2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible – Road Test and Review
One thing I immediately noticed is how good the standard six-speaker audio system sounded. Achieving this in a convertible is tricky and Mini’s engineers are to be commended.
DRIVING THE 2016 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE
The new Mini Cooper S Convertible benefits from the same changes made to the updated Mini Hardtop. It’s noticeably larger, has new powertrain offerings, and has more available tech gear. The more conventional gauge layout made me feel as if I weren’t in a Mini (the speedometer is now in front of the driver) but the ergonomics are excellent.
Our Melting Silver metallic cabrio came with the sport package, which includes Dynamic Damper Control, great looking 17” Propeller Spoke wheels, and LED headlights and foglights. It also included the tech package, with an excellent navigation system (essentially BMW’s latest iDrive with a hint of Mini), the aforementioned rear-view camera, parking distance control, real-time traffic for the navi, and the Mini Connected XL, which provides a supersized 8.8” display from which to manage all infotainment options.
The six-speed automatic proved to be good at choosing gears and offers improved fuel economy over the manual as well (25 mpg or 9.4 l/100 km in town and 34 mpg (6.9 l/100 km) on the Motorway as opposed to 23/33 or 10.2/7.1 with the stick). In our week with the Mini, in a fairly even mixture of highway and city driving, it sipped one gallon of fuel roughly every 27 miles, a reasonably respectable figure when you factor in how much fun you were having driving it.
The more powerful twin-scroll 2.0-liter turbocharged engine in the Cooper S puts 189 horses under the bonnet, making motoring quite a bit of fun. All come with a choice of six-speed automatic or standard transmission (our short-term Mini had a standard trannie).
Click here to continue to Page 3 – Sport Mode and Nimble Handling
