Have you noticed how hard it’s getting to find real peace and quite in this world? I’m not just talking about calls, texts, email or twitter notifications on your mobile. I’m talking about the buzz I wake up to if I doze off in front of my television. The drone my fridge makes when its compressor clicks on. You need an MP3 player with noise cancelling headphones just to drown out the world’s white noise these days.

This is where Mercedes-Benz fits into the world. If you’re in the market for a large, executive vehicle, it doesn’t get much better than driving a Mercedes-Benz. Forget sportiness, performance and technology, a Mercedes-Benz is sumptuously comfortable, it’s a space to reflect and consider your thoughts.

Except now where does that leave Mercedes-Benz and its soft-top convertible, the E250 CGI BlueEfficiency? It’s only fair we pit it against another worthy four-seater convertible contender, the brilliant Audi A5 2.0 T FSI Cabriolet with S-Tronic and Quattro, which has just gone through a Nip/Tuck-style upgrade and has been given new front and rear LED light clusters.

Styling is what four-seater convertibles are all about. The long sloping lines, the lone A-pillar poking out towards the sky. They are the easiest and cheapest way to turn heads this side of supercars. The styling is hugely important and you have to say it is quite difficult to get the design wrong on such a car, a bit like taking a bad picture of Jessica Biel. Mercedes-Benz, however, have somehow underperformed. On its own, the Mercedes-Benz isn’t a bad looking convertible at all, but parked near the Audi, there is no denying it can’t compete with Audi’s total package.

One should consider the styling of the cars that underpin each convertible version; the ungainly E-Class Coupe for Mercedes-Benz and the svelte A5 Coupe for Audi, a car Walter de Silva says was his best design work ever. No wonder then that the Audi emerges as the better looking car with its roof shaved off too. The A5 Cabriolet is probably the best looking four-seat convertible on the road today and it looks as such because of its uncompromised elegance. No practical concern has got in the way of it being as good looking as it can be. Hence the choice of a soft top roof that wouldn’t need a tall boot over the rear wheels and the aluminium detailed A-pillar to grab a little extra attention.

We parked both cars, roofs open, directly outside a heaving, after work, sundowners spot in Cape Town and took note of passersby inspecting each car from our spot on the balcony. The result was beyond question; Audi A5 Cabriolet ’10′, Mercedes-Benz E250 ’6′. Half were women for the Audi and all were men for the Mercedes-Benz. Read into that what you will.

A cruiser must look like an ocean liner when its roof is down. The drive comfort must be just the same and the Mercedes-Benz is hands down the more comfortable of the two, no surprises there. Its extra soft leather may be very beige, but the massaging seats put you in mind of sitting on a comfy sofa at home, while the layout of the controls is intuitive, if a little old fashioned. It really is like it’s made for typical Mercedes-Benz buyers who don’t want too much fuss.

Yet, it’s the Audi that is longer and wider visually. It feels like it offers more space inside the car for you and your passengers too. It does feel like a heavy tank though as you ease through traffic and it has a lower nose you can scrape easier on speed bumps. When you take it out of the city, however, onto a less then smooth road,  the supremely stiff ride quality is much less choppy compared to the Mercedes-Benz.

The Audi A5’s wall of buttons on the dash, steering wheel and front fascia is almost unfathomable compared to the simple Mercedes-Benz. The optional adjustable ‘Audi drive Mode Select’ also adds a further level of complication that’s just not necessary on a soft top convertible. Its close between the two, but the Audi A5 is slightly better nailed together and more modern feeling, while the Mercedes-Benz E250 is easier to operate and the more virtuous at comfort cruising.

It is in the area of power and performance where both cars perform in a way that’s not quite what you’d expect from each brand. First of all the Audi with its 2.0T FSI, 155 kW & 350 Nm, has 5 kW more power and 40 Nm more torque than the Mercedes-Benz E250 CGI’s, 1.8-litre turbocharged engine with 150 kW and 310 Nm. The E250 only makes do with an old generation five speed ‘Touchshift’ automatic transmission, so it’s no surprise then that the Audi gets to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds versus the Mercedes-Benz’s 7.8 seconds. The Audi’s setup is also honed as the sportier of the two, riding harder, flatter and with its Quattro all-wheel-drive. The Audi’s power is sent to all four corners of the car through its 7-speed S-Tronic, dual-clutch transmission, but this also provides some mechanical drag through the heavier drive train.

Despite the Audi beating the Mercedes-Benz in the performance figures and top speed, the Mercedes-Benz is still the better of the two to drive. Its in-line, turbocharged, power delivery is silky smooth, but still responsive. The E250 is also rear-wheel drive of course and that means a good balance when you try to get a lick-on around a twisty road. While the Audi feels almost totally inert with its heavy drive train, hard ride and that’s before you even get fiddling with the changeable driver modes. ‘Dynamic’ is the sufferable setting, while the others of ‘Comfort’, ‘Individual’, ‘Efficiency’ and ‘Auto’ are much of a much-ness and frustrating to cycle through.

The Audi’s steering is vacuous most of the time and when you want to go quickly it just goes rock hard, like all the tyres have lost pressure. The adaptive power steering feels like it’s sometimes caught off guard. Again, it’s too complicated for a car of this sort.

Before we even get to the sordid matter of coin, the styling of the Audi A5 seals the deal. Convertibles are about turning heads and creating envy wherever you go. If you’d wanted performance or more practicality you would’ve bought something else. The Mercedes-Benz E250 is still the better and less complicated car to drive compared to the somewhat joyless Audi A5, but its dynamics are of such little consequence in such a category that we can treat this hollow victory as such. The Audi A5 Cabriolet starts at a base price of R550 500 and you’ll have to go pretty far with the options list to pencil it close to the R703 600 starting price for the Mercedes-Benz E250 Cabriolet. The Audi vanquishes its Mercedes-Benz equivalent by being the cheapest, fastest, most powerful, most economical, more hi-tech and better looking.

