Sunroofs

[sierraman]

Who misses having a sunroof on a car? A rare sight today on a modern car.

[SiC]

I really liked having a sunroof on the Laguna. Didn't often open it, unless really hot when getting in the car. However it made it massively brighter inside.

 

I'm on the lookout for a sunroof example of MGB GT as it allows the benefits of a convertible but then the benefits of a mostly hard roof.

[Sir Snipes]

Yes, I like that they allow extra light into the cabin but they always cause problems. Usually clogged drain pipes or perished rubbers causing leaks.

[spike60]

My old Merc S class has a factory tilt and slide sunroof and I'm a fan, despite the problems they can cause in old age. Ace for hot days when you don't want your ear blown off. Mine doesn't park automatically between tilt and slide and had been partly open for ages when I got it. I got 3 litres of water out the rear footwell! Fine now as long as careful.

[spartacus]

The ex Krujoe 106 has one of those aftermarket glass sunroofs that can either tilt or be completely lifted out. It's great for the extra light and when the air-con* is broken.

My G#&f has a factory tilt and slide and it gets used anytime it would be warm enough to open a window, driving from my daughter's school to my place involves a stretch of dual carriageway, the sunroof means they can stay cool and hold a conversation with me.

I'd have a sunroof over air-con any day.

[richardthestag]

back in the 80s when I started driving it was the must have accessory

 

nowadays unless it is a full webasto in good order I avoid them - too much truble

[gordonbennet]

OE tilt and slide on all our cars oddly enough, very handy in the Mrs' Outback cos if she leaves the dogs for a couple of mins they have plenty of air, two glass panels, front panel only tilts, second much larger panel over the rear seats only slides leaving a large space.

 

Rarely use the one in the Landcruiser cos aircon, again only if the dogs are with us.

 

Use the one in the Benz (which is steel not glass) regularly cos no aircon, it does need lubing and working regularly or gets slow.

[sierraman]

Had a tilt and slide sunroof on the Mondeo, was better on the motorway I found for buffeting than having the windows down.

 

I bet there's been some monumental fuck ups in the past with people fitting Britax sunroofs. Measure twice cut once...

[Rod/b]

I've got two of them on my modern Kia Grand MumBus 3000 EGLXS. Can't wait for them to break.

[Matt]

I miss having one a lot, used to use it all the time in my old Polo. 

[cpjitservices]

Loving the sunroof in the Rover, makes it brighter on a hot day and with no air con it helps to cool down a bit. Though, she is now going to be asleep on the drive probs until after the MOT on the 4th of next month. Sun roof doesnt leak either which is a bonus.

[mk2_craig]

Nothing but grief on the Fiesta. Rust round the aperture, leaks through the hinge seals, drains water straight into the sills which then rot from the inside out, etc. I've acquired a sunroof-free roof skin for eventual transplant onto my XR2.

[dollywobbler]

I love 'em. The Proton leaks, the Bluebird leaks, but I still like the extra light.

[carlo]

Absolutely love them, nothing nicer than driving with an open sunroof on a summer evening, and the glass ones make the interior a far nicer place to be.  Have always regretted my daily 405 doesn't have one whereas most of them did.

[tooSavvy]

Didn't often open it, unless really hot when getting in the car. However it made it massively brighter inside.

 

ToMM© has a lovely glass 'moon' (Toyyospeak) and absolutely brightens the inside... so much so that it is quite oppressive (car is LOWWWW roof..) when the blind is pulled across... Sliding it back is a real Ray of Sunshine 

 

Tilt is a gentle fresh air/refresher.....

 

TS

[MorrisItalSLX]

I think they are great. My Jag was the first car I had ever been in with a steel sunroof, they were not very popular in Australia as most people went for A/C and company cars didn't catch on here. It's perfect for sunny days and when the excellent* Jaguar climate control decides its reached its temperature and stops blowing. The best feature of my on is the fact that it actually works and doesn't leak, I hear this is a rare thing in old Jaguars!

[danthecapriman]

I absolutely fucking hate sunroofs! They are the work of the devil!

 

They cause so much grief it's just not worth it at all. Besides that, whoever decided it was a good idea to chop a hole in a cars roof in this country, the wettest country on earth, needs their head examined.

Even on cars I've got/had with sunroofs fitted I never use them. I'm just glad the Mercury and Capri don't have the stupid things.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

I like sunroofs (or sunshine roof as my Jag's handbook calls it) - but not in my car. The roofline is low and sweeping on the XJ40 and there just isn't the room for one - my car's sunroof forces me to have the seat set much lower than I would like. Without a sunroof, the XJ40 actually has good headroom - and the climate control on them is powerful and very efficient, providing it works.

