Introduction to the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
In line with the new MINI Cooper hatch in all its various forms, the overhauled MINI Convertible is no longer referred to as that, but instead always as the MINI Cooper Convertible. At least it is by its maker; we don’t expect the general public to follow suit.
And while MINI is adamant that the Cooper Convertible is indeed a new car, not just a facelift of the old one, it clearly carries over much of what went before. Nonetheless, a lot is new, especially inside, so it warrants a test. Our first drive was in the Cooper S variant in and around Barcelona in Spain at the car’s international media launch.
Pros & Cons of the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
Pros: It is fun to drive, cool new interior style and materials
Cons: Woeful boot and rear-seat space, cheesy graphics
Exterior & Design of the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
• Mild tweaks to exterior appearance
• LED lights as standard
• Union Flag roof available if you really want it
The MINI Convertible could never be mistaken for anything else, and the brand’s curvy, big-eyed (we know they’re lights, but everyone thinks of them as eyes, right?) aesthetic is carried over intact. Modern MINIs barely live up to their name anymore, but this isn’t a huge car at all. For reference, it’s a good deal shorter than a Volkswagen Polo. And in a world weary of two-tonne EVs, it’s refreshing to see a kerb weight of under 1,400kg for this Convertible. The overall dimensions are:
Length: 3,879mm
Width: 1,744mm
Height: 1,431mm
Wheelbase: 2,495mm
There are new design details to look out for, including the front grille, which MINI describes as “octagonal”, and it can be finished in silver or black. And LED headlights are now standard.
Buyers can choose from black or a grey Union Jack finish for the folding roof.
Interior, Practicality, Tech & Comfort of the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
• Circular OLED touchscreen recalls original
• Tiny boot, restrictive rear seats
• Tactile materials also chosen for sustainability
As the new MINI Convertible is no larger than before, there’s no reason to expect more space inside, and the rear seats are pretty much as useless as they’ve always been. To fit anyone with legs in there the front seats will need to be moved forward considerably compromising their occupants’ comfort.
On top of that, when the roof is down, the rear seats are incredibly blustery even at urban speeds. Best to fit the wind deflector and treat those seats as useful extra luggage space...
Which you’ll probably need anyway as the boot itself is miniscule. We do like how the boot lid hinges from the bottom as those in the original Minis did, but inside there’s only 215 litres of space. And that figure drops to only 160 litres if the roof is stowed.
This can be done before you even get in the car if you hold down the open button on the key fob, taking 18 seconds to complete the process. It can be closed from the fob as well. A button above the windscreen can also be used, up to 30km/h usefully.
At any speed, you can electrically slide open the front section of the roof up to 40 centimetres. It’s remarkably effective at providing an approximation of the full open-air experience, much more so than the size of its opening would have you believe.
We don’t think you can cheat the ‘openometer’ function by using this feature though, as it only counts the amount of time you have the roof fully down. It’s as if MINI is egging you on to have the roof down as much as physically possible.
We managed it in dry weather in Spain with the outside temperature reading eight degrees Celsius. Admittedly the heated seat and steering wheel were deployed along with a high temperature for the heating to keep things cosy, but it was no hardship. Looking at MINI Ireland’s website, we did notice that, while dual-zone climate control is standard, heated seats come as part of an upgrade pack.
The openometer is just one of the many fun quirks MINI has built into the car, some more successful than others. You get a personal digital assistant called Spike, for example, taking on either a car or a cartoon dog (a British Bulldog I believe) as its avatar, while the various ‘Experience’ themes have their own sounds.
Most are subtle enough and only momentary, but I physically cringed every time I selected the ‘Go Kart’ mode (cue the eyeroll emojis) to be greeted by an excited “WAHOO!” through the speakers. Best not to do that with the roof down in a busy area of town.
In fairness, you don’t have to engage with any of the cheesy features if you don’t want to, and the front of the Convertible’s cabin is appealing regardless. The circular OLED screen is quick to react and packed with functionality for an owner to take time and get to grips with. It’s a shame that the temperature controls are on it, but at least they’re always visible.
