The North American International Auto Show is underway and MINI is there with the world debut of the MINI Roadster. Check out the full gallery after the break.
<p>Looks like the same MINI Roadster I saw last month and sat in. I think the texture of the soda pop mirror treatment is cool. The seats felt good and seating position in relation to top up and with the top down reminded me of the convertible just the window is closer. I could see out the back pretty well and the convertible top was not hard to put up. The top does shut and seal tight. Turning the handle 90 degrees has to be done while pulling down to seal it. The bump on the boot is the sat radio and NAV. The trunk had more room then expected. The top when put up half stood in place which is good , because after you manually push the center button and lift it outside the MINI you can jump in the seat to pull the rest close. I felt like I was in a Z4 convertible with the interior and roll bars. I think it’s a hit and another great ride for summer. The soda pop dash has a textured feel also. BTW is was in the black cooper roadster.</p>
<p>MINI of San Francisco had a black JCW Roadster at their holiday party last month. The Roadster was pretty much what I had expected from all the online photos and from having seen the Coupes in person. One thing I want to comment on is regarding the part in the promotion video where the guy is driving and closes the top with one one swoop of the arm. It seems so easy in the video, but when I tried closing the top from the driver’s seat ,it was defnitely not easy (I didn’t even have to concentrate on driving like in the video!). The top is heavy duty, rugged, and not as light as it looks. Having the wind deflector in place made the task even more difficult. I also tried opening the top frm the driver’s seat. With one arm, it’s really hard to push down the top with enough force to secure it. I had to get out of the car and push down with both hands in order to property secure it. Although the semi-auto top option is $750 will add a bit more weight to the car, I would definitely consider it. The full-auto top in my R57 is so nice!</p>
<p>The Roadster looks great! I think in the long run it spells the end for the current cabrio. Lets face it, the MINI is really just a 2 seater. If don’t care about any storage, I’d much rather have the Roadster over the R56 Cabrio.</p>
<p>Looks like the same MINI Roadster I saw last month and sat in. I think the texture of the soda pop mirror treatment is cool. The seats felt good and seating position in relation to top up and with the top down reminded me of the convertible just the window is closer. I could see out the back pretty well and the convertible top was not hard to put up. The top does shut and seal tight. Turning the handle 90 degrees has to be done while pulling down to seal it. The bump on the boot is the sat radio and NAV. The trunk had more room then expected. The top when put up half stood in place which is good , because after you manually push the center button and lift it outside the MINI you can jump in the seat to pull the rest close. I felt like I was in a Z4 convertible with the interior and roll bars. I think it’s a hit and another great ride for summer. The soda pop dash has a textured feel also. BTW is was in the black cooper roadster.</p>
<p>MINI of San Francisco had a black JCW Roadster at their holiday party last month. The Roadster was pretty much what I had expected from all the online photos and from having seen the Coupes in person. One thing I want to comment on is regarding the part in the promotion video where the guy is driving and closes the top with one one swoop of the arm. It seems so easy in the video, but when I tried closing the top from the driver’s seat ,it was defnitely not easy (I didn’t even have to concentrate on driving like in the video!). The top is heavy duty, rugged, and not as light as it looks. Having the wind deflector in place made the task even more difficult. I also tried opening the top frm the driver’s seat. With one arm, it’s really hard to push down the top with enough force to secure it. I had to get out of the car and push down with both hands in order to property secure it. Although the semi-auto top option is $750 will add a bit more weight to the car, I would definitely consider it. The full-auto top in my R57 is so nice!</p>
<p>The Roadster looks great! I think in the long run it spells the end for the current cabrio. Lets face it, the MINI is really just a 2 seater. If don’t care about any storage, I’d much rather have the Roadster over the R56 Cabrio.</p>
<p>Love the Roadster on rails campaign too!</p>