models can go from 0 – 62mph in less than 6 seconds. The turbo-charged option will, of course, do it in less time.

The interior is exactly as you’d expect from BMW – classy, plenty of room (even in the boot), and with lashings of tech to up your convenience when driving. The Z4 is a fairly fuel-efficient convertible too, another reason this one has made it to our top 5 best convertible cars for summer.

The Z4s top will go down at the touch of a button as long as the safety boot curtain is in place. You’ll also need to be stationary to activate the roof. You can pull away after getting the roof in motion, but you’ll need to keep your speed down for safety.

Alfa Romeo 4C Spyder – stylish convertible

Price range used: £30,000 – £53,000

Ease of getting your top off: 3-stars

Alfa Romeo’s Spyder is gorgeous. Each 4C Spyder that Alfa makes is completely customisable, and you can rely on getting a high-performing engine, agile handling and plenty of grip to take twists and turns comfortably at a satisfying speed. Visibility is pretty good all-around too.

The 4C Spyder is small, light-weight and clearly designed to be a thrilling ride. She’s not really that practical though and some of the interior finishes feel a little tacky-plasticky. The cabin is roomy enough and the boot is deep but small. You’ll fit a few overnight bags in there, but don’t expect to do the grocery run in this little number.

As for getting the roof up and down, it’s a manual exercise of unclipping from the passenger side and rolling the roof across to the driver’s side. You’ll need to stow the roof in the boot, so don’t expect to have the roof off when getting away for the weekend.