Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Hatchbacks MINI Cooper MINI Cooper Convertible
141 messages, Last post on Feb 22, 2008 at 6:05 PM
You are in the MINI Cooper Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
|
Hi, Just test drove a mini convertible tonight. Expected to take it around the block, nothing more. The dealer put the top down. I made a right out of the lot driveway, and never wanted to come back!!!!! It was just awesome to drive. The car felt so much bigger than it looks. Wasn't chilly with the top down, either. Was looking to check out an automatic, but it won't be available in this model until the middle to end of November.... Ne'er fear, the stick was a dream to use... You should see how the trunk works, it's so cooool! I found this site with all sorts of pics from various angles of the Mini convertible. They were taken at the March, 2004 Geneva International Motor Show. http://www.mini2.com/news/news221.html Okay, so I've been bitten by the bug. I don't care what I need to take with me, and if doesn't have the room of an SUV.... It's like I must consider living my life, top down? Regards |
|
|
I gotta say, it's fun just reading your post, feeling the enthusiasm. Get one. You only life once, man! Which story do you want to tell your grandkids, that you bought a practical car, or that you owned one of the original Cooper drop-tops? They might leave the room if you choose wrong.  -juice |
|
|
Wow, tons of pics. The back seat looks bolt-upright. I don't think my kid's booster seat would even fit in properly. Also, the rear seat base is really sculpted. I wonder if Mini will have a custom-fit booster. Or even if the kids will fit in the regular seat without a booster (safely). Seat width might also be an issue. I doubt I could squeeze in 2 child seats side by side. It does look bigger than I thought, though. I'll take the kids to the next car show and we'll test fit one for kicks. Are they in dealers yet? -juice
|
|
|
Replying to: ateixeira (Sep 23, 2004 6:29 am) My dealer gave me the pleasure of tooling around this afternoon in a different mini convertible. Gosh... It's such a terrific car. I also took it on the highway, and didn't feel too much buffeting. It's so cool to have different options for the roof from top down, to up, to half-open. You can also have the windows open and closed for a different effect, too. The backseat looks kind of sloped to me, when I think about it. There is a special latch that moves the seat forward and down to get in the back. I saw someone else try it, and they had a full-size adult in the back. The dealer I was at today, has three or 4 convertibles: Cool blue with a blue top, purple haze with a black top, all black, an orange and black one (I think), and a Mini S which is about $31,000. Oh, I don't know what to do. It's roomy, but as much as they try to make the trunk practical, I fear I won't have enough room for groceries, etc. Of course, you can put the seats down. The hatchback seems much bigger inside, in the back that is. What was nice of this dealership is that they allowed me to test-drive the hardtops in comparison: two automatics (one with 15 and the other with 16 inch wheels), and a stick. I would really prefer to have an automatic, but the stick drove better in the hardtop. The 15 inch wheels made much less road-noise. The stick in the hardtop was a little harder than the stick in the convertible.... Decisions, decisions, decisions... We'll see. I understand that they can be okay in the snow.... If I kept the top down, I wouldn't have much of a problem in getting things in and out of the car. Lastly, I drive into the City alot. What's nice about the mini convertible, especially, is that I can sit in traffic, etc. and just keep the roof half-open to avoid being mugged.... This is why this convertible appeals to me the most.... Call around Juice, and see if your local people have the convertible in! One last thing, though.... The downside for getting the convertible and driving around with kids is that it doesn't seem to have rear side air-bags available, yet (only front and front side). You would have to check the specs on the Cooper S convertible, to see if it's equipped with them.
|
|
|
Replying to: cargal2 (Sep 24, 2004 11:06 pm) What did you think of the "purple haze" color? Was it REALLY purple - as in violet? Or was it more of a blue-ish purple? Pics I have seen make it look both(!). Whether I get a convertible or a hard top is up in the air. But, I want to know in my head what color I am going to choose. I think I need to see these new colors in-person.
|
|
|
Replying to: blackhat (Sep 25, 2004 11:41 am) Well...When I first saw the 'purple haze' I couldn't really see it in the dark. I saw it yesterday, and really liked the color on the hardtop with a white roof. The color is like an iridescent plum... If you know anything about fabrics, it has the two-tone sheen like a dupioni silk. It looks different in different lights. I drove the convertible in the purple haze. It had a black roof. I don't know, I think I liked the "cool blue" color better in the convertible. Maybe, if the purple haze had a blue roof, I would have liked it better. There are a couple of sites which has all kinds of stickers to decorate your mini... In my dreams, if I buy the hardtop purple haze with the white roof, I'd want the black and white checkered mirrors, and sunroof... I don't think, I could pass up those bonnet stripes, too! Hat, if you really like the purple haze, you could gussy it up, too. Anywho, I brought someone with me, yesterday to look at them. She didn't like the rear window.... Many blind-spots when it's up. I guess, it can be dangerous in the winter. Mini's gimmick is to have new owners' sign a 90/10% agreement... They insist the car can be driven in snow and rain, and you won't get wet after 35 mph. How you get the roof open from 3-34 mph is the question.... It won't fully open or close if you're driving over 3 mph. Sure, the sunroof opens at any speed, and the windows open and close, but then, you can hardly see how the back. Sunroof open, or top up, it's very tough to look out the little back window and over those rear head-rests/roll-bars. Maybe this is why, Mini insists upon keeping the roof open? Included, Park distance control won't help on the highway. I've been running searches to see if there special mirrors can be added to improve matters. The SM showed me little convex mirrors that can be applied to the side-views; it still doesn't help the butt.. I like the way the convertible drives, better than any of the other minis. Solid, smooth, very-easy shift, it's a dream to drive. To me, it's even better than the hardtop S! In the hardtop, I noticed the 15 inch tires give alot smoother ride. The 16s were fine for the convertible. Does anybody know of any special accessories to help me deal with the back?! Which federal agency approves of the new cars that can be sold, and don't they watch out for these kind of things? Oh, I just love the car... I just don't know.. Hope that helps, Hat?
