New Mini Cooper Convertible review

How’s the weather? If you’re in the UK it’s probably overcast or raining, but if the sun is out you've struck it lucky – and it's on sunny days that this Mini Cooper Convertible will really come alive.

That’s not to say the Cooper Convertible is simply a car for hot days and holidays. It’s based on the petrol Mini Cooper so you can use it every day, and a recent face-lift has refreshed the styling and added a new infotainment system.

Despite our weather, the UK is one of the convertible Mini's biggest markets, but then it doesn’t have that many rivals. The main alternatives are the slightly larger VW T-Roc Cabriolet and the sportier Mazda MX-5 two-seater. There’s no all-electric Cooper Convertible, but you might also be considering the Fiat 500e Convertible.

Should you buy a Mini Cooper Convertible over one of those rivals? Read on to find out...

Every Cooper Convertible comes with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, skipping the 1.5-litre engine you’ll find in entry-level versions of the Mini Cooper. That’s great news because it means all versions offer keen performance.

As a result, we think that the entry-level 161bhp engine is all most people will need. You see, it’s a smooth engine and has plenty of gusto from low revs, allowing you to pull away quickly. Plus, it's around a second quicker than the Fiat 500e Convertible from 0-62mph, taking 8.2 seconds officially.

If you’re after even more oomph, you’ll want to consider the more powerful Cooper S version or the John Cooper Works (JCW) hot hatch. So far, we’ve tried the S and can certainly believe the 6.9-seconds 0-62mph sprint time.

Indeed, we found that it had plenty of low-down grunt out of corners to make it entertaining on a country road. While it doesn’t pop and bang like older versions, the Cooper S still sounds quite good in Go Kart sport mode with the roof down. True, some of that sound comes into the car synthetically through its speakers, but it’s a more convincing noise than in the hard-top Cooper.

Our only real demerit is that the Cooper Convertible C and S's seven-speed automatic gearboxes have to be left to their own devices, with no paddles or shifters to allow you to change gears yourself. For more driver engagement, you’ll need the sport auto gearbox, which is standard on the JCW and optional on the other trims.

When you're not driving spiritedly, the automatic gearbox is perfectly smooth, flicking quickly through the gears and dropping down quickly enough when you demand more power. Unlike previous Mini Convertible’s, there’s no option to have a manual gearbox (even on the JCW). 

Like every Mini, the Convertible’s ride is firmly on the, well, firm side of things. That’s not entirely a bad thing, with the stiffness helping to eliminate float and make it feel very controlled as you drive around town or along undulating roads. 

The issue comes when you hit imperfections and potholes, because they send a bit of a thud through the car. On top of that, the lack of a solid roof means the Cooper Convertible’s structure isn’t quite as stiff as the hatchback version’s, so you feel a fairly constant vibration through the steering wheel as you drive along.

It’s not uncomfortable – it’s just that the Fiat 500e Convertible and VW T-Roc Cabriolet are more forgiving over imperfections and generally more comfortable. 

At least the firmness makes the Cooper Convertible better to drive than those rivals, with almost zero body lean while cornering spiritedly. What’s more, the steering is well-weighted and you always know what the front wheels are up to. The only thing to be aware of is that the front tyres will begin to relinquish their grip on the road earlier than you might expect.

If you’re an enthusiastic driver, want a convertible car and can do without the Mini’s tiny rear seats, you’d actually be better served by a Mazda MX-5. That has better-judged steering, a better ride and a sweet manual gearbox. 

With the roof down but the windows and wind deflector up, the Cooper Convertible does a surprisingly good job of isolating occupants from wind bluster. There's some road noise with the hood up, but overall it's quieter than in the 500C Cabrio or T-Roc Convertible.

"With the roof down, I was happily surprised by the noise that the Cooper Convertible S makes in Sport mode. My only hope is that the JCW has retained the fun pops and bangs of older generations, because the S has sadly lost them." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

The driver's seat in the Mini Cooper Convertible is comfortable and there's a reasonably wide range of adjustment, making it easy to find your perfect driving position. Speaking of which, you sit quite low down, giving it a sportier feel than that of the Fiat 500e Convertible or VW T-Roc Cabriolet.

Despite that, forward visibility is mostly pretty good, with the snub-nosed bonnet and upright windscreen pillars allowing you to easily place the car on the road. Only our tallest road testers had a visibility issue, with their long legs causing them to sit further back and placing the windscreen pillars in the way at junctions.

No matter how tall you are, rear visibility isn’t a strong point for the Cooper Convertible. You see, with the roof up, the large fabric rear pillars entirely block the view over your shoulder. When folded down, the roof languishes on the rear deck, filling most of what you see in the rear-view mirror.

Luckily, blind-spot monitoring is standard across the range, to help negate the blind spot-issues, while parking should be easy thanks to standard-fit Parking Assistant and a rear-view camera.

