Cabriolet vs hard top
Discussion
Hi again,
I'm contemplating whether to go for the 1st gen convertible or the hardtop.
It more or less comes down to whether the convertible is truly practical or not. I know the seats fold down on both.
But what I'm thinking is that the hatch on the convertible is quite small, and if you need to fill the space created by lowering the rear seats you would actually have to fold the top down.... right? Anyone with experiences of the convertible care to share their experiences of the practical side of the car?
The hatchback, when you lower the seats - you can get quite a lot of stuff in the boot right?
Thank you.
I'm contemplating whether to go for the 1st gen convertible or the hardtop.
It more or less comes down to whether the convertible is truly practical or not. I know the seats fold down on both.
But what I'm thinking is that the hatch on the convertible is quite small, and if you need to fill the space created by lowering the rear seats you would actually have to fold the top down.... right? Anyone with experiences of the convertible care to share their experiences of the practical side of the car?
The hatchback, when you lower the seats - you can get quite a lot of stuff in the boot right?
Thank you.
Christoffer said:
But what I'm thinking is that the hatch on the convertible is quite small, and if you need to fill the space created by lowering the rear seats you would actually have to fold the top down.... right? .
No necessarily. The wife has a cabrio and we tend to take it when we head off to France on holiday. With the seats down you can get a surprising amount in it and still have the roof down too. The 'hole' between the boot and cabin that appears when you drop the rear seats isn't that big so I tend to load the raer seat space from the cabin of the car rather than through the boot if that makes sense.We looked at the tin-top and cabrio and decided that there isn't much between them space wise - you just get more fun with the cabrio, oh, and a few more rattles from the roof but hey, you can't have everything. Go for the cabrio - you won't regret it!
Our first mini was a ONE conv, and to be honest, seats up the boot is a joke, maybe three shopping bags if you negotiate in without stuff falling out of the top. As said, with seats down its ok, but nowhere near as practical as the hatch.
I would also say as a driving machine if you like a bit of a hoon now and again the conv feels heavy under braking and hard cornering - albeit very impressively resolved compared with out neighbours 08 Tigra which is simply appauling.
I would also say as a driving machine if you like a bit of a hoon now and again the conv feels heavy under braking and hard cornering - albeit very impressively resolved compared with out neighbours 08 Tigra which is simply appauling.
Thanks for the comments, very usable - and I agree, a convertible IS more fun! 
I have just another question - the rollover protection system - I guess that rests in place when you fold the seats down and acts as a room separator? Does it make the room less usable than the hatch's when the seats are down?
Thank you.
I have just another question - the rollover protection system - I guess that rests in place when you fold the seats down and acts as a room separator? Does it make the room less usable than the hatch's when the seats are down?
Thank you.
I think the thing that sealed it for me when I bought one for my wife was the amount of hood and lack of glass in the C panel and rear window area.
Given my wife's general lack of sitaware when driving, I thought that having such a vast area without glass would be one risk too many, so we bought a MCS hardtop.
Given my wife's general lack of sitaware when driving, I thought that having such a vast area without glass would be one risk too many, so we bought a MCS hardtop.
I had an S convertible. It was the most expensive car I've ever bought, the one I had the most problems with and the one I had for the shortest time. But it's the car I miss the most. I'm tempted to get another.
With a GT tuning strut brace and an OMP lower brace it was great in the corners.
With a GT tuning strut brace and an OMP lower brace it was great in the corners.
Bought one at launch in 2004 after having a standard Cooper, looked fantastic and fun in the city with the roof down.
However, at anything over 40mph the wind noise was uncomfortable, and I was once told it was unbearable by those in the rear seat and had to raise the roof.
I had owned a 1992 Mk1 Golf convertible until delivery of the Mini and it was much quieter.
It seemed as though the windscreen rake or height on the Mini was the issue and maybe would benefit from a pop-up a diffuser at the top of windscreen (the Golf had one, maybe the R56 convertible does?)
I sold it in summer 2005 as I couldn't put up with the noise.
As far as space goes, you only miss out on the space if you are putting in a high load that would go above the parcel shelf on a standard hatch, the rest of the boot space up to where the hood lays is still there to use, as is the area when the seat are folded.
Have a look at these photos of my old one and you can see what I mean.
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/3ORpnavj[/url]
However, at anything over 40mph the wind noise was uncomfortable, and I was once told it was unbearable by those in the rear seat and had to raise the roof.
I had owned a 1992 Mk1 Golf convertible until delivery of the Mini and it was much quieter.
It seemed as though the windscreen rake or height on the Mini was the issue and maybe would benefit from a pop-up a diffuser at the top of windscreen (the Golf had one, maybe the R56 convertible does?)
I sold it in summer 2005 as I couldn't put up with the noise.
As far as space goes, you only miss out on the space if you are putting in a high load that would go above the parcel shelf on a standard hatch, the rest of the boot space up to where the hood lays is still there to use, as is the area when the seat are folded.
Have a look at these photos of my old one and you can see what I mean.
[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/3ORpnavj[/url]antse16 said:
Bought one at launch in 2004 after having a standard Cooper, looked fantastic and fun in the city with the roof down.
However, at anything over 40mph the wind noise was uncomfortable, and I was once told it was unbearable by those in the rear seat and had to raise the roof.
I had owned a 1992 Mk1 Golf convertible until delivery of the Mini and it was much quieter.
It seemed as though the windscreen rake or height on the Mini was the issue and maybe would benefit from a pop-up a diffuser at the top of windscreen (the Golf had one, maybe the R56 convertible does?)
I sold it in summer 2005 as I couldn't put up with the noise.
As far as space goes, you only miss out on the space if you are putting in a high load that would go above the parcel shelf on a standard hatch, the rest of the boot space up to where the hood lays is still there to use, as is the area when the seat are folded.
Have a look at these photos of my old one and you can see what I mean.
I can't say I noticed the wind noise being a problem, it was probably drowned out by the scream of the supercharger However, at anything over 40mph the wind noise was uncomfortable, and I was once told it was unbearable by those in the rear seat and had to raise the roof.
I had owned a 1992 Mk1 Golf convertible until delivery of the Mini and it was much quieter.
It seemed as though the windscreen rake or height on the Mini was the issue and maybe would benefit from a pop-up a diffuser at the top of windscreen (the Golf had one, maybe the R56 convertible does?)
I sold it in summer 2005 as I couldn't put up with the noise.
As far as space goes, you only miss out on the space if you are putting in a high load that would go above the parcel shelf on a standard hatch, the rest of the boot space up to where the hood lays is still there to use, as is the area when the seat are folded.
Have a look at these photos of my old one and you can see what I mean.
I only had people in the back a couple of times but they never said it was too windy. The rest of the time I had a wind deflector in which helped reduce the buffeting.The boot has a clever feature where the lower edge can be unclipped allowing larger items to be put in. The roof needs to be clipped back in when you are driving though.
The photo below is the newer model but it's the same idea for both.
Yeah I had a few issues with the car. It's a bit long but I posted my ownership up on mini 2. http://www.mini2.com/forum/general-discussion/1516...
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