407
No vehicles found
If you want a cost-effective open-top car that gives you a proper wind-in-your-hair driving experience, the Mini Convertible could be just what you’re looking for. On top of all that, it’s well equipped, fun to drive and has quite an upmarket interior.
The current version of the Mini Convertible has been on sale since 2016. It’s the third generation of Mini Convertible sold since BMW took over the brand in 2000. It has been updated several times over the years, most recently in 2021.
You can get the Mini Convertible in three forms: Cooper, Cooper S or John Cooper Works. You’ll also come across many models with extra terms in their name – Cooper Exclusive, for instance – indicating that they have a package of extra features. There are several special-edition models, too, including Resolute and Sidewalk. Most Convertibles have a petrol engine (although there are some diesels) and you have the choice of a manual or an automatic gearbox.
The Convertible’s fabric roof opens electrically. It will open fully in 18 seconds and you can be driving at up to 19mph as it unfurls. There’s also a ‘sunroof’ mode – the front 40cm of the roof slides back, opening just the front seats to the elements overhead.
Among the features fitted as standard in all Mini Convertibles are sat nav, Bluetooth, cruise control and rear parking sensors. Many also have air con and there are plenty with luxurious leather upholstery. A vast quantity of ‘personalisation’ options are available on brand-new Minis including things like sticker sets, contrast-colour styling details and many different wheel designs. These may well add to the car’s appeal to you when buying used.
Most Mini Convertible models have very low running costs. According to official figures, petrol models can give average fuel economy of 44mpg to 57mpg; diesel models can give 70mpg. The high-performance John Cooper Works model will cost a bit more in fuel, doing 39mpg.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are 113g/km to 146g/km for petrol models; 100g/km to 104g/km for diesels; 157g/km to 162g/km for the John Cooper Works. Those numbers translate to low annual car tax charges.
The Mini Convertible does cost a bit more than its main rivals, but you may feel its premium-brand image and upmarket interior are worth having.
The only other small, four-seat open-top cars that compare directly with the Mini Convertible are the Fiat 500C and the DS 3 Cabrio. You may also want to consider the Fiat 124 Spider and the Mazda MX-5 sports cars. Each car’s styling has a big bearing on its appeal, but taking that out of the equation, the Mini is a strong option. It stands out for its interior quality and it’s a bit more practical than the Fiat, if not quite as much fun to drive as the Fiat Spider or the Mazda.
The Mini Convertible has four seats and it’s just about roomy enough for four average-size adults to sit together. There’s actually enough space in the front for someone six feet tall to fit reasonably comfortably, but space in the back seats is tight, to say the least. Getting into the back is tricky when the roof is up, too, with not a lot of space to manoeuvre.
Unusually, you open the Convertible’s boot by flipping the lid down, which gives you a platform to rest things on before sliding them in. Even more unusual is the fact that you can fold the base of the fabric roof up to give you a larger boot opening.
There’s only so much space to use, however – the boot’s 215-litre capacity is about the same size as in the Mini Hatch and it shrinks to 160 litres when the roof is folded down. Four large supermarket shopping bags or a couple of carry-on size suitcases will fit, but anything more than that and you might have to use the back seat for storage. All Mini Convertibles have a rear seat back that folds in a 50/50 split, so if you carry something especially long or bulky it may just be up to the job.
The Mini Convertible is essentially a roofless version of the three-door Mini Hatch. It’s the only open-top Mini available, although there was the two-seat Mini Roadster that was available from 2012 to 2015.
Safety organisation Euro NCAP hasn’t assessed the Mini Convertible itself. However, the Mini Hatch was given a respectable four-star safety rating out of a possible five. Safety features included as standard on the Mini Convertible are pop-up roll-over protection, stability control and traction control. Some models also have adaptive cruise control and a system that warns if a front-end collision is likely.