First Drive Review
Top down in a Mini convertible in negative-degree temperatures? It was probably the dumbest decision we’ve made since we decided to buy a 30-year-old school bus from a drunk guy with no bathroom. Okay, so we had the Mini’s windows up, the nuclear-grade seat warmers set to meltdown, the wind blocker in place, and the blast furnace of a heater warming our toes. And, uh, the degrees were Celsius. Still, it was really freaking cold. Good thing we’re the burly (and stupid) type of guys who will brave anything—even frozen hair, by God—to drive a new car.
This second-generation Mini cabrio is, of course, based on the second-generation Mini hatchback, and it uses the same powertrains: a 118-hp, 1.6-liter naturally aspirated four in the base Cooper and a 172-horse turbo version in the Cooper S. (A 200-plus-horse John Cooper Works edition of the convertible is rumored to be in the pipeline, too.) Beyond its slightly larger overall size, the new model’s most noticeable alterations from the previous car include hidden hinges for the drop-down tailgate and electromechanically operated pop-up roll hoops behind the rear seats. The new rollover bars replace the dorky fixed ones and improve visibility somewhat, but the folded top stack still dominates the rear view. The top is available in black, brown, or denim and wiggles its way up or down in 15 seconds and at vehicle speeds up to 20 mph.
Familiar Mini Character
The Cooper and the Cooper S are available with six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. Mini estimates 0-to-60-mph times of 7.0 and 7.2 seconds for manual and automatic S models, respectively; base Coopers, it claims, will take 8.9 and 10.2 seconds. (A dual-clutch gearbox has been considered but isn’t in Mini’s plans for now.) We were able to sample only a manual S during our test drive through the Austrian state of Carinthia. Although we love the S engine’s low-end grunt in most situations—177 lb-ft are on tap at just 1600 rpm—the torque steer from a stop or when powering out of a low-speed corner is bonkers. It’s not unexpected, however, given our experience with other forced-induction Minis. Combine the wheel wrestling with several inches of snow on the road, though, and we were a bit nervous that we’d plunge ourselves off a cliff or careen through the front window of a lederhosen shop. Happily, neither of those things happened.
When we were able to tame the wheel, we found the same accurate and nicely weighted steering we’ve come to expect from Mini. The brakes are responsive and progressive, and the manual gearbox remains a pleasure to use. The chassis has been reinforced over that of the hatch via a doubling of the underfloor crossmember and stiffer A-pillars and side sills. Mini says this droptop is some 10 percent stiffer than the previous model, but the structure still exhibits enough flex and shake to keep the rearview mirror and the cowl jiggling on all but the smoothest surfaces. Weight gain has been kept to a minimum.
Top Down—Most of the Time
We had the top dropped during our Austrian test drive for a total of five-and-a-half hours, a figure we know because of the Mini’s standard Openometer. It’s a gimmicky gauge tacked onto the left side of the info pod behind the steering wheel that measures the total time you’ve enjoyed the wind tickling your follicles. We’d have wound the gauge higher, but we left the top up for an autobahn run in the name of telling you what the Cooper cabrio is like with its head in place. Roof up, the interior is relatively quiet and wind noise is mostly muffled, but—being a convertible and all—the glass rear window is pretty small and the top creates huge blind spots.
The Cooper S cabrio is sporty, feisty, and pugnacious, like the rest of the Mini lineup. But what with the torque steer, chassis flex, and stiff ride, it is neither a perfect boulevardier nor a finely honed Alpine bomber. It’s something in between, and that compromise isn’t entirely satisfying. The 2009 Mini cabrio will go on sale in late March priced at $24,550 for the Cooper and $27,450 for the Cooper S; 2008 models started at $22,600 and $26,050, so the respective price increases aren’t insignificant. Still, this latest Mini cabrio remains fun and cheeky, and that’s what Minis are supposed to be. It’s an experience perhaps worth freezing for.
