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YARMOUTH PORT, Mass. – Just the anticipation of what will follow a twist of the start/stop toggle in the 2025 MINI Cooper S Convertible brings a grin but lower the top and your face will break out into a full-blown smile.
Driving the pint-size four-seater is virtually always an enjoyable experience and with full exposure to the elements, the ride becomes a carnival experience. The 201-horsepower engine, a suspension system refined over decades of development, and a short (98.2-inch long) wheelbase within the equally short (152.8-inch) overall length makes for go-kart-like zippiness and agility. And it zooms around without using a lot of gasoline, going more than 30 miles for each gallon consumed.
Pint-sized power
Sir Alec Issigonis engineered the original MINI for the Morris Company in the late 1950s and coming up with a design pretty much as it appears today: short overall; wheels on the four extreme edges of the package as well as front-engine/front-wheel-drive layout to maximize interior room for four (or five smaller) occupants and their stuff. The original 1959 Morris MINI featured a 0.8-liter four-cylinder engine producing 34 horsepower, chosen for size and fuel economy.
In the seven decades since, MINI has sported everything from full electric power to a 301-horsepower special-edition one earmarked for race-track appearances. Today, the most powerful internal-combustion engine (ICE) offers 228 horsepower in a John Cooper Works 2-door.
The Cooper S Convertible features a 2-liter, double-overhead camshaft (four valves per cylinder) four-cylinder engine putting out 201 horsepower and 221 pounds-feet of torque through a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
It might not sound like much, but it could easily – and as I discovered often – chirp its front tires and, according to Car and Driver testing, achieve 0-60 mile-per-hour sprints in six seconds (much quicker than MINI’s claim of 6.7).
This is a car which performs beyond its numbers – this kind of power in such a small, open package feels a lot faster. And even with my lead foot pushing the diminutive roadster hard, I achieved 34.4 miles per gallon of gasoline. This result bettered the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s overall rating of 30 (26 urban, 36 highway).
A simple platform which performs
The 2025 MINI Cooper S Convertible features a MacPherson-type strut front suspension and a multi-link rear suspension, both using coil springs. Standard components also include gas-pressurized shock absorbers and front and rear anti-roll bars.
The four-wheel disc brake system featured anti-lock (ABS), electronic stability control (including dynamic traction control and electronic differential lock control). The front rotors are 11.57×0.87 inches up front, 10.2×0.4 inches in the rear.
The brakes operate within 17×7-inch U-Spoke Vibrant Silver aluminum wheels mounted with 215/45 R17 summer runflat tires.
Simple, straightforward, nothing mysterious or exotic to the MINI’s chassis components but the combination of pieces, power-to-weight ratio, dimensions and cockpit configuration combine to, simply, work. The decades-old cliché has been the MINI is a go kart for adults to drive on the street because it can be driven – almost demands to be driven – with that kind of verve.
ADAS up to date
I keep emphasizing the simple engineering elements of the MINI Cooper S Convertible which are fundamentally true. But the vehicle is thoroughly modern when it comes to materials, engineering, manufacture and safety including a full suite of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).
The list includes front and rear collision mitigation and warning (automatic emergency braking – AEB); lane-departure alert; blind-spot alert; parking assist; rear and surround-view monitor; Active Driving Assistant; advanced cruise control with stop-&-start function, and automatic high beams.
Simple, comfortable and modern interior
The MINI’s design maximizes interior space within its small volume, most of it going to the two front-seat passengers. (The rear two seats are for small children or very quick trips for adults.)
The cabin is dominated by the large circular display at its center. This OELD color touchscreen provides controls for everything from the dual-zone automatic climate control system to the navigation system (part of the Comfort Package) to front seat heating to virtually all vehicle settings.
The MINI’s speed is displayed in large numerals at the top of the screen; the contrast and display resolution so good the number is easily read even with the top down, sun shining and the driver wearing sunglasses. Despite being in the center of the dash, its legibility makes it easy to see at a sideways glance with minimal need for the driver to take his/her eyes from the road (unlike other vehicles with center-mounted speedometers).
But, thanks to the most readable head up display I have ever encountered, the driver does not even need to refer to the central display to check speed. The HUD works in all types of light and, like the central screen, even when the driver is wearing sunglasses.
The remaining interior controls can be found in a small toggle-switch bar below the central screen. Toggles control engine on/off; transmission selector; drive modes, and a knob for infotainment volume.
Part of the review car’s Iconic Trim package (which also includes the Comfort Package Plus and Favoured Style package for $2,700) is the 12-speaker, 360-Watt amplification Harmon Kardon surround sound audio system.
Other features of the option package include John Cooper Works sport seats; auto-dimming mirrors; the Parking Assistant Plus system, and the Active Driving Assistant system.
Adding this option package to the MINI Cooper S Convertible creates a very well equipped, comfortable place for a fun ride or even a bit of highway travel. With the top up, noise is not a factor; drop it and all of the outside elements come right in.
Large family means a MINI for everyone
Once, MINI meant a simple, small two door sedan which was efficient and affordable. Today, the brand encompasses two and four door vehicles; front and all-wheel-drive layouts; fixed rooves and convertibles, as well as very sporting or just a lot of fun to drive.
The MINI Convertible range encompasses three models for 2025 from the MINI Convertible at $33,950 to the John Cooper Works version at $43,700.
I sampled the 2025 MINI Cooper S Convertible with a base price of $39,600 in Blazing Blue Metallic paint. Added to the sporting and well-equipped Cooper S trim were the comprehensive Iconic Trim ($2,700) and the $995 destination charge for an as-tested price of $43,295.
In today’s automotive world the MINI Cooper S Convertible provides almost endless driving enjoyment without emptying your wallet to both purchase it or operate it.
Next week TBR Drives the 2025 electric Hyundai Ioniq 6 sedan.
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