MINI Cooper S Review | Comfort and Refinement

MINI Cooper S Convertible

The roof does take some of the boot space reducing the luggage capacity from 165 litres to 120 litres. The rear seats will fold down independently of each other offering more boot space but loading larger items could be difficult as the boot has a small aperture.

Safety and Security

The following safety & security equipment is standard on the MINI Cooper S Convertible:

Park Distance Control , Anti-lock Brakes System (ABS), ASC+T (Automatic Stability Control + Traction Control) and DSC, Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Crash sensor, Disc brakes all round - ventilated at front, Electronic Braking distribution (EBD), MINI Mobility System (MINI MS), Run Flat Indicator (RFI), Smart Airbags - driver and front passenger, Head and Thorax airbags - driver and front passenger, Three-point safety belts with pre-tensioners and belt force limiters, automatic central locking at 10mph, passenger airbag deactivation and 2 x ISOFIX child seat attachments.

The MINI Convertible is prepared in the event of a rollover. A tube of high-strength steel integrated in the A-pillars is able to absorb one and a half times the mass of the car. In addition, the rear dual rollover bars made of high strength aluminium pipes and comprising integral headrests offer high levels of occupant protection in the unlikely event of a rollover.

Our test car was fitted with 17” Web Spoke alloys wheels with run flat tyres, which were a £820 option. Should you suffer a puncture you will be warned by the run flat indicator and can continue your journey at a maximum a speed of 50 mph for up to 80 miles.

With the roof down the alarm still continues to monitor the interior of the car from a lower level which means that you can leave the car with the rood down, with some protection.

Comfort and Refinement

According to MINI's press literature 'once seated in the MINI, it feels instantly right' and we couldn't agree more.

The MINI Convertible is undoubtedly a comfortable place to be, the leather sports seats are supportive and well padded, but they could do with being heated for those evening drives with the roof down.

The drivers seat and the steering wheel are height adjustable enabling you to find the perfect driving position. However, we would have liked the steering wheel to be adjustable for reach as well as rake and we would have preferred that the front seats were adjustable by a rotary dial rather than a lever which makes it difficult to fine tune your seating position. We also disliked the cheap seat tilt mechanism.

The MINI Cooper Convertible's level of standard refinement is high and includes a lockable glove box, remote central locking, cup holders front & rear, electric windows front & rear, electric door mirrors, footwell lamps, 50/50 split folding lockable rear seats and seat back pockets. The Convertible model is not equipped with air-conditioning as standard although it is available as an option. Air-conditioning is standard on the hard-top MINI Cooper S, which we feel is a terrible oversight, we can only assume that MINI have decided that if it is hot you must put your roof down.