Mid-Life Marvel
by David Morgan (27 Aug 04)

On the same day that the 500,000th MINI came off the BMW Group production line (see news story), the Oxford factory was the starting point for the launch of the latest car in the MINI model range - the Cooper S Convertible.

Much has been said about the original Mini. It's been praised well beyond its lifespan. But by the time it was killed off, it was well past its sell-by date. Call it sacrilege if you like, but I for one was glad to see it go. At the end it was a truly terrible car. Badly built, tarted up, and lacking in performance, comfort and safety. I had no reason to mourn its parting. In 1967 a Mini Cooper did its best to kill me off on a rally, breaking my back in the process.

But in the summer of 2001 I was hooked on the BMW product. Since then it has grown in stature - with the possible exception of the dreadful MINI One D and its lethargic Toyota turbo diesel engine (see road test for a slightly different opinion) - and has now been joined by the ultimate production model.

At the heart of the Cooper S Convertible is a "breathed on" 1.6-litre 16-valve petrol engine which pours out 170bhp - seven more than the first tin-top Cooper S. It also has seven more pounds/foot of torque, producing 162lb/ft at 4000rpm, which helps it overcome the soft-top car's extra weight, with almost a second knocked off the vital 50-75mph overtaking time at just 11.9 seconds.

Hood-up it's snug, though I wonder just how snug the single-thickness material will be on a really chill winter's morning. Spring, summer and autumn motoring will be a joy, and with the electrically folded pram-hood stowed the car is a revelation.

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