Auto123 Drives the Sidewalk
I’m sure we won’t see many more reviews of the Convertible before the refresh. And, after reading this one, that refresh couldn’t happen soon enough.
>Dropping the top on this car is easy. Just leave your finger pressed on a button for about fifteen seconds, and that’s it. It’s pretty hot this week, and when the top is down, the climate control has a hard time cooling the lower portion of the cabin. When the top is up, it’s better.
Climate control with the top down? I can only wonder if the windows were rolled up as well.
>On the highway, though, this Cooper cabriolet is noisy. The engine spins at over 3,000 rpm while driving at 110 km/h, and with the wind noise (top up or down), the cacophony becomes tiring after a while. Let’s just say that if I was driving down to Old Orchard Beach, I’d think twice or even three times before choosing this car to get there.
I don’t think they hated this MINI, but I also don’t think they were huge fans.
[ 2007 MINI Cooper S Cabriolet Sidewalk Road Test ] Auto123.com
I think it is really funny that there was some expectation that the A/C would be able to keep up with the top down.
I will have to admit that at times, in the Jeep, when we have the top down on really hot days (and my wife follws the MINI top down rule in her Jeep), we run the A/C mostly for when you are stopped at a light as it can get oppressive at 90 plus in direct sun sitting still.
She keeps the top down pretty much all the time. It is really funny to see her driving to work with a coat and gloves because it will be 65 later in the day but it is 40 in the AM.
It appears that they liked the car well enough. It’s just that they don’t appear to like convertibles. All of the convertibles I’ve ever driven have most of the same drawbacks. These are things like limited visibility with the top up, increased noise and increased heat/cold.
Craig +1,
A/C doesn’t perform well with top down and it’s noisy at highway speeds . . . hmmm. And let me guess, the sun beats down directly on you and you can’t leave it out in the rain with the top down.
I’m not sure the R57 is going to solve these problems for Auto123
It appears he knows nothing about MINIs. Pricing, options, package names – nada.
I love the SW pkg and gave it a lot of thought before buying the R56JCW. It looks incredible. However, the seats aren’t too comfy IMHO.