Trying out the Mini Convertible in the depths of winter highlights some unusual points in this drop-top Mini finds Al Suttie.
1 – Heated seats are a must in my book and the soft-top Mini’s are among the toastiest I’ve tried.
2 – A warm behind makes it more tempting to drop the Convertible’s roof when the sun pokes out and it’s quick to lower.
3 – At faster speeds, though, wind blast means you’ll soon want the hood back up. Like this, the Mini is decently refined on the motorway.
4 – There are drawbacks, though. Such as the appalling rear three-quarter vision when changing lane or reversing.
5 – No wash-wipe on the rear screen also means it soon becomes opaque with filth, so the rear view mirror becomes redundant.
6 – As it’s chilly, you’ll also likely be wearing a coat, which easily obscures the infotainment controls down by the handbrake.
7 – Why these controls are positioned here and not further up is a puzzle as you have to look away from the road to use them.
8 – Still, there are plenty of positives to this car: it suffers very little shimmy from removing the roof and handles well.
9 – It also rides far better than most convertibles, so you don’t have to fearfully pick your way past every pothole.
10 – As for the 1.5-litre three-pot engine, it’s a feisty wee motor that offers 57.6mpg and 114g/km, which is good but not great.
