Just recently I took Bertha in for a boot problem, they gave me a MCS conv for a loaner (it was an automatic, I don't like automatics!).
I drove it with the top down and found it extremely windy (compared to a Camaro conv that I had previously owned). It was fun, got lots of looks etc (hey, c'mon, we all enjoy that to a point!)
If you are getting one I would buy a wind deflector, I think that it would have made the world of difference.
After three days of driving this conv I was very happy to get my tin top back...
But... it WAS fun... I would buy one for that reason alone...!!!

 

That says it all, Blimey! I've done some autocrossing (with a previous car, not my MINI), and if winning dash plaques and trophies is what you live for, the cabrio may not be for you. Personally, performance is limited not by the car, but by my fear of getting caught going too fast- I can hit triple digits on most interstate on-ramps if I'm so inclined. The very subtle performance loss on the cabrio is a small sacrifice and one virtually impossible to distinguish as others have pointed out. I look forward to driving to work in the morning and take detours on the way home because the cabrio is so fun to drive. It meets my minor functional requirements- see #2 above- so the hour a day I spend in drive time is so much better spent with the cabrio.

 

I had both tin-top and now the cabrio
nothing beats top down motoring

 

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Other thoughts:
* +1 on the heated seats
* I LOVE my multivex side mirrrors - make the blind spot a complete non-issue
* Wind deflector is a must for winter top-down motoring. Today I drove for a couple of hours, top down, HIGH speed country roads, with wind deflector and windows up. Much debate on how that "looks" - but I don't care. With the windows up and the wind deflector, only the top of my scalp feels the wind, and it's very quiet. I LOVE it...

 

Wind deflecter: $300+ Cabrio $30,000+ Year around use for only 1% of the car's cost. It is a bargin for a convertible nut, right Blimey? I'd give up the heated seats before the wind deflecter.

 

Yep. Exactly.

 

To max out your use you need both
it sure beats the days in my 77 MGB.

No such thing as heated seats or a wind deflector