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Two years ago, the Mini Cooper was as cute and fun as a basket of beagle pups. Even after the passage of a few years, the little car can still turn heads, but the increasingly ubiquitous Mini no longer has the awe factor it once had, nor does it have the adorable “awww” impact it once did. Sales have not suffered; worldwide, Mini has sold almost 400,000 of the cutie built in Oxford, England. But to make sure that interest doesn't wane, Mini is taking off the top to restore some of that new-puppy excitement.

…With only 115 horses tugging the reinforced and therefore heavier droptop, acceleration was less than fierce.

The extra weight is due to fortified B-pillars, door sills, and rear-seat flooring. Tying the open structure together are a high-strength-steel tube hidden behind the A-pillars and a double-U-shaped roll bar that adds rear-occupant rollover protection as well as headrests. These modifications and the electric top add about 220 pounds. Expect the Cooper convertible to weigh about 2800 pounds and the topless Cooper S to hit 3000.

The strengthening is successful in keeping the Mini from shuddering and quivering like the Ford Thunderbird, the Katharine Hepburn of convertibles. In the Mini, bad roads can be taken with gusto, with only slight shudders moving the dashboard and windshield in concert…

…Whether the top is up or down, the Mini looks good. When raised, the top's high-quality fabric-available in black, green, or blue-is taut and wrinkle-free. But this is no ordinary top. The first 15.8 inches of fabric can be rolled back at speeds up to 75 mph to create a sunroof that is perfect for staving off seasonal affective disorder on those rare sunny winter days. The idea is so simple and effective that other manufacturers are sure to copy it in the near future.

Top operation is fully automated and of the one-touch variety, requiring only 15 seconds to roll back into its nacelle. What's unusual in this class of car is that there are no latches or headers to deal with; all it takes to lower and raise the top is a single button. What you see in the rearview mirror with the top down is limited by the Beetle cabriolet-like bustle or, with the top up, by the smallish glass backlight. Mini seems to recognize this deficiency and has made park-distance-control sensors at the rear-they beep when you're about to kiss a telephone pole-standard equipment on all convertibles.

With the top down, its folded bulk may block some of the view, but it also keeps out the breeze. The tall windshield blocks further wind intrusion, making conversations at 90 mph possible without having to resort to semaphore. Like convertibles of yore, the upright windshield gives the Mini a true open-air feel as opposed to the swept-back windshields that allow wind to buffet one's forehead.

[LINK] Car and Driver