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Autoweek gives us their quick impressions of the new MINI convertible (and puts it on the cover) in it's latest issue. Unfortunately it includes little more than a paragraph of actual observations on the performance and feel of the car. Nonetheless here are some excerpts:

Just about a year ago, not long after taking delivery of our own long-term test Mini, BMW's Mini group confirmed it would build a convertible version of its gangbusters hatch. Our car-with its go-fast hood stripes and go-kart handling-was already an office favorite, hardly enjoying an idle day. It turned the world outside into our own personal gymkhana and every outing a scene from The Italian Job (at least in our heads). Frowns were forbidden within its confines; we looked at our Mini as happiness incarnate. News of an impending soft-top only whetted our appetites for more.

Fast forward then to France, with fond memories of our long-termer still wafting through our heads. Gripping the steering wheel filled us with a familiar mischievousness. The orange car begged for adventure.

But it's not like we can get anywhere very quickly. The Cooper convertible suffers the same anemic motor as the hardtop, a wheezy 1.6-liter 115-hp four asked to haul around almost 70 pounds more. (Thankfully we don't get the 1.6-liter 90-horse Mini One that much of the rest of the world receives as its base model.)

The Cooper S, not yet available to test, arrives Stateside in September, the same time as this Cooper, and promises more performance from its supercharged engine, now up 7 hp and 7 lb-ft to 170 and 162, respectively (News, May 3).

The Mini convertible greets us with a familiar aspect, the silhouette of its closed canvas roof deviates little from that of the hatchback. To open the fully powered top takes just 15 seconds, and its accordion mechanism is mesmerizing. First, the roof peels back like a sunroof, exposing up to 16 inches of sky above our heads, and pauses; a second push of the button and the whole greenhouse-glass backlight and all-disappears in a neat pile of pleats behind the rear headrests, tonneau cover not required.

We dial in some French pop music on the stereo and head out. The chrome detail ringing the Cooper's beltline glints in the open air, as do the aluminum rollover bars behind the rear seats. Thanks to an optional wind deflector, wind buffeting and noise stay at a minimum even with all the windows down and speeds reaching 90 mph.

The convertible feels solid as we cruise down the highway. On smaller, winding roads, the car doesn't give up too much in the way of body rigidity compared to the hardtop. Rough roads send a bit of vibration up through the steering wheel, and it retains much of the hardtop's impact harshness. But the car doesn't flex as much as we expect, and it keeps that flat-handling feel we loved so much in our long-term tester. The car simply loves to turn.

Most of all, the joy of open-air driving in one of the most playful cars makes a drive fly by. It takes two hours to drive from Marseilles to Cannes; we would welcome more.

But that would call for a longer trip, and the cargo hold has only enough room, at 4.2 cubic feet, for us to stash a couple of small bags-not nearly enough if we planned to stay through the end of the festival still three days away. Closing the top increases luggage space to 5.8 cubic feet, but we'd need to fold the rear seats to get any appreciable room, and then it's almost cavernous at 21.4 cubic feet.

Unlike the hatchback, the convertible uses a flip-down tailgate-with suspenders that can hold up to 176 pounds-for access to the boot. It also makes for a nice place to kick back, shades on, and watch the beautiful people stroll by once we reach Cannes.

Ah, Cannes! With its sparkly beaches and even sparklier stars, the lure is inevitable. Everywhere, people mill about or eat in street-side cafes or hawk their cinematic wares, all eyes scanning for anyone famous. We manage to attract our fair share of attention, even show up a couple of Ferraris and a Maserati Quattroporte along the way. They may cost factors more than our roughly $22,000 Cooper convertible, but our car can boast of one thing they cannot, at least for the moment: absolute exclusivity.

Even when the little convertible does become available to the public, we're sure more than a few of these well-heeled types will buy one. Both to drive and be seen in. It's that much fun.

Mind you, fun and safe are not mutually exclusive. Mini made sure of its safety when it gave this little convertible, all 12 feet of it, six standard airbags: two in front, two side bags in the front seats and two car-length head airbags. Mini also strengthened the doorsills and A-pillars, and gave the car standard antilock brakes with electronic brake force distribution and cornering brake control. Traction and dynamic stability control systems are available.

The car also comes standard with a tire monitoring system and Park Distance Control, which gives off an audible warning if anything gets too close when backing up. It might be petite, but altogether, the rear-seat headrests, roll hoops and folded top make rearward visibility-at least down low-difficult. With the top up, rearward visibility is, well, it isn't.

You can read the entire article here.

Photo courtesy of Autoweek