New Mini Cooper Convertible review: four-seat convertible driven

On sale Early 2025 | Price from £26,200

While days filled with unending sunshine in the UK are a rare sight indeed, that doesn't dampen our enthusiasm for convertible cars. Indeed, British buyers love open-top motoring, which makes this new Mini Cooper Convertible big news indeed.

Like its hatchback sibling, the Mini Cooper, the new Cooper Convertible receives the kind of cutesy styling which will have Instagram-lovers reaching for their cameras, but unlike the regular Cooper, the Convertible isn't available with electric power.

Buyers can instead choose between two petrol engines. The entry-level Cooper C gets a 161bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine which can sprint to 62mph in 8.2sec. We drove the mid-range Cooper S model, which gets 161bhp from its 2.0-litre engine and shortens the 0-62mph time to 6.9sec. It’s peppy and responsive, even if the noise produced sounds rather muted – for more of that, you'll need to go for the range-topping JCW model.

The Mini Cooper Convertible did a good job of soaking up most of the bumps on our test route around parent company BMW's factory in South Carolina, USA, even if the rival Fiat 500C is more comfortable overall at rounding off rougher edges. The accurate and well weighted steering helped the Cooper S to feel agile through bends, too.

Inside, there’s no instrument cluster, with driving data instead being presented on a rounded touchscreen in the centre of the dash, plus a head-up display which beams information into the windscreen directly in the driver's eyeline.

The system offers flashy graphics and lots of customisation, but its smaller icons are hard to hit on the move. If you’d rather speak to your car, then saying ‘Hey, Mini’ activates the car’s personal assistant, which can handle things like navigation and communication without you having to delve into the touchscreen. There's also Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring.

Drivers can choose from seven ‘experience’ modes using a toggle switch inside the car, but only three of these actually alter the way the car drives. Eco dulls the accelerator response in the pursuit of fuel economy, for example, while Core balances everything, and Go-Kart mode sharpens the responses. 

We liked the level of gameification involved in making the changes from these modes seem important. In Eco mode, for example, an icon in the centre of the infotainment screen changes from a bird to a running puma if you drive too harshly, which incentivised us to stay light with our right foot.

Space in the front is good, but larger passengers in the rear seats will find shoulder room restricted by thick pillars. Head and leg room are decent, though, even with the roof up. Speaking of the roof, the Cooper Convertible's soft-top can be deployed in 18 seconds at speeds of up to 19mph, or closed in 15 seconds. 

It can be lowered in two stages, with the first press of the relevant button opening it to 40cm, to act as a sunroof, and the second dropping it entirely. As you might expect, leaving the Mini Cooper open to the elements does limit boot space – but you’ll still fit more inside its boot than you could into the Mazda MX-5. With the roof up, the space expands, but don’t expect to match the six carry-on suitcases we fitted into the larger Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet.

Drivers can choose between Classic, Exclusive and Sport trim levels, but the changes between them are mostly cosmetic, and you’ll want to browse over Mini’s option packs to get all the kit you want. With prices starting from £26,200, you’ll pay more for the Mini Cooper Convertible than you would for the Fiat 500C, while the MX-5 – which only offers two seats where the Mini Cooper Convertible has four – is more expensive still. 

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