I Drove the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible: Here's My Expert Opinion

The Mini is back for another round

The final iteration of the redesigned 2025 Mini Cooper is reaching showrooms just in time for the spring thaw, and we couldn’t be happier. Much like its Hardtop sibling, the 2025 Mini Cooper drophead goes back to the beginning, both 2002 and 1959, for its inspiration. There’s a shedding of some of the clutter that had afflicted last year’s design. It retains a petite size and a bulldog stance while erasing some of the angry Gameboy design affectation that had begun to pollute its design. That was too trendy, and the Mini has always set trends, not followed them.

Designed by Sir Alec Issigonis in 1959, the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor were the first front-wheel-drive cars with transversely mounted engines. Every front-wheel-drive model that followed copied that design. The Mini survived with minor alterations through 2000, when it was finally recast by BMW for 2002 into something modern. 

New couture

Being one of the industry’s few surviving icons, the 2025 Mini Cooper Convertible retains its modern-day face and round headlights. It’s still adorable, and fewer of the Convertible’s body panels changed than the Hardtop’s. Notably, its top is unchanged as there’s no reason to change it. As before, it can be had with a gray Union Jack on it for the Anglophile-obsessed, and it still opens partially in what BMW calls sunroof mode. One button lowers the top in 19 seconds at speeds of up to 19 mph, while another button lowers all windows. Getting fresh air never came so quickly. Better yet, Mini’s “Openometer” returns, aka a readout that tracks the time you spend driving the car top down.

Inside, you’ll find that designers took its instrument panel back to the Spartan 1959 original as much as possible. In place of the speedo is a 9.4-inch touchscreen that incorporates most of the car’s controls and gauges, including the speedometer. Below it, like the original, is a row of switches. To its right, where a grab strap once resided, you’ll find a strap embedded in the dashboard that recalls the old one but can’t be grabbed, thanks to modern-day crash standards. Cabin space remains the same, with good room in front and enough room in back for quick jaunts. Trunk space measures 8.9 cubic feet, which is about enough room for a toothbrush and soap.

How it drives

The 2025 Mini Cooper gets a major improvement in refinement as last year’s three-cylinder powerplant has been replaced by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. In Base and Oxford trim, it generates 161 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. Mini S models get the same engine, with a healthier 201 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque, but it’s the high-performance John Cooper Works model that has the most grunt: 228 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission furnishes power to the front wheels in all models, with 0-60 mph times of 7.9 seconds for the Base and Oxford trims, 6.7 seconds for the S, and 5.9 seconds for the John Cooper Works. 

While we didn’t get a chance to drive the base model – Mini didn’t have any to drive – there’s a notable difference between the Cooper S and JCW models. Not surprisingly, the JCW models are far more snubbed down and are clearly more responsive than the spritely Cooper S, thanks to changes in the powertrain and transmission. The JCW even boasts a Boost mode that, as you’d expect, boosts power 10 percent for ten seconds. It’s a hoot. By comparison, the Cooper S isn’t as quick but provides a ride that’s not as harsh while still providing the kind of handling you’d expect. Given that Mini debuted its newest cabriolet in the Savannah lowcountry, there was little chance to really flog it. 

Final thoughts

The Mini Cooper proves more than fun enough to make it worth considering, especially given its price. At $34,945 including destination charge, only the Mazda Miata is cheaper as nearly every other new convertible bottom lines at more than $50,000. Automakers are sentencing mainstream buyers to becoming a nation of truck drivers, reserving their fun cars solely for the upper class. The 2025 Mini Cooper Convertible is a defiant flag in the sand against the one-percenters having all of the fun, and we proudly salute it.

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