Mini Convertible queries

[Jdmini]

Hello All,
I’ve been looking at Mini convertibles and wondering if anyone can advise on their experience with them.

I think I’d have a budget of £8-9k for one, and a diesel is preferrable (unless there are a lot of horror stories)

I’ve seen a lot of references to r53, r56 etc. Are these the mks? I used to have classic minis, so I know them as mk1, mk2 etc. If this correct could someone explain the different variants and advise if there are any to go for or to avoid?

Am I right with the assumption the spec levels are salt, pepper and chilli and is that the correct way the levels progress? Has it moved on since?

My main thing that i would really want is Apple CarPlay. I’ve had it in my last few cars and can’t imagine not having it. I looked to lease a convertible in 2019 and was told this is only an option with 2019 cars with the ‘nav’ pack. No others before had it available.

Has anybody got photos of their own installation. I did search and saw a member put an alpine head unit in their car but they don’t seem active on here unfortunately. Or can you recommend which era of convertible I should be looking for that has the capacity for it to be installed? It seems the dashboard configuration changes a lot on these cars.

One last thing, when the dealer showed me a convertible in the showroom there was a setting on the key that could open and lower the roof remotely. Does anyone know when that feature was first introduced or is it only for top Spec cars?

Any advise would be really appreciated as it could help me choose a car I’ve wanted for years!

[E-bmw]

I can't answer all of your questions, so hopefully others will help with them.



I'nt t'interweb brilliant?

R53 etc are "internal project" numbers given by BMW MINI that also stick with owners.

Spec on them info-tainment wise was never good so 2019 for a start-point for iplay wouldn't surprise me.

Spec levels were as you say but then you can also add to that with options so as with any car there are millions of possibilities.

Why diesel?

I ask because they aren't good financially long term unless you are doing constant high mileage.

[Jdmini]

I only think I’d prefer diesel as my current car is diesel and I like the economy. I’d presume the tax is a little cheaper too?

[Jdmini]

Saying that, I’m doing less mileage. I was doing about 35 miles per day. Now that’s once or twice a week with working from home. My wife has a brand new juke as a company car but has been informed she will not be office based any longer. So I could use her car now which we will have for another two and a half years.

I’d definitely consider petrol if it means the car is cheaper to run and nicer to drive

[mh125]

Jdmini said:

Saying that, I’m doing less mileage. I was doing about 35 miles per day. Now that’s once or twice a week with working from home. My wife has a brand new juke as a company car but has been informed she will not be office based any longer. So I could use her car now which we will have for another two and a half years.

I’d definitely consider petrol if it means the car is cheaper to run and nicer to drive

We have had a r52 Cooper and r57 cooper s convertibles. The r57 would have been a money pit if it wasn’t for the mini extended warranty. There are known issues with this one. The cars drive great performance wise. However although with roof down they are great in my experience with the roof up they rattle like mad. We would not own another for this reason. I’ve driven and been a passenger in a lot of convertibles and never known anything like it unfortunately.

[Jdmini]

Thanks. Interesting to know. I’ll do more research. That’s put me off a little.

Does anyone else find them to be noisy/rattly?

[N111BJG]

We bought a new F57 Convertible brand new in autumn 2017, it replaced a 2011 R55 Clubman, we’d had for 3 years.
The convertible has done 29,000 miles. I don’t think it rattles much compared to other soft tops that we’ve owned. It hasn’t proven too costly but the tyres wear quickly & the mpg is rubbish for the size & power of it.
I actively loathe the 3 cylinder 1.5 turbo engine / 6 speed gearbox combo. It’s just too tall & when my wife drives it feels like the turbo is never on boost. I rarely drive it, but when I do, I find that I seldom go above 3rd gear, except dual carriageways.
But she likes it, she’d like it more with Union Jack rear lights, but they weren’t standard until 2018 model year & I was too mean to option them.

Edited by N111BJG on Thursday 11th February 21:52

[rednotdead]

Jdmini said:

Thanks. Interesting to know. I’ll do more research. That’s put me off a little.

Does anyone else find them to be noisy/rattly?

We've got a very late R52 convertible that we've owned for 11 years and 40k miles. It rattles. A lot. Especially on UK roads. Roof down is fine but roof up it gets on your nerves. However, once the car is warm the rattles do diminish to some extent but you'll never get rid of them. Driving on the continent on their smooth roads reveals a totally different car rattle wise (for the better) and swopping the runflats for 'normal' tyres made a significant difference.

Great fun to drive but visibility roof up is dire.

[stevemcs]

For 9k your not going to get an F series car. However you should be able to pick up a nice 2011/12 Cooper S for 9k.

The Cooper S on a run will hit 45mpg and in normal use should average between 30 and 35mpg. Its all about the toys though, on an R series car your not going to get carplay, the remote module, on the F series this can be added but its something like £300.

You do want to get a wind deflector though and if you you don't need 4 seats then i'd go with a Roadster.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINI-1-6-Cooper-S-Roads...

[Jdmini]

I’d need to have 4 seats available because I’ve got young kids.

I’ll have to look in to f series models.

An older one I don’t mind the idea of. I prefer the look of them to the newer ones. I think to get CarPlay I’d need to have a newer head unit installed. I’d be happy to get it installed as long as I knew the car had space to have a screen installed. I’d hate to buy one to be told there isn’t space in the dashboard to get it fitted.

Thanks to all who have replied so far. Any advice is really appreciated. I’m looking at golf convertibles too. But I do like the mini styling a bit more than the golf

[stevemcs]

There isn't a massive amount of room in the back of the convertible, there is slightly more in the F series but they are still very small in the back

There was someone who fitted an ipad in the central speedo housing but I cannot find the link .... or you could try one of the chinese headunits that fit in the centre, however even the early F series cars don't have car play.

[Jdmini]

Do any of these look like convertible dashboards?

[chrisch77]

They are all images of first generation MINIs so would be relevant to the original R52 convertible.

[Jdmini]

Thank you! That’s good to know

[stevemcs]

Only one of them is the r56, there isn’t a great deal of room and with the location it puts the stereo very low down

[Jdmini]

I keep putting myself off with these cars. I really want one, then worry it might give me issues with reliability. I’ve read elsewhere they can leak.

But I still really like them! I can’t wait for restrictions to be lifted so I can look at them in the flesh and properly get a feel for them. My current car is a 2018 diesel 208 gt line. While it’s not everyone’s dream car I really love mine. I think it looks nice, nice to drive, good spec and does nearly 60mpg. I want to make sure I don’t regret selling it.

I’m going to look more at Golf convertibles too. I’ve read they’re a bit roomier than a mini and may have a better spec for my budget.

[stevemcs]

The Golf will be roomier, however I would rather take my chances with a mini over any vw when it comes to reliability. But going from a new soft 208 is going to be a challenge with a mini, yes the handling is going to be better and the gearbox is much better, but soft they ain’t

[Jdmini]

When you say soft, do you mean smoother, and quieter?

My 208 feels quite unrefined to other cars. Heavy clutch and quite bumpy suspension. My wife has a new juke as a company car and it’s like a toy compared to the 208.

She’s been told she will be working from home in future. So I could use the juke more often. Saving miles from the 208 (or mini one day hopefully)

[stevemcs]

Clutches in Mini's can be heavy and if it has runflats then it will be harder still and tramline. Best thing to do is drive one (when you can)

[rednotdead]

stevemcs said:

...but soft they ain’t

This. They are very firm riding (even more so on the runflats) but they are a riot to drive and corner like go-carts. I enjoy ours for a drive but for longer journeys it always stays in the garage.