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Did sit in a coupe. Nice interior, and lots of room (especially leg room) in the back seat. If they convert doesn't lose too much leg or shoulder room, should be fine (probably comparable to a Sebring) for a couple of kids. Trunk doesn't look bad either.
The seats were very comfy, and the overall look/feel was pretty upscale (much nicer than a Camry sedan).
If they would just put a stick in the darn thing. maybe the autostick will be entertaining enough.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I test drove a black with beige interior SLE, and with VS and Accessory Package at MSRP of 30,808. The drive can be compared to any large sedan's - very comfortable and stable, you forget you're in a convertible. There is plenty of room in the back and the trunk is rather big for any "topless" automobile.
The dealer only had this one with another one coming in at the end of April. They take orders but that's about it. You pay them MSRP and after the waiting time is over the car is yours.
I walked out of the dealership yesterday and told them that I'll sit on in trying to figure out if it is worth it to pay over 30K for it. They already tried to reach me today 3 times but I'm still thinking about it.
My Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder's (V6, stick shift) lease expires this April and I need to make a decision - never liked paying MSRP.
Good luck to all of you who have decided on Solara - Toyota really put a nice effort in to it.
They knocked off the AMV right away but would not drop below sticker. They offered me $1,000 for my trade-in than another Toyota dealer, but that was sight unseen, so I can well imagine that was going to go away. In the end, we were about $2,000 apart, and no deal was made.
This finish on this showroom vehicle was marred by light straight and circular scratches, fingerprints and handprints all over the body. Poor care!
Steve
I spoke with a Toyota rep. and she said that the Solara convertible should be delivered to dealerships on April 9th.
The top was down on the car. I was able to sit in the car. It is very comfortable to sit in. The leather seats feel great. The back seats have plenty of leg room.
I saw that there are two buttons to the left of the steering wheel for lowering the top and the windows. The cover for the top (when it is down)looks like a person might have trouble putting it on.
I thought that the trunk was a decent size for a convertible.
The only bad part about the Solara was the wood paneling in the car. The wood is UGLY. It does not go with the silver interior dash.
Thanks!
Sure was wishing I had it this past weekend with 75-80 deg weather at the beach. As I said previously, I found $500 off sticker, and that was hard to find. Though, the dealer around the corner did call and offer to match after all. They were just too late since they said up front they wouldn't move of sticker, then I still called on Monday to give them a final chance. I have the impression the dealer I am buying from might not take $500 off again though from comments the sales person has made. I heard only 30 SLEs total (only 6 red) coming into the SE during April. Not many at all.
As others did, we test drove the coupe for a reference point. The size is good. Plus, the coupe and convertible dimensions are on the Toyota site as of last weekend. Size was a consderation since we have two kids. About 6" less at the waist in the conv back seat, and the trunk is about 2 cu ft less. Also got to play with the auto manual, which is cool, though I had trouble adjusting during the test drive. Just strange driving a manual without a clutch. I think I'll like it though.
For safety, the only 4 seater convertible I saw that roll over protection is the Saab 9-3, which has posts that pop out of the rear seat head rests in the event the car goes more than 30 degrees. That is definitely a cool feature, but the higher price with high depreciation on the Saab deterred us. Also, quality on the 9-3 coupe redesign, which debuted in 2003 is rated highly, but I just didn't have confidence. It is a GM now after all.
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The roll bars are hidden within the rear seat headrests. You would have to unscrew the back cover to see them.
Tom
19 days and counting!
It is a cosmic blue/dark stone SLE without NAV. The only options on it are the VSC and the floor mats. They took ~$790 off the sticker price (because of a connection with the owner), and I got the college grad incentive, which made the price very reasonable.
I am very happy with the car in general. Handling is great, I really like the sequential shift option (great for me, who's not comfortable with a manual option). The stability is also the best I have seen in a convertible. There is virtually no sway in the windshield area when hitting bumps, etc.
Any questions feel free to ask.
First impression: unreal at 60-70 mph on the highway how quiet the car is. Very easy to forget the roof comes off.
Car is absolutely amazing. Now all we need in New England is some decent weather to enjoy it!
Tyresmoker - how is the NAV system? Anxious to see how it is in mine.
Icangelat03 - the upkeep of the top is a big concern of mine as well. I will do some research and let you know what I find.
Cheers!
The JBL system in the Solara is touch screen and very intuitive. Which for me is very important as I have no patience for long instructions and tiny buttons!
The way the radio integrates into the system is really neat too. Didn't really want the nav at first but now that we have it, very glad we got it.
AS far as top maintenence, keep the car out of the carwash and it should be fine. Remember, these are made of marine-grade canvas, which is made to sustain some pretty severe elements.
Visit a marine store and look for soaps made for such material.
I was surprised at how much trunk room the car had. The top was already down and my otherwise knowledgeable salesperson did not know how to get the cover off in order to raise the top. I cannot comment on how quiet the car was.
A few quirky things I did note: only one pneumatic prop was installed to hold the hood up; the tilt/telescoping wheel knobs remind me of the cheapness of my 1991 Camry Wagon, the rear windows do not have independent control switches and the three pods on the upper center of the dashboard that hold the clock, etc. look cheesy. Perhaps if they held analog gauges that match the ones in front of the driver I would like them. I also wish the car had other than Bridgestone tires.
It drove great and looked good - the dealer wanted sticker price so I will be waiting a while before seriously looking to deal.
I spoke with a dealer in northern Jersey yesterday (high volume), they are pre-selling every one they get...
Is this common to all convertibles? We are moving to Hawaii so my husband wants to get a convertible - but I don't think I want one if I have to deal with this kind of a ride.
Thanks
Go drive some of the competition. Drive a Volvo C70 and you will run, not walk, back to the Toyota.
