2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible

You have to put the top down. It says so right here.

By John Matras

Can you spell SPF? MINI USA is requiring new purchasers of the convertible MINI introduced here to sign a Convertible Contract (the car is a convertible, the contract is not) that has a "90-10" clause by which the new owner promises to keep the convertible top lowered at least 90 percent of the time. There are certain exceptions, including while washing it, driving in the rain at less than 25 miles per hour, after hair plug surgery or when the temperature is lower than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, the top goes down. So you're going to need that sunscreen.

Which is not a bad thing. Driving a MINI Cooper is one of the most fun things one can do within the length and width of any automobile, so taking the top off at least doubles that. Depending, of course, on your proximity to a swarm of angry hornets.

Seriously (more or less), MINI is keeping its promise to keep its lineup fresh by adding new variants, such as the 200-horsepower John Cooper Works modification of the Cooper S. The 2005 MINI Cooper Convertible and Cooper S Convertible are the next step. (What's next? MINI won't say).

The convertible loses none of the functionality of the sedan and even adds some. You couldn't carry a surfboard, Beach Blanket Bingo style, stuffed in the back seat of a sedan. You can in the convertible.

And it remains just as much a four-passenger vehicle as the sedan, which means the back seat is more than snug with the front seats back where the driver and front passenger would likely have them. What, you want legroom? On the other hand, with the top down, rear headroom is unlimited, and shouldn't be a problem for anyone whose legs will fit in as well.

Raise the roof - then lower it

The roof itself doesn't alter the MINI Cooper profile all too much, though it does have a slight drop in the rearward bows that makes the MINI top slightly reminiscent of the Morris Minor convertible of the Fifties, the kind of British car the original MINI made instantly obsolete.

No manual top is available. It's all electro-hydraulically operated and fully automatic, taking just one finger to press a button on the windshield header. It takes just over 15 seconds from closed to open, which means-if you time it right-while stopped at a traffic light.

The top, thanks to a hard-shell front section, can be opened halfway (15 ¾ inches, actually), like a giant sunroof, with the front seats more or less open to the elements as the chauffeur of, say, a sedan-coupé bodied 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25. The half-top can be opened even when the car is in motion up to 75 mph.

A clever Z-shaped folding system allows the unlined top to fold compactly over the rear of the car, taking no room from the passenger compartment. With the hard section of the roof on top of the stack, no tonneau is needed. No tonneau cluttering the trunk when the top is up or fussing with it to make it fit when the top is down. To make it even easier for MINI Convertible owners to abide by their contract, the top can be lowered and raised from outside the car by using the key fob.

The MINI convertible also has a heated glass rear window but the fabric roof wraps far around the sides (where the C-pillars would otherwise be) to allow rear windows small enough to be able to retract fully in to the rear quarter panels. Naturally, that eats into rear quarter vision.

The trunk has a tailgate that lowers to horizontal, ideal for a cooler when tailgating. MINI owners should make sure, however, that it's not used as a seat. It's good for only 175 pounds. That's noted on the tailgate but better if owners affix a large "keep off" sticker or be prepared for bodywork repairs.

With the top up, it's possible to raise the MINI's "rear deck" by 35 degrees, allowing larger items to fit in the trunk. Because the MINI's body is so rigid, there's no need for internal reinforcements, and that means the rear seatback can fold to increase total cargo capacity to 21.3 cubic feet. Even with the top down and the seatback up, the MINI Convertible has 4.2 cubic feet cargo capacity. Leave the tux at home.

That body rigidity means there's no need for a "basket-handle"