MINI Cooper Convertible Review
Published: 16th February 2005
MINI Cooper Convertible
How It Looks - Interior
According to MINI's press literature 'the interior design has transplanted the simple and straightforward look of the original into the 21st Century' and what a superb job they have done.
We were recently amused by an American’s commentator's view of the MINI - he said that he did not like the layout of the dashboard and we quote 'what was going though BMW’s mind when they put the speedo in the centre of the dash' - oh well perhaps he had never seen a Classic MINI.
If the central speedometers location bothers you, you can specify - the Cockpit Chrono Pack which is priced at £120 and positions the speedo next to the rev counter in the conventional dead ahead position.
The interior styling of the MINI Cooper is as you would expect of a BMW product both functional and uncluttered - with a dash of fun.
All the instruments are framed in silver and the MINI Cooper dashboard trim matches the exterior colour. A circular theme prevails throughout the cabin with circular instruments, air vents, speakers in the doors, interior door handles and MINI logo on the steering wheel. Chrome also features heavily contrasting perfectly with the silver trim.
Our test car was equipped with GRAVITY leather upholstery in dark blue (£520 option) which was of superb quality and complemented the exterior colour of the car.
In Car Entertainment and Satellite Navigation
Radio BOOST - single slot CD player with 6 speakers four in the front doors and two in the rear. The overall sound quality was above average with good acoustics.
Rivals
What We Liked
- Almost everything
- Open top motoring at the touch of a button
- The exterior and interior styling
- The Kudos
- The engine, gearbox and handling
- The overall driving experience
- Powerful heater
What We Disliked
- Fiddly switchgear
- Rear vision
- The quality of some of the plastics
What We'd Like To See
- One in our driveway
- Heated seats as standard