Physical switchgear under the screen is found in a modern take on the original Mini’s bank of toggle switches. The drive and Experience selectors are solid-feeling toggles, while there’s a built-in twist-switch to start and stop the engine. There you’ll also find shortcut buttons to the driving and camera settings, window demisting and a circular knob for the stereo volume.
In theory, you don’t need a head-up display to supplement the information on the touchscreen, though it smartly interfaces with the buttons on the steering wheel to quickly, safely allow you make changes while driving. Shame it’s not standard on all models.
The steering wheel itself is a well-proportioned circle, with an unusual bottom spoke of tautened fabric. It’s not trimmed in leather, but it feels as if it is. This is part of MINI’s commitment to the environment as it focuses on sustainability and circularity in its cars.
Other evidence of this inside can be found on the textured dashboard, covered in a newly developed knitted material made from recycled polyester. Onto this are projected colours and patterns from behind the OLED screen depending on the Experience selected.
Cleverly, it can pick dominant colours out of an uploaded photograph when in Personal mode and project those onto the fascia underneath.
The actual finish of the steering wheel, upholstery and other trim depends mostly on whether you go for Classic, Exclusive or Sport specifications and of course MINI allows you personalise the car to your heart’s (read “wallet’s”) content.
Regardless of your choice of colours and finishes, the cabin of the MINI Convertible will strike you as of high quality. We particularly like the light-gold finish on the interior door handles, surrounding the cupholders, on the steering wheel and even on the air vent adjusters. It’s a classy touch.
Other tech features offered as part of option packs include augmented reality for the navigation, a Harman/Kardon surround system, Parking Assistant Plus, Driving Assistant Plus and an ‘active’ seat for the driver that comes with a massage function.
Performance of the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
• Peak of 204hp is plenty in front-drive chassis
• Really could do with paddle-shifters
• Agile handling makes it fun to drive
The Convertible feels like a MINI from the moment you get moving. That’s to say the steering is direct and free of slop, the suspension is firm, allowing you to feel everything happening at road level, and there’s a sense of willingness to the whole car.
Despite the firmness in the chassis, the road surface needs to be pretty poor before the Convertible turns truly uncomfortable. Just don’t expect it to be pillow-soft on an Irish back road. Especially if you option up larger alloy wheels and low-profile tyres.
Impressively, there’s little or no obvious scuttle shake through the car when traversing broken tarmac. That’s no mean feat in an open-topped car, as it loses loads of its torsional rigidity in comparison to the hard-roofed vehicle it’s based on.
And if you’re so inclined you can really fling the MINI Cooper Convertible S around with abandon. There’s oodles of grip, great balance, exceptional response to your inputs and a feeling that it’ll just go around any corner at any speed you wish.
Quick direction changes are a joy and yet there’s little vice in the chassis either as it’s not nervous or twitchy to allow its agility, meaning it’ll soak up abuse and not punish drivers for ill-judged corner entry speeds or mid-corner braking. It manages to balance fun and engagement with stability and safety, which shouldn’t be taken for granted.
All this means is that owners will relish driving the car, whether they’re the type to seek out quiet, fun roads or not.
While the entry-level Cooper C Convertible gets up to 163hp from its turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine, the Cooper S’s unit (using the same configuration) manages a feistier 204hp, backed up by 300Nm of torque. It’s pleasantly fast when you need it to be, and there’s an entertaining cacophony of turbocharger whistle and whoosh on a twisty road as you come on and off the power. The 0-100km/h time of 6.9 seconds will be eclipsed by many non-sporting EVs, but in the MINI it feels quick enough with all the power going through the front wheels.
Sadly, for those that love manual gearboxes, they are no longer available in any new MINI and we were also disappointed to discover that no model other than the John Cooper Works (JCW) can be fitted with paddle-shifters for the automatic transmission.
Most of the time, the seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox does a perfectly decent job of choosing and changing gear, but we found ourselves hankering for the ability to override it, notably so when accelerating to overtake slow traffic.
There is an “L” mode for the transmission that aims for lower gears more of the time, something that happens when you choose the Go Kart Experience (*shudder*) as well, but that can hold onto a gear much longer than you want it to at times.
