Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £15,995 to £19,000
Very cute, very fashionable, very well-built, very desirable.
Not that fast, not that cheap.
There was a five-month waiting list for a long time. Says it all, really.
Visibility out of the small rear glass window is a bit limited, and with the roof folded down behind the rear seats, it's more limited still - but then this goes with the territory. Parking sensors are standard-fit, anyway, and the Mini's responsive, accurate handling and predictable, obedient road manners are as exemplary as in the hatchback, if not quite so razor-sharp - the additional strengthening needed to maintain rigidity in a roofless body has paid a price.
The Convertible has the new five-speed Getrag gearbox (Cooper S versions have a six-speed version) which is slicker and more precise than the old Peugeot-derived transmission on the earlier hatchbacks, with lower-ratio gears for quicker progress off the mark. CVT clutchless transmission is optional.
The tin-topped Mini One and Cooper aren't quick, and with an extra 100kg of reinforcements and body strengthening to weigh it down, the Convertible versions struggle a little when pushed. They're not as slow as expected, however, and are more than competent runarounds. Sportier-minded drivers should go for the supercharged Cooper S, with its power upped to 170bhp - it's a more convincing sports car altogether.
Latest Readers' Drives About the MINI Cooper Convertible
wrote on 14 09 2007
wrote on 18 08 2006