When the Audi A5 Coupé was launched in April 2008 it was, and still is, admired for being an athletic, elegant, handsome and stylish grand tourer. So when the cabriolet version arrived just shy of 18 months later, we were keen to discover what the new model’s effect would be on these adjectives.

Interior
Stylish and elegant are two adjectives that are certainly applicable to Audi’s current interiors, no matter which car in their range you refer to. This means you’ll find four very comfortable leather covered seats and steering wheel, ergonomic layout for driver controls and instrumentation, as well as everything you’d expect to find in terms of convenience such as climate control, cruise control, multi-function steering wheel and Audi’s MMI system with colour screen, to name but a few. Additional features are electronically adjustable front seats that move forward to provide easy entry and exit for rear passengers, as well as a seatbelt extender that moves forward from the B-pillar to ‘hand’ you the seatbelt and save you from having to search for it over your shoulder. With the canvas roof up, adult passengers will still find enough headroom in the rear, although legroom is lacking and is likely to result in some shuffling after an hour or so of travel time.

This car’s party trick is of course its fabric roof with glass rear window that can be folded away in just 15 seconds, or closed again in an extra two. Being able to open or close the roof while on the move, at speeds of up to 50 km/h, adds an element of practicality more useful than one may think. A one-touch button on the centre console lowers all four windows to give you true ‘wind in your hair’ motoring. Alternatively, Audi provide a wind deflector that covers the rear seats while keeping your precious hairdo in place and that can be folded and stored in the boot when not in use. Speaking of the boot and luggage space, the A5 Cabriolet has 380-litres on offer, which shrinks to 320 with the roof down, enough space to store luggage for a couples weekend getaway.

Whether the top is up or down, it’s a feel-good cockpit and one which can be enjoyed for hours on end.

Exterior
Audi has taken away none of the A5′s appeal in choosing to remove the roof. In fact, the A5 Cabriolet looks even better with the top down. With the now traditional Audi single-frame grille and eye-catching daytime LED running lights, crowned by the aluminium look windscreen frame, the A5 forges ahead with confidence. A taut and sweeping shoulder line, together with bold wheel arches, housing optional 19-inch wheels on our test car, make for a solid and elegant profile. The cabriolet is rounded off at the rear with a subtle integrated lip spoiler that differs from the hardtop with an integrated third brake light. Distinctive LED tail-lights and sleek diffuser framed by exhausts on either side complete the muscular yet elegant appeal of the car.

The Drive
An easy car to drive and a pleasure to live with, the A5 Cabriolet exudes class. The seating position is low, offering a sense of sportiness and security, with the car still wrapping itself around you even with the top down. We experienced some fierce south-easterly winds with the topless A5, certainly no conditions for top down motoring. However, the car always felt planted on the road and the fabric roof performed well to fend off the relentless wind, conceding a slight whistle only on rare occasions. A 15 mm thick insulating foam layer is also available to further reduce wind noise. When the weather plays along however, the A5 Cabriolet is best enjoyed with the roof neatly tucked away in the boot and the supplied wind-deflector in position, which works well even at high-speed.

Handling from the cabriolet is positive and the car tackled corners with alacrity, thanks to accurate steering, quattro permanent four-wheel drive and the optional low profile 19-inch tyres. The ride was firmer than expected partly due to the large 19′s, but they add to the car’s sex appeal and we’d have no regrets in adding them to our list of options.

Although there are no obvious signs of scuttle shake with the A5 Cab, the torsional rigidity of a car with no roof is always an issue and they’re prone to chassis flex when compared to their hardtop counterparts. Audi has done a commendable job of remedying this by strengthening strategic points of the chassis, in particular the walls of the side sills, transmission tunnel, front and rear cross members as well as the A-pillars. As a result the cabriolet weighs a hefty 250 kg’s over its coupé counterpart, which takes the edge off the 3.2 FSI’s sprinting performance. However, cruising is the cabrio’s forté and as such, the added weight and associated performance penalty are not too much of an issue.

Performance
The 3,2-litre V6 in the A5 Cabriolet 3.2 FSI produces 195 kW and 330 N.m of torque from 3 000 rpm to 5 000 rpm. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 0.5 seconds slower than the lighter coupé model at a claimed 6.9 seconds, but the car doesn’t feel this quick. In reality this cabrio is not going to blow off any hot hatches, but then that’s not a game this car cares to play. Mated to Audi’s 7-speed S tronic gearbox, progress in the 3.2 FSI cabrio is swift and wonderfully smooth. However, the 7th gear does not make as much sense matched with this petrol engine as it does with Audi’s 3,0-litre diesel, which has 170 N.m more torque that saves you having to shift down as often. As a result we preferred using the S tronic’s sport mode, which made use of only 6 gears and is more responsive. With a top speed of 246 km/h the cabrio is no slouch and covers distance quickly and comfortably. Our pick of the range would be the diesel though, as it is quicker off the mark, has lower fuel consumption and works better with the 7-speed S tronic box.

What we like…

• Great looking, classy 2-door cabriolet makes for superb drop-top motoring.
• Solid and well-built feel in every aspect.
• Good handling and road manners mean grace with sufficient pace.

What we would like…

• Better sound quality from the standard sound system – it lacked a bit of depth.
• Slightly more vocal exhausts to hear the great sounding V6 more often.