A family member has a Lexus SC430 and even that has a pretty fair share of shake. Good luck.
Too bad about the $5k mark-up, my local dealer here in Connecticut had the same mark-up...before he sold them both.
Do you know what brand of tires are on the Solara? I'm wondering if the one I drove had high-performance tires and that made for "bouncier" ride?
Ours has 17" wheels with Bridgestone Potenzas (standard wheel & tire combo). I drive an Expedition which, well, rides and drives like a truck. As a result, the Solara is a pleasure to drive (when i get the chance) in comparision.
Thanks to all who have posted so far. Please keep posting and let us know how things are working with your cars. I've never purchased a car before without test driving one, and hope that this is not a mistake, there just has not been an opportunity because they are selling faster than they can get them on the lots.
I dealer shopped a lot and was able to get 600.00 off MSRP. I wasn't going to pay MSRP because I am a huge tightwad, so was pleased that there was at least a little discount.
I ordered mine without NAV, because I can't really see myself using it and wanted the 6 cd capability. The only options I ordered were traction control and floormats.
The weather is beautiful in Indy right now. Wish I was driving it already. I'll keep you posted. Don't pay sticker!
Thanks, Ken
One small point, the power top button and the "all" windows switch should be back-lit, pretty difficult to see at night.
We took it to Myrtle beach last weekend, and had a blast in it. It got a lot of looks and comments (all good), as it does pretty much everywhere.
As far as comments, pretty much what others have written. The rear visibility is poor with the top up (though I haven't experienced it much). Other than that you forget you're in a convertible when the top is up since the noise is minimal. I like the windscreen, which I wasn't sure about when I got it. It is easy to take on and off, and fits nicely in the trunk. It keeps down enough of the swirl to be useful. I haven't used the boot cover yet. The windows and roof up/down buttons are hard to see at night until you get used to which button is where. Also, I wish you could roll down the left and right rear windows individually, as you can never get two kids to agree on anything. Lot's of cup holders is nice for keeping the kids drinks off of my floor.
It is big! It is only a few inches shorter than our Sienna minivan. This is great for us, as the kids have plenty of room to ride in the back, and there is plenty of room in the trunk for weekend beach trips.
The thing the has surprised me most is the good performance. I didn't really consider performance a high mark of the Solara, and was attracted more to the reliability, looks, and size. However, it corners very well for such a large car. Also, the acceleration is better than I expected. The automatic can delay a bit at some speeds, but once it starts accelerating it does quite nicely. If you don't like the delay in the transmission, the sequential drive (ie, auto-manual or his-her transmission) takes care of that too. One of the funnest things with the car that I do on a regular basis is start blasting out onto the highway after going about 2/3 of the way around the clover leaf.
I can't imagine anyone not loving this car once they get it.
Thanks for the input. I'm glad you are enjoying the solara convertible. How is it over bumps? Lots of cowlshake? How is the handling in general? How does it corner.
In answer to your question I ordered mine from Butler. At first they did not want to bargain at all, but I managed to put together a deal with Ed Martin in Anderson, and then Butler ALMOST met their price, except for a hundred bucks, which I really don't mind paying if I don't have to drive to Anderson.
Good luck!
Ken
The deals on these cars are definitely at the dealers serving smaller markets..
I think the desert sand mica and the dark blue are, by far, the best looking colors on the hardtops. But these don't appear to be available on the ragtops. Dealers giving me conflicting info... a few say these colors will eventually be available.
If not, anyone out there, have a black convertible with a tan top? Can't find one here in the mid-Atlantic. BTW: all the dealers here have been firm at MSRP.
Remember, they are only building about 150 of these cars a week,(compared to 1150 Sebrings per week) so they are still in the "rollout" phase.
Dk. blue was never available on the old bodystyle even though it was offered on the coupe.
And my 1st choice for the Solara was also black with tan interior and a black top. The charcoal grey interior I saw on a black/black was so dark that it looked black too. I don't want to drive the Batmobile. Maybe black/black w/ gray leather?
My other main concern is visibility: the rear window should be wider and taller, especially given the rear-seat headrest concerns others have mentioned. I couldn't see the tail at all during a test drive. How is parallel parking? And I'm not sure if it's the rake of the windshield or if maybe I had the seat too high (in hopes of being able to see the "corners" of the car), but the view out the windshield seemed limited too. Just me or have others noticed this? Just need to "learn" the car and get used to it?
I WANT to love the Solara. But how am I suppose to enjoy it when I'll spend much of my time worrying that I'll scrape up my new $30k car because I can't see the corners when driving or the rear when parking?
Visibility is an issue,as with any convertible,and has to do with getting used to the car. Ever drive a C5 Corvette with the top up? Don't.
See, most consumers would prefer a glass backlight as opposed to plastic, which discolors over time.Also, obviously you cannot put a rear defroster in a plastic window.
MB took some serious heat 14 years ago when they launched the new SL, which had moved upmarket in both technology and price, with a three piece plastic backlight. The interesting thing was the fact that there were no visibility issues! (In fairness, there was also a hardtop for winter driving).
The car was located by a Toyota salesman who is the representative of his dealership for my credit union. On top of a great deal, I don't have to pay the ~$500 destination fee because its being custom ordered (I believe that is why).
I called about 30 dealerships in the Southeast U.S. trying to locate a suitable Solara, but had no luck. I live on Lookout Mtn, GA, but the dealership has offered to fly me to Washington, D.C. and pick me up at the airport for delivery of my car. I actually look forward to the 600 mile drive home.
If anyone wants some advice on locating a Solara Convertible, email me, and I'll share some knowledge I've gained.
Other than that the car is 100 times better than my 2002. Very little cowl shake. Love the NAV and XM satellite but miss the CD changer!