On one particularly twisty part of our test route we discovered the ‘Curve-Ahead View’ feature in the head-up display. This gives the driver a preview of the road ahead in terms of the direction and severity of a corner, using graphics, colours and arrows. It’s right in your eyeline as well so it soon becomes second nature to absorb the information. Obviously, it’s only of use on a road you don’t already know, but it could certainly enhance safety in the dark and in poor visibility.
Running Costs of the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
• CO2 means annual motor tax of €270
• Quite efficient on a long run
• Only average new-car warranty
Not so long ago, a CO2 figure of in and around 150g/km from a car with circa 200hp would have been unimaginable. Today that rating sounds high because we’re so used to zero-emission EVs and ultra-low PHEV CO2 outputs. It means annual motor tax of €270 for the Cooper S Convertible.
CO2 emissions are directly related to fuel consumption and, while the 2.0-litre engine is perfectly capable of gulping down unleaded at an alarming rate if you’re using all its performance, it’s also up for relatively low-cost cruising. Officially it’ll use about 6.5 litres/100km, and that is certainly achievable at times.
For its petrol-fuelled cars, MINI includes a three-year unlimited mileage warranty, including roadside assistance.
The MINI Service Inclusive option costs €984 and covers all servicing for up to five years or 100,000km. Seems worthwhile if you’re holding onto your car that long.
Irish Pricing & Rivals of the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
• Open-topped MINI costs from under €40k in Ireland
• Lots of personalisation
• Few rivals, at any price
The entry-level MINI Cooper Convertible is the C model in Classic specification, priced from €39,990. Exclusive and Sport trim lines sit above that. The Cooper S starts at €46,570 and can be had in all three trim levels as well, while above it is the 231hp JCW variant at €57,509, available in a single grade.
But what does someone that wants a little open-topped fun in a new car buy instead? The Fiat 500 and the electric 500e can be had in cabriolet forms for considerably less outlay. They have their charms, but the MINI is a far superior product with higher performance.
The Mazda MX-5 might not seem like a rival to the MINI, as it is a rear-drive, two-seat sports car, but it’s also a compact, open-topped vehicle that’s a lot of fun to drive - and it’s a little more affordable than most of the MINI lineup.
Verdict - Should You Buy the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible?
A little open-topped glamour is likely to be high up the priority list of anyone considering cars such as the MINI Cooper Convertible. It delivers that in spades, and the package is enhanced by its high-quality cabin, modern technology and fun-to-drive ethos of the MINI badge. If you’re in the market for a cabriolet of any sort, you can’t ignore the MINI.
FAQs About the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible
Do I have to have the Union Flag roof?
Thankfully, no. It’s actually a €1,047 option, called the ‘MINI Yours Union Jack Softtop’. As standard it’s just black.
How many child seats fit in the back of the MINI Cooper Convertible?
You’re having a laugh, right? Oh sure, there are ISOFIX mountings in the two rear seats, but good luck fitting in any bulky rear-facing child seat there and still having room to drive the car... You could fit a child seat behind the front passenger chair if it’s not needed, I guess, sliding it fully forward. Likewise, there’s actually an ISOFIX point in the front passenger seat, so you could use that and disable the airbags on that side of the car.
Is there an electric MINI Convertible?
Not at the time of writing, no. An electric version of the previous model was made for a brief time, but the new electric MINI Cooper hatch is actually built on different underpinnings to the Convertible so unless MINI invests in taking the roof off that car, it’s not going to happen. Shame really, as it would be a good fit.
Is the roof electric in the MINI Cooper Convertible?
Yes, it is. It’s fully automatic - other than you holding down the button of course. MINI says it takes 18 seconds to lower or 15 seconds to raise. That can be done at speeds of up to 30km/h, while a section of the roof at the front can be opened or closed at any speed as a sort of large sunroof.
Tell us again about the noise the car makes when you choose Go Kart mode
No. Please stop.
Want to know more about the MINI Cooper Convertible?
If there’s anything about the MINI Cooper Convertible we’ve not covered, or you’d like help in choosing between it and other cars, you can avail of our (completely free) expert advice service via the Ask Us Anything page.