Infotainment was one of the Mini Convertible’s highlights, but that system has now been replaced and things aren’t quite as good as they used to be. True, the new 9.4in infotainment touchscreen is bigger than before and its clarity is much better, but it also does away with the physical rotary controller so it's solely controlled by touch.

It's also not the most intuitive system to use, consisting of lots of small icons and menus that could do with being a little simpler. Overall, it’s a bit more distracting to use on the move than the Mazda MX-5 system, which gets a physical controller and simpler menus.

The Cooper Convertible’s system does at least come with plenty of standard features, including DAB, Bluetooth, built-in sat-nav, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring. Stepping up to S or JCW trim adds wireless phone-charging, while the optional Level 2 pack adds a rather excellent Harman Kardon stereo system.

As part of the latest facelift, the interior has been entirely redesigned to give it a more simplistic and stylish look. It’s a far cry from the drab interiors you’ll find in most rival cars, with fabric inserts on the dashboard and, if you step up the trim levels, either beige or red colouring.

The only shame is that there are more hard plastics than on the pre-facelift car, with most of the centre console and lower portions of the doors featuring cheaper plastics. Even so, the Cooper Convertible is a step up from rivals' interiors and feels solidly put together.

"As stylish as the new interior is, I can’t help but miss the physical air-conditioning controls of old. Making changes through the touchscreen is way more distracting." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

There's a generous amount of space up front in the Mini Cooper Convertible for tall adults, but getting two rear passengers in with the roof up is a bit of a palaver. It involves them ducking beneath the low roof and squeezing in through a very narrow gap created by the tilted-forward front seats. It's much easier with the roof down.

Once the rear passengers are seated, they’ll have more knee room and space under the front seats to place their feet than in a Fiat 500e Convertible. The altogether larger VW T-Roc Cabriolet is a much roomier alternative.

Useful cubbies are dotted around the Cooper Convertible's interior, with the centre console giving you lots of space for your phone, and other odds and ends. Every version gets two cupholders in the front and fairly small door bins.

The boot is rather small, especially with the roof down. For reference, it's larger than the 500e Cabrio's but smaller than the T-Roc Convertible's. Access can be tricky because the bottom-hinged boot lid opens towards you like a drop-down tailgate.

If you have big items to load in, you’ll need to pull a couple of levers to lift the rear section of the roof and give yourself more room to manoeuvre. You’ll also need to make sure you leave enough space to allow the levers to return to their locking position – and, yes, it's as fiddly as it sounds.

At least when you do need some more boot space you can split the rear seatbacks 60/40 then fold them down. When you do, there’s a fairly large step up from the boot floor to the seatbacks, making it a little harder to load long items.

"While the boot isn’t particularly impressive, during our testing we still managed to fit two large backpacks and coats in there – and could still put the roof down. I could easily use it for a weekend away." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

As a cash purchase, the Mini Cooper Convertible is the cheapest four-seat drop-top you can buy, undercutting the Fiat 500e Convertible. It’s also far cheaper when you compare it with other rivals, including the Mazda MX-5 and VW T-Roc Cabriolet. 

Even better, it’s predicted to hold on to its value better than those rival convertibles, with the 500e and MX-5 both depreciating almost twice as quickly over three years. That will be useful if you decide to sell and can have an effect on how much you’ll pay monthly on PCP finance.

It’s worth noting that company car drivers wanting low BIK tax payments will pay less if they go for the 500e because the tax system favours electric cars.

You can have your Cooper Convertible in three trims, but entry-level C is probably all you need. It keeps the cost down and comes with plenty of standard equipment, including 16in alloy wheels, cruise control and a heated steering wheel.

Stepping up to the more powerful S or JCW version adds a few extras, including 17in alloys, heated front seats, automatic high-beam and a head-up display, plus cosmetic differences. The JCW also gets a sport auto gearbox.

To add more kit to your Cooper Convertible, you’ll need to go for one of the three option packs. Level 1 adds the S and JCW kit to the entry-level trim. Level 2 adds an upgraded stereo system. Level 3 adds electric front seats and a fancier augmented-reality sat-nav system.

Mini did incredibly well in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey – claiming the top spot out of 31 brands listed. Mazda came 16th, VW was 18th and Fiat was 25th. Every Mini comes with a three-year, unlimited-mileage standard warranty and three years of roadside assistance. Both can be extended for a price.

The Cooper Convertible has not been appraised for safety by Euro NCAP so we can't tell you how well it protects occupants. It does come with plenty of safety kit though, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist and rear collision avoidance.

"On top of our favourite entry-level trim, I’d be tempted to add the Level 1 pack because it gives you all the kit you get with the higher trim levels but keeps the smaller wheels, which improve ride comfort." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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