|
|
|
|
Car & Driver reports from their experience that the Mini is fairly treacherous in the snow. You might want to check out their current issue and the longterm report on the car and see what you think of their explanation on the subject.
|
|
|
Replying to: cargal2 (Sep 26, 2004 5:59 am) Thanks for your input! I took a drive to the local Mini dealership out here (I'm in So. Cal.) to see what colors they had. They had a purple haze w/white top (and another with body color top) out in the lot. In the broad daylight, purple haze is certainly purple! It's a cool color but I don't think I'd be happy with it for more than a month. Not for me. Wish Mini went a midnight blue route for the '05 Cooper. HOWEVER... I think I know what I'm going to order next year..... I'm going to get an "astro black" with chrome mirror caps, white racing striped, and a checkered sunroof graphic (since I can't have a checkered ROOF with a sunroof). I saw a silver Mini with the checkered roof, and both my girlfriend and I thought it was a very cool look. I hear astro black has some blue in it(???), so I think that would be the wise choice for me. I've never had a black car before (have had two red cars, two blue cars, a green car, and a burgundy car in my day), so astro black sounded good to me. Had I decided to get a convertible - which is not looking too promising at the moment (would rather load-up a Cooper hard top than have a sparsely equipped drop top), I'd have gone with "cool blue" with a black top. Saw one at a Mini convertible "introductory event" out here, and loved that color! Too bad "cool blue" isn't offered in the Cooper hard top. I'd be there without a doubt! See yuh! Good luck with your Mini purchase! |
|
|
Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 26, 2004 8:32 am) Thanks for the reference. I did check out the C & D article online. I see where the testers wrote about the problems with the Mini in snow, with snowtires. I wonder why some of that thought seemed truncated. I went to the end of the article, and saw a footnote about the problem. Something is not completely clear about it. Why didn't they talk more about how it handled in the snow, rather than a passing reference to it, here? I thought I'd post it for your thoughts. Thanks for warning me! P.S. I found the 15 inch tires gave a much softer ride than the 16 inch run-flats. Don't know what to do without a spare, though. From Car and Driver: "TIRES: When the Mini arrived here in March 2003, it wore Dunlop SP Sport 5000 DSSTs (for Dunlop Self-Supporting Technology, or "run-flats"). By the time the snow began piling up in November, the Mini got new boots for Christmas in the form of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50s measuring the same 195/55R-16 as the original-equipment Dunlops. On snow and ice, the Blizzaks were awesome, but when the pavement dried out, the logbook quickly filled with criticism of the blocky-treaded tires that were literally hell on wheels. One editor said it rode "like a '70s Vette" and another thought the car was so darty that something had broken in the suspension. As soon as the snow melted, we put the OEM Dunlops back on, but they were soon down to the wear bars with less than 29,000 miles on them, so we replaced them with Goodyear Eagle NCT EMTs. After the Blizzaks and the worn-out Dunlops, the Mini's poise was back to "normal," and the Eagles were praised for their wet-road traction. They also netted us a 0.01-g improvement in final skidpad testing." |
|
|
Haven't posted in a while, but noticed the new convertible article, so figured I'd stop in. I'm highly confused about C&D's snow handling critique. On my '02 MC, I had WS-50s, and they handled very well on snow and ice, but maybe I wasn't pushing them enough to get 'darty' performance out of them, or maybe because I bought an extra set of 15" wheels (vs the 16s it came with), and thus had a bit more sidewall I never really found the dry weather a problem with the snow tires. In any event, if you worry about dry weather performance of your snow tires, perhaps you bought the wrong tires? If you live somewhere where its dry much of the winter, maybe you should get more performance oriented snows, vs the Ice tire, as Bridgestone advertises the Blizzak as. I haven't decided what to put on my '05 MCS this winter yet, but as an example, I see no reason to not go with 15" Blizzak WS-50s again, and I know many people with similiar setups. Great review on the convertible, but a few minor points: 1. For 2005, all the cars (hard top + convertible) have the new, 3 spoke steering wheel. Its not unique to the convertible, and the old 2 spoke is no longer available. 2. Isn't it worth mentioning park distance control comes standard on a convertible to offset the visibility problems, at least when backing up? |
|
You are here:
Forums
Hatchbacks MINI Cooper MINI Cooper Convertible
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 MINI Cooper
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
