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"The Outside" is why people buy Cabrios. Namely, folding roof. This is technicaly said but it makes the difference. (If nothing else, it takes less time to polish the car:-).

Roof: On R19 Cabrio, the roof is made from black textile (in case of ARIA model, it was a blue textile). It has more layers. The top one is wheather proof and very stiff material. Medium layer is something like a sleeping bag. Thanx to this, the roof provide more insulation than normal steel roof.
The folding mechanism is very smart and it takes very short time to fold or unfold the roof. It is mainly made of aluminium, so it is relativelly light. It has some possibility to adjust how it fits to frameless windows and if you have a problem with wind noise or water leaking through the windows, it is worth to experiment with it.
To allow for back view, there is a transparent, flexible plastic window glued and sewed into the roof. It is not as clear as glass (esp. at night, lights behind you create flower-like pictures on the window), but good enough for the purpose. Be carefull when cleaning it not to scratch it, when folding the roof not to break it! Note, as the window is made from plastic, it can not be defrosted by resistor wire, but it uses a hot air fan.

Roof maintenence: The roof is made to last "for ever". However, from my german manual (though I do not speak German) I understand, that textile roof should not be washed in automatic car wash, as the rotating brushes can damage it. It should be cleaned with the brush in the direction from the front to the back of the car. I am still thinking about getting some chemicals for fabrics protection. I have seen some cabrios with black black roof and I think that it was due to some chemicals used.

Windows: As I said, windows are frameless. It means that there is no rail in which the glass could move. If watter has not to get in, windows have to fit the sealings very well. If the glass is twisted, turned outside, contact between them and sealings is too loose and water can leak through.
On the other hand: all four windows are motorized, after you wind them down, there is no glass restricting the view or the air. This is different from Megane Cabrio, where front, triangular part of the front windows is solid.

Some more or less serious pictures of my R19 Cabrio 1.8i

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jablonne1-17 cut out.jpg (28638 bytes)

jablonne1-17 flocking.jpg (79018 bytes) jablonne1-17 red negative.jpg (67788 bytes)