2016 Mini Convertible Cooper S First Drive Review

The contents of an automotive press kit — the materials we receive from the manufacturer during the launch of a new vehicle — tell you a lot about a company’s priorities. A couple of years ago, if you asked Adobe Acrobat Reader to search through one of these documents and count the number of times the words “structural rigidity” were used, it would crash your Dell, dude.

We saw 3-digit-percent improvements in structural rigidity at first, but after a couple generations, they’d often dwindled down to single digits. Imagine the disappointment in reading that “the new Whoziwhatsit offers a stunning 6-percent improvement in torsional rigidity.” That’s like taking your fettuccine out of the boiling water a full second before the timer goes off. Hey now, don’t get crazy.

As structures stopped becoming less dramatically improved generation over generation, we stopped seeing the numbers in the press kits. Real engineering information was gradually replaced with boasts about ultra-cool features such as LEDs that flood the cabin with harsh, flickering light in any of 16.4 million colors. Well, yay.

It’s too bad the press kit for the new Mini Convertible doesn’t include a number for its structural rigidity. I suspect it’s not for lack of space in the PDF—of course, it has a section on interior ambient lighting. But my guess is that the percentage improvement in the new Mini’s structure is so high that they’re embarrassed by it. It may well be on the order of 8 trillion percent.

The last time I drove a drop-top Mini, I wrote in my notes that its interior had “more rattles than a Babies R Us.” Indeed, with all the rigidity of angel hair cooked for a solid hour, that car’s cabin was a jiggling chorus of squeaks—and that was when it was new. I can’t imagine what a 100,000-mile New York City car would be like.

The structural enhancement marks the single biggest improvement in the all-new topless Mini. Buyers of 20-year-old Mercedes SLs won’t get into one and think, “Wow, this thing is solid,” but they won’t suggest you buy one so you can finally use that “SH8KY MNI” license plate you’ve been dreaming of.

Mini also didn’t reveal what percentage of this model’s buyers are female. We suspect it’s way into the 90s, but that’s because the fairer gender is also the smarter one. Women seem to understand that four-seat convertibles are awesome — they have genuine usability and like all convertibles turn an ordinary drive into a special occasion. Especially when they’re as well-done as this car. With the top up, the Mini is a very quiet car. With it down, wind is extraordinarily well-controlled — a rear seat-mounted wind deflector helps there. No skintight ponytails or hats required.

Mini’s convertible top is now fully electric in its operation and takes 18 seconds to open or close — a process that can be accomplished at speeds up to 18 mph. The cloth top also includes a sunroof feature that slides the roof’s header back up to 15 inches for fresh air with reduced sunburn risk. The coolest part about the roof, however, is a new optional gray Union Jack pattern that’s woven into the black material in a herringbone pattern. It’s shticky and gimmicky and so completely adorable that it’ll make you hug this car.

Unfortunately, the top doesn’t recess into the trunk when it’s fully open, so it does cut off the bottoms of cars in the rearview mirror. That’s a problem only if you’re trying to write down the license plate of the car that’s tailgating you. Keep in mind also that this Mini became 4.5 inches less mini than the last one. That’s about double the size difference between the Mercedes CLA and the C-Class — but at least the Convertible swallows some 25 percent more luggage than before. The back seats will fit life-size adults, but keeping your friends under about 5 feet 8 inches tall is recommended. This is still a very small car.

The engines under the hoods of the new Convertible mimic those in the Hardtop model. The base engine is a 134-hp, 1.5-liter three-cylinder good for a Mini-estimated 8.2-second run to 60 mph. The Convertible in Cooper S trim uses a 189-hp, 2.0-liter four to drop that time to 6.7 seconds. And the John Cooper Works model bumps that engine’s output to 228 hp — the 60 time falls to 6.3 seconds.

We drove the Convertible in Cooper S trim equipped with both the new six-speed manual transmission and the optional six-speed automatic. The manual is fine, ruined by a stupid rev-match feature that automatically blips the throttle on downshifts. It cannot be disabled unless stability control is fully turned off, which seems to indicate that Mini wants its manual-transmission buyers to die in car accidents.

The automatic is … also fine with smooth shifts and widely spaced ratios that sap the car from some of the accelerative drama we’ve grown accustomed to in this world of closely spaced eight-speed automatics. With either transmission, the Convertible in Cooper S trim is available with adaptive shocks. We’re not sure why—does anyone want their convertible to ride like an oxcart?

The Convertible brings with it some of the ergonomic flaws we’ve noted on the hardtop models, namely that the iDrive controller, which controls just about everything, is awkward to reach because it’s mounted way too low and too far rearward. The parking brake smacks into the center armrest. It’s tough being a slave to style.

The driving experience is also familiar to the Hardtop’s. The steering is typical Mini, meaning twitchy off center (the press materials refer to this as go-kart handling) with a surprising measure of torque steer thrown in. That said, on tight mountain passes, the Cooper S surprises with commendable body control, loads of grip, and traction control that genuinely helps put the power down without slowing the car. The car is happy to maintain a pace sufficient to make all three of your passengers barf within minutes. We’re not sure if that’s important to most buyers of this car, but we certainly appreciated it.

We didn’t get to try it, but the Mini has one feature that its buyers will certainly appreciate: the rain-warning function. The car knows when you’ve parked it with the roof down, and it watches the local weather forecast and will notify you (via your cellphone) that you should put the top up. That, of the dozens of silly parlor tricks mentioned in the press kit, is the most useful one.

The word LED was mentioned 21 times. And the Mini can park itself. Two useful features that pop up both in the press kit and in real life: an optional flip-up head-up display and automatically deploying rollover protection. And of course, the press kit tells us about the standard Always Open Timer, which not only keeps track of the total minutes you’ve spent driving with the top down but now also includes a resettable trip timer.

Because, you know, that’s more important than a vast improvement in structural rigidity. Kids these days.

2016 MINI Cooper S Convertible
BASE PRICE	$26,800 – $36,450
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front engine, FWD, 4-pass, 2-door convertible
ENGINE	1.5L/134-hp/162-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 12-valve I-3 (Cooper) 2.0L/189-hp/207-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4 (Cooper S) 2.0L/228-hp/236-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4 (JCW)
TRANSMISSION	6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	2,850-3,050 lb (mfr)
WHEELBASE	98.2 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	151.1-152.5 x 68.0 x 55.7 in
0-60 MPH	8.2-8.3 sec (Cooper), 6.7-6-8 sec (Cooper S), 6.3-6.4 sec (JCW, mfr est)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	23-27/33-38/27-31 mpg
ON SALE IN U.S.	Currently

 

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