Presumably you've bought the larger car now, so that the drop-top is just a 'weekend car' for drives out and visits to friends/family/evenings out etc? Do you need a 4-seater and/or decent boot space for the convertable? Is styling, comfort, handling and/or performance the main priority? What's the budget? Expected annual mileage and how long do you wish to keep it?

If not, I would seriously consider a Mazda MX-5 unless you're worried about 'status', given it'll out handle all the above, won't hurt your wallet (buying or running) anywhere near as much as its German 'rivals' and is more reliable. Fair enough if you need the extra room.

I would check out the Car-by-Car reviews for each of your initial choices here:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar?/

You may be able to make some useful headway using the 'car chooser' as well...

Edited by Engineer Andy on 03/05/2017 at 11:20

Wouldn't have another rag top as vegetation loved to grow in the fabric roof. Now I have an SLK which has been excellent.

Out of your choices the BMW for me.

Budget is important here as newer Audis aren't as thirsty. If I could afford a new or newish convertible it would be either a BMW petrol straight-six or (if it needed to be cheaper to buy and run) an Audi A3 with the 1.4 or 2.0 TSI petrol engine. The 1.4 will easily top 50 mpg on a long run.