 

That said, my car's sunroof is fully functional and doesn't leak  (the XJ40's sunroof is generally very reliable, though rusting panels are a real problem with them) - and it is a pleasant thing to open half way with the rear windows down slightly. It gives a pleasant light breeze and a feel of openness and listening to the exhaust note is pleasurable. You can't hear that with the windows and roof shut.

[fordperv]

I have mixed feelings about sunroofs, I think the capri looks fantastic with the sunroof on tilt but I could live without it, I like the extra sunlight that the glass tilt and slide lets in on the saph, what I don't like is how many cars have rotted away because of sunroof drains being in stupid places blocking up and rotting floors/sills out

[bramz7]

I think the majority of my cars with sunroofs have had blocked drain holes and/or leaks. They are great for the extra light but that's all.

 

An AX without a sunroof would be odd though.

[mercrocker]

Its a bit like aircon, a real boon on a new car with a big fat warranty, a proper pain in the fucking arse by the time the cars get to our level.   I am thinking of you, Mk2 Grandad which seized solidly half-open about a week after I had it.   

 

Having said that, I love the one on the 190E although it, too, has started to play up.  I am quite happy to go without it once its knackered but an open roof, windows up and all vents on fresh air is a great way to travel - even at motorway speeds.    

  

I prefer electric ones as they seem less prone to seizure.   

[flat4alfa]

This is why we bought Mutipla with its twin opening roofs.  It makes such a difference to a family car, especially on holidays

 

And also why I seek top-end and not bASe efforts, because air conditioning all expensively borks after a while.  It was mandatory when looking for XJ40 because R12 air conditioning was a non-starter

 

Funny this subject came up as last night i was looking about the classifieds to get an Alfa 159 Wagon, but it's proving difficult to find a sunshine roof example

[Sir Snipes]

I really wanted a zetec 1.25 Fiesta when the mk4.5 was new but they didn't do them with sunroofs, so got a Punto instead.

[Bianconeri]

I would welcome the return of the tilt and slide. Kia do offer a variant of my modern with one but there was a delivery time of 4 1/2 thousand years when I bought mine. I dislike the fashion for fixed glass roofs as that's basically turning the car into a greenhouse.

[junkyarddog]

Yep,I like a sunroof,My current Mondeo doesn't have one.

 

My last car a Toyota Celica had one it was great,never leaked or gave any bother at all,

just like the car itself.

 

I for one would like to see them become fashionable again.

[Bren]

We dont have the climate for them.

Plus they now let in filthy diesel fumes from other traffic.

 

My SD1 has an electric one which, unbelievably, still works.

[Yoss]

All three of my cars have them and I use them all the time. First thing I do when I get in the Fav is open the roof. Both Skodas only have cheap aftermarket tilting glass ones (no slide) but they were fitted by Skoda, I think at their import centre in Kings Lynn when they arrived in the UK.

 

When I got the car the roof had been sealed shut with silicone but I soon cut that. Obviously it was going to leak, why else would they seal it but I didn't care, I wanted it open. Turned out not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be (can't say that too often). It doesn't leak when parked, inside is bone dry, I just get a few drops on my head when I go over bumps, it obviously shakes the roof and let's a bit through. I can live with that.

 

The Triumph has a full length Britax (not Webasto) that we cut out of a Dolly in a scrapyard many years ago. Love it, it's almost always open, even sat in the garage now it's open. As someone said above it was a case of measure twice (or more) cut once and trust that my friend knew what he was doing. Twenty years later it's still fine.

[Guest Hooli]

I absolutely fucking hate sunroofs! They are the work of the devil!

 

They cause so much grief it's just not worth it at all. Besides that, whoever decided it was a good idea to chop a hole in a cars roof in this country, the wettest country on earth, needs their head examined.

Even on cars I've got/had with sunroofs fitted I never use them. I'm just glad the Mercury and Capri don't have the stupid things.

 

Totally agree, no sunroof is a big plus for me.

 

The only thing I'll add is they give me sunburn on the top of my head too.

[stuboy]

only miss the tilt bit for motorway driving..

[captain_70s]

I quite like the extra light from the Civic's example, I don't often open it though... Not sure I'd want one in anything much older though as knowing my luck it'd leak like a fucking sieve.