It’s fair to say the new Cooper convertible is the least new of the new, um, new-Mini lineup now available. The brand has basically renewed its entire range in the past couple of years, with 3-door hatches, 5-door family models and SUVs… available in petrol, electric (albeit across different shapes with the same number of doors), standard or go-fast John Cooper Works forms.
Except the convertible. It’s more a substantial update of the previous generation, and only comes with petrol power. You can still have a JCW (no extra power, although you do get trick adaptive suspension), but the one that makes most sense is arguably our mid-range Cooper S, which adds $4k to the price of the Classic and is apparently called the "Favoured" specification.
But look at it. Ain’t she sweet? And it does still fit in with the new lineup rather well in styling (in terms of body panels, only the doors are carried over form the previous model), cabin design and infotainment technology.
Convertibles are an endangered species in New Zealand, small hatchback-based ones like this (they’re “cabriolets” if you want to be picky) especially so. There’s really nothing like the Cooper S convertible on the Kiwi market right now, even putting aside the fact that there’s nothing really like a Mini anyway.
This is still a really good execution of open-top motoring. The Mini hatch body shape translates well to convertible form and the Cooper S still has the clever roof design from previous generations. There’s a pseudo-sunroof (400mm long) that you can power back at any speed, or you can open the entire hood in about 18 seconds, at up to 30km/h.
There’s really nothing like the Cooper S convertible on the Kiwi market right now, even putting aside the fact that there’s nothing really like a Mini anyway.
The roof doesn’t fold away completely (after all, where would it go?), but rather sits atop the boot; so for once, practical necessity works perfectly with retro style. There’s a manual wind-blocker you can clip behind the front seats and flip up in a matter of seconds.
We can go no further without noting the Union Jack graphic on the fabric hood, which is large but actually quite tasteful… in its own way. It's standard with the Favoured trim. The infotainment system still has the Always Open counter, which registers the amount of time you drive with the top down. That’s still a bit silly. But the Harmon Kardon audio (Favoured again) is excellent.
There are two interior 'worlds' to choose from for this model; Mini and its oddball terminology, right?
The Cooper S is not supposed to be a racey roadster driving experience; it’s as much about fashion as fun-in-the-corners, and we’re fine with that. But Mini has still made an effort to give this model decent dynamic character, with extra bracing underneath and sportier suspension compared to the previous model.
The turbo engine has plenty of punch and makes nice noises. The chassis feels pretty stiff - it’s a small car with a short wheelbase, which helps - and you only feel a little flex on the most rippled urban roads or the most aggressive bumpy corners, but if you’re spending a lot of time on the latter you might be missing the point of the Cooper S convertible. You should be letting the powertrain do a little pop-and-crackle on the way to brunch, not exploring the outer limits of handling on a road where nobody’s around to see your cute Mini.
It’s hard not to like the Cooper S convertible, given it doesn’t take itself entirely seriously and it’s in a class of one.
The cabin has the fancy trim and clever illumination of the rest of the new-gen Mini range, including some novel fabric on the dashboard that looks backlit at night but is actually being bathed in light from LEDs above. There are two interior "worlds" to choose from; Mini and its oddball terminology, right?
The big round infotainment screen pays homage to the original Mini and the OS is annoyingly cheerful-looking but still quite intuitive. It’s a shame the phone projection is still limited to a rectangle in the middle when it’s active, but there’s a limit to what can be achieved with third-party systems (although Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are becoming more and more integrated in cars as time goes on).
It’s hard not to like the Cooper S convertible, given it doesn’t take itself entirely seriously and it’s in a class of one. Enjoy.
