We don't have the best weather in the UK but it's never put us off our convertibles and cabriolets.

And with open-top market motors just getting more refined they are suitable all year round come rain or shine.

There's so much choice out there now so as well as having to decide between two seats or four there's the soft option or hard choice.

Fabric roofs used to be the norm but now there are models with retractable panelled hard-top roofs that concertina into the boot.

It's down to personal choice.

Soft-top roofs now offer good levels of acoustic and thermal insulation so are quiet and comfortably but, even with the roof up, it's still clear you drive a cabriolet.

Other people favour the convertible 'tin-tops', often described to as coupe-convertibles (CC) which look like a conventional car with the roof up but the bulkier roof tends to eat into boot space when stowed.

One in 20 people searching for a used car on Motors.co.uk is after a convertible or cabriolet – no matter whether nationwide or narrowed down to Norfolk and Suffolk.

And with open-tops, buyers are not deterred by older models – in fact, they often have a kind of kudos about them. With many of them second cars, and often garaged in the inclement winter weather, they tend not to cover high mileages.

Nationally, German car-makers dominate the market according to Motors.co.uk searches:

NATIONAL SEARCHES

1 BMW 3 Series.

2 Mercedes-Benz SLK.

3 MINI Convertible.

4 Mazda MX-5.

5 Audi TT.

6 Audi A3.

7 BMW 1 Series.

8 Audi A4.

9 BMW Z4.

10 Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

11 Volkswagen Beetle.

12 Audi A5.

13 Volkswagen Golf.

14 Renault Megane.

15 Saab 9-3.

It's the same contenders in the NR and IP postcodes, but we're more fans of the Mazda MX-5 – the world's best-selling two-seater convertible sports car – which tops the Motors.co.uk searches in the IP postcode area where buyers also seem to prefer two-seaters.

IP POSTCODE SEARCHES

1 Mazda MX-5.

2 BMW 3 Series.

3 BMW Z4.

4 Audi TT.

5 Mercedes-Benz SLK.

6 MINI Convertible.

7 Audi A4.

8 Mercedes-Benz CLS.

9 Renault Megane.

10 Peugeot 207.

11 Audi A3.

12 BMW 1 Series.

13 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class.

14 Volkswagen Golf.

15 Peugeot 207.

NR POSTCODE SEARCHES

1 Mercedes-Benz SLK.

2 BMW 3 Series.

3 Mazda MX-5.

4 MINI Convertible.

5 Audi TT.

6 Porsche Boxster.

7 Audi A3.

8 Volkswagen Golf.

9 Renault Megane.

10 Saab 9-3.

11 BMW Z4.

12 BMW 1 Series.

13 Audi A4.

14 Audi A5.

15 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class.

Dermot Kelleher, director of marketing and business intelligence at Motors.co.uk, said: 'Our obsession with convertibles and cabriolets of all shapes and sizes is as strong as our obsession with the weather. But our unreliable weather doesn't seem to put people off wind-in-the-hair motoring.

'Motor convertibles are capable of dealing with all types of weather, all year round, without owners having to sacrifice any refinement or comfort. And with roofs that are quick to lower or raise – either manually or electrically without leaving the driver's seat - it's not surprising so many people searching Motors.co.uk seem them as an open-and-shut case.

'So here's to blue skies, sunshine and drop-tops.'