Words & Images: Amit Chhangani
The last time we took a MINI (Countryman S) out for a spin, we thought it’s the most attention grabbing car we had driven on the pristine Aamby Valley roads. This time, when we took the MINI Convertible out for a test, the bar was raised more than a few notches. For the two days in Lonavala with the car, we felt like celebrities with unprecedented attention and adulation being showered our way wherever we went. There’s something about MINIs – they may look small and all, but on the road, hardly anything could ever match the sheer number of eyeballs they can grab.
The Cooper Convertible loses the two extra doors of its big bad Countryman cousin for a more compact and stylish demeanor. The aggressive, frowny snout of the SUV is replaced with a cute, alluring face. The bumper is differently designed too with a wide central air dam lined with chrome and housing a chrome slat in the middle. The convertible has a plastic under-cladding all round like the Countryman though and resembles the bigger machine somewhat in the design at the lower half of the rear portion as well. Needless to say, however, the Convertible doesn’t have the length to house the extra set of windows and the rear quarter glass.
With the roof down, and the stowed roof still visible in the back as a clump, the MINI tugs at a car lover’s heart, compelling him to have a second and third look. If, however, you are averse to so much attention being directed at you, the mechanically operated roof will shield you from the prying eyes by completing its cover-up act in a mere 15 seconds, even on the move at speeds up to 30km/h. With the ragtop in place, the MINI Convertible does lose some of its hypnotic charm, but still manages to be one of the most attractive things on the road.
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A befitting review for a wonderful and desirable car 🙂