Were Chrysler’s 200 convertible, the very standard for four-seat, front-drive convertibles, still alive today, you can bet it’d have tears cascading from its amorphous, blank headlights. That Chrysler would be feeling the pinch from Buick, which just released prices for the four-seat, front-drive 2016 Cascada convertible. Starting just $50 above the 2014 200 convertible’s base price (that was the droptop 200’s final model year), the Buick is not only a far more modern and better-looking piece, but it’s also way better equipped.
If it seems strange that we’re comparing the Cascada to a deceased Chrysler that was once the staple of rental fleets throughout the Sunbelt, the comparison only serves to highlight the Cascada’s near-total lack of direct competition. With the Chrysler entrant to the affordable-convertible marketplace gone, the Buick is left to seek attention in a space vast enough to include Mazda’s MX-5 Miata, the Volkswagen Beetle convertible, and the topless versions of the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro. So it’s a good thing that the Cascada starts at a reasonable $33,990, especially given how it’s chasing the sort of upscale but mid-luxury buyers previously targeted by the Volkswagen Eos (dead), Lexus IS C (basically dead), and the Volvo C70 (ultra-mega dead), and still chased after by the decidedly richer BMW 2-series droptop and the Audi A3 cabriolet.
In fact, Buick seems to have set its sights solely on the Audi, a car which the Cascada undercuts on price by $3535 while laying on more standard equipment. The Buick comes with a 200-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter engine, 20-inch wheels, a seven-inch touch-screen infotainment system, a backup camera, remote engine starting, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather seats, heated front seats and steering wheel, and HID headlights and LED taillights. The base Audi lacks leather, the heated seats and wheel, remote engine starting, and the HID headlights.
Moving past the Audi, the Buick has more stuff included than either the base Ford Mustang convertible or the more premium EcoBoost variant—and way more included for less than the base price of a BMW 228i convertible. Stepping up to the Cascada Premium ($36,990) adds even more content, from safety gear like forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, automatic headlights, and front and rear parking sensors to rain-sensing wipers, front and rear wind deflectors, and different 20-inch wheels.
To the sort of folks shopping for a roofless cruiser, these are things that could help Buick get noticed. We’ve driven the Opel version of the Cascada and found it entirely pleasant and even a little sporty—and Buick’s strategy of taking that same stylish, premium-feeling car and selling it in the U.S. with an attractive price seems wise. Now only time will tell how the shrinking convertible marketplace responds. And with that, may the Chrysler 200 convertible never be invoked again.
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