Surprisingly good and lots of fun. It lacks the retractable hard top that is fast becoming de rigueur in this class but I would still rather drive the Cooper than any of its cut-down hatchback rivals thanks to its brilliant handling. It is quite expensive to buy but it will also hang on to its value better than almost any other car on the road, so in the long run it’s good value, too.
Mini Convertible: There are three Mini Convertibles, starting with the sluggish 90bhp Mini One costing £13,595. The £17,935 170bhp Cooper S is the most expensive, leaving the Cooper as the most practical choice.
I made the jump from Porsche to MINI Cooper S convertible recently (we are now a grandmother and a 2-seater just wouldn't work with a baby seat). The last time I owned a Cooper S was in 1972 and I adored it. This is, as Jeremy says, the most enormous fun, with genuinely room for two tall guys and two ordinary-sized (i.e. 14/16 women) in at at the same size, sufficient whistle and bells to do all sorts of clever things like knowing when it's raining or dark and turning on the appropriate gizmos, and the handling is just terrific. I adore it and have a silly grin on my face most of the time when I'm behind the wheel - except in central London, where I defy anyone to grin these days as we negotiate bendy buses driven by children, and fend off lights-jumping cyclists screaming like banshees.
The roof goes down in 20 seconds, the boot space is deceptively adequate and the whole little car is just huge fun.
Sue Stapely, London,