What's all this about?
Well, it's a MINI Convertible, which kind of does what it says on the tin. Except there's less tin.
Less tin... oh, you mean it has a fabric roof.
Yup, as before there's a proper soft-top. It opens in two stages, starting with a 400mm 'sunroof' section which can be opened at any speed, and then a full retraction, sidebars and all, which takes 18 seconds and you can do that at up to 19mph.
What if it rains?
Well, it will - this is the United Kingdom, after all - so thankfully the roof pops back up in just 15 seconds. There's an air deflector behind the rear seats, for comfort, and a pop-up emergency rollover structure, for safety.
Is this an electric MINI?
No, it's not. In fact the new MINI Convertible is actually based on the old MINI platform, and it's currently offered with two engines choices - a 163hp three-cylinder Cooper C, and a 204hp four-cylinder Cooper S. Oddly, both have more or less the same CO2 emissions (146-148g/km) and fuel economy (43.4mpg) so other than outright cost, there's not much point in going for the slower Cooper C.
How much is that outright cost?
The Cooper C Convertible starts from £26,200 while a Cooper S is £30,600.
It seems to have a funky interior...
Yup, the new MINI Convertible might be the old one, tarted-up, but it does get the same cloth-covered cabin as the new MINI, complete with the gorgeous 9.4-inch circular OLED touchscreen, which is meant to reference the big round speedo of the original 1959 Mini. It's full of tech - including a 'Hey, MINI' digital voice assistant with an on-screen avatar called 'Spike' and you can use your phone as a digital key.
Is it a practical car?
Not really. There are four seats, but only very small people will fit in the back ones, and most owners will, we suspect, use those for extra luggage space. The boot is a small 215 litres with the roof up, but it shrinks to an almost useless 160 litres with the roof down. There is a nice touch though - the boot lid is now hinged at the bottom, just like an original MINI's.
Anything else?
You can tell that this is still an old MINI under the skin thanks to the brake lights, which are big, chunky items instead of the slim, triangular units used by the new electric hatchback. Still, this new MINI Convertible is built in Oxford, so at least it's something of a local hero.
Neil Briscoe - 8 Oct 2024
