Road test: Mini Cooper S Convertible manual

Thumbs up for the new top-down Mini, says Mike Stone

Zippy ride: all the new Mini Cooper Convertibles come with six-speed gearboxes

15 April 2016

An immutable law of cars is that every new version of a Mini is bigger than the car it replaces. Lined up next to the last car, the new Mini Cooper Convertible looks a fair chunk bigger, and dwarfs the original British Leyland model.

Mini says it is the only premium four-seater convertible on the UK market, but calling it a four-seater is pushing it. There is precious little room in the back. However, the boot has grown by 25 per cent and the ride is much improved.

The bad news is that with the hood down, your rear view is still severely limited. The good news is that a rear-view camera is standard.

You can configure the Mini Cooper Convertible to your heart’s content. There are choices of 11 different seat styles, 15 wheel designs, four steering wheels and eight interior trim finishes.

Petrol engines are a three-cylinder 1.5 with 136hp in the Cooper, or a four-cylinder two-litre petrol with 192hp in the Cooper S. The diesels are a 1.5 three-pot with 116hp or a 170hp two-litre four-cylinder. All come with six-speed manual or auto gearboxes.

Going roofless costs about £3,500 more than the equivalent hard-top, and prices range from £18,475 for the entry-level Cooper Convertible to £28,205 for the John Cooper Works version soon to arrive. The Mini One Convertible is not coming to the UK.

Only Cooper S cars were available at the car’s launch in California, where it zipped round bends with reassuring aplomb, and handled, cruised and rode in a way unimaginable in Minis of old. All the vital Mini characteristics have been retained and its new hood, which raises and lowers in 18 seconds at up to 18mph, adds to its appeal.

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