The new Mini Cooper is very good but has a few shortcomings that stop it from being great. If there’s one way of making annoying niggles fade into the background of a car, though, it’s the ability to roll back the roof and enjoy all the headroom you could ever want. Maybe, then, the new Mini Cooper Convertible is the pick of the range.
On sale now and with deliveries set to begin early next year, there’s one big surprise with the new Cooper Convertible, and it’s that only the front is new. Glance at the rear, and you’ll note that it’s basically the same design as the outgoing car. We wonder if this is to do with integrating the Convertible’s distinctive drop-down tailgate onto the new Cooper’s rear end, but the result is something with the new car’s front and the old car’s rear – a bit like Car Throttle’s ‘Mk3.5’ VW Golf Convertible.
Mini Cooper Convertible – rear
That’s where the surprises end, though. The Cooper Convertible’s pair of turbocharged powertrains are shared with its hardtop sibling. There’s the 1.5-litre three-cylinder Cooper C, with 161bhp and 184lb ft of torque; and the 2.0-litre four-cylinder Cooper S, packing 201bhp and 221lb ft.
The C will hit 62mph in 8.2 seconds and a top speed of 137mph, while the S improves those figures to 6.9 seconds and 147mph. As you’d expect, those numbers are slightly down on the hatch. Regardless of the powertrain, you’re stuck with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic ’box. Later down the line, we’d expect a hotter JCW Convertible to appear, and a drop-top version of the identically styled but mechanically unrelated electric Mini Cooper E has already been spied testing.
Mini Cooper Convertible – interior
Also like the Cooper hatch, there’s a simplified range and options list. This consists of three trim levels: the stripped-back Classic, the plusher Exclusive, and the Sport, which dresses the car up as a JCW. Optional extras are then bundled into three ‘Levels’, with the price stepping up for each.
In terms of convertible-specific stuff, you get – as has always been the case with modern Minis – an electrically retractable soft top. It can be fully opened in 18 seconds while travelling at up to 19mph, and will close again in 15 seconds. If you’re not in the mood for full drop-top driving, it can pull the usual convertible Mini trick of rolling back by 40cm to provide a kind of sunroof effect.
Mini Cooper Convertible – rear, roof up
The drop-down tailgate gives access to 215 litres of boot space with the roof up and 160 litres with it down. There’s also a deployable roll bar that stays concealed until the car detects that something’s about to go spectacularly wrong. Oh, and the colour you see here – Cooper Grey – is exclusive to the Convertible.
Prices kick off at £26,200 for the Cooper Convertible C, and £30,600 for the S – both increases of £3,900 over their hardtop counterparts. Reckon the joy of a drop-top is worth the extra outlay?
