Mini Cooper S Convertible 2025: International first drive

Buying a new convertible car has become a tricky business. Rewind only a decade or two and almost every mainstream manufacturer offered an accessible drop-top.

The march of the SUV has shrunken it down to a niche market, though. If you want a cute little cabrio fresh from the factory, you’ve a disappointingly small pool to fish from, your options reduced to a Mazda MX-5 or this – the new Mini Convertible.

The latest member of the fourth-gen Mini family, it looks the part up front, sharing the doe-eyed headlights of its siblings.

A short walk to the rear reveals something odd, though – the same taillight ovals as the outgoing car. This exposes that, rather like its hatchback sibling, the oily bits beneath aren’t box-fresh.

At least in petrol cars; electric Mini hatches enjoy a new platform. Here, the handover is more obvious, the brand’s slimline new taillights not up to the structural needs of an open-top car.

Not to worry, though, as there’s plenty else to enjoy. Aussie buyers get a choice of three powertrains, all of them 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol turbos. The Cooper C starts at $57,785 (drive away) and offers 120kW, 250Nm and 0-100km/h in 8.2sec.

Another five grand gets you a Cooper S Convertible and its 150kW, 300Nm and 6.9sec sprint while the range-topping John Cooper Works Convertible claims 170kW, 380Nm and 6.4sec for $71k.

Nope, no EV – at least not yet. The third-gen Convertible offered a Cooper SE plug-in with a sky-high price and strictly limited production. It also remained exclusively in Europe.

Perhaps its toe in the water wasn’t deemed successful, but it feels a little sad we don’t yet have the option here.

Minis always feel right at home slicking through cities and the idea of doing so in near-silence on a sunny day – kerbside gossip spilling into its idiosyncratic cabin – is rather appealing. Let’s wait and see.

For now, we’ve tried the middlemost option, the Cooper S. Like all new ICE-powered Minis, its engine is paired exclusively to a seven-speed auto and unless you’ve opted for a $5k JCW Sport option pack, it’s free of paddle shifters too.

Perfectly acceptable for a carefree cruise up and down the coast, which this car lends itself so well to, but something of a letdown for those of us who love driving.

Because boy, is the Mini still good at that. Cooper S and JCW Convertibles get extra chassis strengthening and this first taster – in the tight, twisting hills above Barcelona – is hugely positive.

It feels as pointy and precise as Minis always were, the front tucking obediently into corners and its tail following eagerly behind. Earlier iterations of Mini could be very tail-happy in bends and this is more predictable and mature in comparison.

The ride is taut but accomplished and we couldn’t detect any major shimmy in its structure. Keeping those old taillights has paid off.

The Cooper S is quick too, the engine soaring towards its redline as you bound down the road with even more alacrity than its spec sheet suggests. This 2.0-litre unit can be a bit gruff in its higher reaches, but the gearbox is largely well calibrated for the job.

Select the cheesily titled ‘Go-kart mode’ in its huge central screen and it keenly clings onto lower gears, but that’s precisely what you need when the paddles have gone AWOL.

In calmer modes (and with calmer driving) the ‘box shuffles nice and smoothly through its ratios. Perfect for when you’re trying to nudge its claimed 6.6l/100km fuel consumption.

But however you get your kicks, this is a fine place to do it. Mini is nailing interiors right now and the dinner-plate touchscreen is a bewitching thing to sit in front of (it’s easily useable for both front-seat occupants, too).

Its startling high-res OLED display is impressive enough in its hard-top relatives, but here it serves an extra ace. With the roof down and the sun beaming, the screen retains its clarity in a way most other cabrios can only daydream about.

The interior materials are all thoroughly likeable too, with most surfaces clothed in quirky, technical fabrics that really make a virtue of Mini operating at the more affordable end of the spectrum.

The dashboard is a particular highlight, with ambient lighting hidden beneath whose colours change as you flick through the car’s generous number of drive modes. Go-kart is signalled by aggressive red illumination, naturally…

The soft-top itself is rather like before – a big fabric item that stows electronically in 18 seconds, with a halfway sunroof mode for when you crave fresh air but a side-order of privacy.

Fully open, its pram-fold effect still eats into rear visibility, while the roof-down 160-litre boot capacity is just as stingy as before. Keep the roof up and the figure climbs to 215 litres, but who wants to miss the chance of an impromptu sunbake because they’ve packed too much?

Several option packs offer a large Union Flag emblem on the roof to really trumpet Mini’s British heritage – plus the fact Mini Convertible production has returned to Plant Oxford after a decade’s break. Even this Brit writer would go without.

Ignoring those absent paddleshifters, equipment is strong, with base spec bringing augmented reality nav, adaptive cruise control and park assist functions.

Technology overkill in a dinky little Mini, perhaps, but it all helps the Convertible battle its only genuine rival – the sprightlier still, rear-drive MX-5 – which has a lower RRP in Soft-Top trim. The Mini gives you two extra seats, but only for your slimmest of pals.

Other convertibles on the Aussie market cost considerably more. Even with its fancier trims, the Mini operates at half the cost of an MG Cyberster, while VW doesn’t ship over the T-Roc Cabriolet.

The sun may have set on a diverse open-top market, but at least it’s still shining at Mini.