2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible Manual

Minis are notoriously quirky, and the 2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible is no exception. Most of the little droptop’s eccentricities are shared with its Hardtop counterpart—like the one we recently parted ways with after spending 40,000 miles behind its three-spoke steering wheel. Peculiarities include a headlight switch mounted low by the driver’s left knee and angled toward the floor, as well as a cumbersome center armrest that interferes with both the shifting of the Mini’s satisfying six-speed manual transmission and access to the car’s available navigation controls.

Ergonomic oddities notwithstanding, there’s a lot to like about Mini’s latest ragtop, which is now built on the larger, third-generation platform that debuted under the 2014 Hardtop. Let’s address the elephant in the room first: The 2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible isn’t cheap. With a starting price of $30,450, it costs $2760 more than a base Fiat 500C Abarth (and $5500 more than a base Mini Cooper S Hardtop). Unlike the Fiat, though, the Mini is a true convertible—there are no B- or C-pillars or fixed pieces of side glass. If a glorified sunroof suffices, give the Fiat a look. But for the wind-in-your-hair experience associated with convertible ownership, the chic little Italian feels inhibited.

In addition to standard features such as dual-zone automatic climate control, well-bolstered leatherette sport seats, and Mini’s cheeky Always Open Timer that clocks how long you’ve driven with the top down, our test car also included a $500 coat of Melting Silver metallic paint, a $1500 Sport package (adaptive dampers, 17-inch wheels, and LED foglights and headlights), and a $1700 Technology package that includes an 8.8-inch center-mounted display screen with navigation, a rearview camera, and rear parking sensors. Among the nickel-and-dime items was the $250 Storage package, consisting of a storage net in the passenger footwell and two in the cargo area as well as a 12-volt power socket back there. Many automakers would make all those things standard in upper trim levels such as the S, but that’s not the Mini way. All told, our test car rang in at $34,450, yet it lacked common features like heated seats, SiriusXM satellite radio, and a proximity-sensing keyless-entry system (although it did have keyless start).

It’s Tricky

Mini incentivizes using the key fob by letting customers drop the little car’s top with a simple, prolonged push of its unlock button. Operating the top remotely is merely its, ahem, opening act. With it up, get inside and tap the header-mounted toggle switch, and the front portion of the roof slides back like a sunroof, even at highway speeds. It’s a parlor trick shared with the two previous Mini convertibles, and its simple ingenuity continues to delight.

The Cooper S Convertible’s real stunt is its ability to fold its top entirely in as little as 18 seconds at speeds up to 18 mph (the top closes in the same amount of time and at the same speeds). And thanks to hidden roll bars that can quickly pop up if the vehicle senses an impending rollover, the latest convertible offers superior rearward visibility compared with its predecessors. This isn’t to say it’s perfect—the stacked top still blocks too much of the view—but it’s far better than previous iterations of the British droptop, especially when it comes to top-up visibility, as the car’s roll bars no longer block large portions of the rear glass window. A regulatory quirk forbids Mini from offering Americans the fold-down rear headrests it uses in Europe, but if no one is sitting back there, the ones used here can be removed entirely.

In ditching the metal roof, though, Mini also threw out much of the little car’s torsional rigidity. On all but the smoothest surfaces, the convertible’s chassis wiggles and jiggles over road irregularities, particularly when the Dynamic Damper Control is set to Sport mode. Opt for Normal mode, and the ride quality improves; cowl shake, however, remains.

Rattle and Hum

The sprightly Brit’s rigid ride is a boon in the handling department, where quick steering responses and minimal body roll make the car a joy to toss around tight turns. Equipped with grippy Pirelli P Zero run-flat summer tires, the Cooper S Convertible circled our skidpad at 0.91 g—only 0.01 g off the last John Cooper Works Hardtop we tested.

Despite weighing 2978 pounds, this stick-shift Cooper S proved lively in a straight line, recording a zero-to-60-mph run of 6.2 seconds and sprinting through the quarter-mile in 14.7 seconds at 96 mph. These figures better what we achieved in a 147-pound-lighter previous-gen, six-speed-manual Mini Cooper S Convertible by 0.5 and 0.4 seconds and 3 mph.

Credit the smooth and responsive 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. With 189 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque, the nearly turbo-lag-free four-banger (peak torque arrives at 1250 rpm) bests the old car’s 1.6-liter turbo four by 8 horsepower and 15 lb-ft. Unfortunately, the engine’s extra displacement and the car’s additional weight take their toll at the fuel pump, as this Mini earns unimpressive (for its size) EPA fuel-economy figures of 23 mpg city and 33 mpg highway—down 3 and 2 mpg compared with the old car. Our test car sipped a gallon of premium fuel every 24 miles.

Junk in the Trunk

Thanks to a growth spurt that adds 1.1 inches to the wheelbase and 5.1 inches to overall length, it’s now possible to fit actual (small) human beings in the Mini’s cramped 50/50 split-folding rear seats. Likewise, the Cooper S Convertible’s bottom-hinged trunklid opens to reveal a reasonably roomy cargo hold. At 7.6 cubic feet, the Mini’s trunk actually bests the bigger, similarly priced Volkswagen Beetle convertible 2.0T R-Line’s by 0.5 cubic foot. With tops down, though, the Beetle has a 1.4-cubic-foot edge.

Although we bemoaned the Mini Hardtop’s added girth, the extra inches actually befit the convertible. Simply put, the functional gains (most notably, a reasonably sized trunk and a more habitable rear seat) outweigh the dynamic deficiencies.

Specifications >

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door convertible

PRICE AS TESTED: $34,450 (base price: $30,450)

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 122 cu in, 1998 cc
Power: 189 hp @ 5000 rpm
Torque: 207 lb-ft @ 1250 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 98.2 in
Length: 151.9 in
Width: 68.0 in Height: 55.7 in
Passenger volume: 77 cu ft
Cargo volume (top up/down): 8/6 cu ft
Curb weight: 2978 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 6.2 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 16.0 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 36.0 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 6.8 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 8.5 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 6.9 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.7 sec @ 96 mph
Top speed (mfr's est): 143 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 158 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.91 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 23/33 mpg
C/D observed: 24 mpg