An unexpected winner
On an absolutely stunning fall day, I was blessed with the opportunity to drive the iconic Tail of the Dragon. MINI invited me to a drive event that was meant to give media folk like me some behind-the-wheel time with its lineup. These events are always fun, but what emerged was a quiet champion I didn’t see coming: the MINI Cooper Convertible.
I drove every MINI variant there is, from the tried-and-true MINI Cooper hardtop to the new small SUV Countryman. I drove JCWs (John Cooper Works) and some more sedate drivetrains. They’re all a ton of fun to drive, but the Cooper Convertible is something special.
Nate Swanner
The Cooper Convertible surprises with its driving dynamics
I live in the Pacific Northwest. We are not “convertible people,” so to speak. A convertible is just not a practical choice for the weather we have most of the year. Though I garage my vehicles, I just don’t think owning a convertible in the rain and cold would be a great experience most of the time (I’d be happy to be wrong, though).
With the sun out during my time in North Carolina and Tennessee, the crisp mountain air was tempered enough that we felt emboldened to drop the top of the Cooper Convertible. With the top down, wind whipped through the cabin, but it was far more sedate than other convertibles I’ve driven. I’m not sure whether that’s due to MINI’s smaller cabin, which (logically, at least) provides less room for the wind to channel, or if MINI’s engineering team was mindful of the wind and created a solution that made top-down driving less distracting.
With the top up, the MINI Cooper Convertible is shockingly quiet. I couldn’t tell the difference between it and the hardtop in everyday driving scenarios. It was quiet, and didn’t “feel” as though I was in a convertible. MINI also found a way to make the convertible as roomy as the hardtop. Often, when I drive convertibles with the top up, I feel a bit claustrophobic. You’d think I would in a MINI, any MINI, but it’s quite the opposite.
There’s an engineering surprise, too
I’m a “feel” driver; I get in, ease into the drive, and learn how a vehicle feels before letting loose. The MINI Cooper Convertible felt like it was on rails, which is saying quite a bit for the Tail of the Dragon, a whippy stretch of road with hairpin turns. No matter what I did, the MINI Cooper Convertible refused to be shaken.
Understeer, oversteer, going too fast – it didn’t matter. I stomped the brakes and dipped the nose late through sharp turns, and cruised with ease through lighter curves. The MINI Cooper couldn’t be bullied into failure. What surprised me was that the MINI Cooper Convertible drove so differently from the hardtop, and I needed to know why.
MINI told me that, to compensate for the lack of rigidity a hardtop provides, the Cooper Convertible’s frame offers extra stability with an added cross-beam reinforcement. This creates a lower center of gravity and, to me, a much more spritely driving experience. With the center mass lower to the ground, I felt a stronger connection to the road and was able to drive more aggressively. This isn’t unique to MINI, of course, but the Cooper Convertible gets it more right than any other vehicle I’ve driven.
Nate Swanner
Final thoughts
Part of me is glad I can’t convince myself to buy a MINI Cooper Convertible. If I lived in a warmer, sunnier climate, I’d have one – and plenty of speeding tickets. There’s part of me that wants to feel any car relent, and the MINI Cooper Convertible doesn’t seem able to. I’d get into trouble if it were in my garage because it’s just so fun to drive.