Mini Cooper 2001 test drive - 2006 hatchback

Mini "without cap"

Open to the sun and winds, it looks even more cool

Honest journalistic, this definition is cool to me, one might say, imposed. Wherever I appear at the Mini Cooper Cabrio, I only heard him. In general, I personally still quite or not quite it is literary, but the word is perfect for a stylish car. Especially when it is without a roof. And, by the way, to move the cloth top and turn the car into an open crew, it takes exactly 15 seconds. I pressed the roof button went, held my finger on the same button took off the cap completely. Now you can get behind the wheel and drive, simultaneously taking a sunbathe. A rare pleasure in our latitudes, I will report to you, dear reader!

Words of admiration

What is cool word is. So I reached the weekend day to the Sparrow Mountains, so that in calm and silence to shoot Mini, so where is there! Out of nowhere, a crowd of onlookers formed around, and each with a question, then with his epithet. I heard such a thing, and you can’t hand it over on paper. And, most importantly, the girls there are also with reducing and affectionate derivatives from words, of which not all were decent like an orange or tiny one. Great and powerful is still Russian! One pleasant all these words reflected sincere admiration for what they saw. There were no indifferent.

This Mini Cooper Cabrio with a very bold combination of an orange body with a dark green roof attracted his eyes like a magnet. But with a roof, he, or without it, looks equally dynamic. Yes, it should be said that a powerful electric motor is controlled, which removes or pulls an awning above the head in the same 15 seconds, using buttons located in the upper part of the windshield, directly above the rear view mirror. You press the first part of the roof once, folding in an accordion above the rear seat. You press once again the whole roof is cleaned in a special compartment, which occupies a small part of the trunk and space behind the rear seats. As a result, a small hump is formed on the stern, which, surprisingly, does not spoil the appearance of the car at all. Thanks to this hump and a special curtain above the rear seats, even at a decent speed of wind turbidity in the cabin, you practically do not feel.

The trunk of Mini Cabrio is small, but its volume, depending on the position of the seats and the roof, changes in the range from 120 to 600 liters. Access to the compartment is carried out through the back of the lower part, which, in turn, can serve as a small table and is able to withstand weight up to 80 kilograms.

Inside, regardless of the position of the roof, is extremely spacious and comfortable. The front panel, like the sidewalls of the doors, is painted in the color of the body. Its central part is occupied by a huge chrome dial, which housed the indicators of the fuel level, engine temperature and oil, as well as the pressure sensor. The speedometer, along with the tachometer, migrated to the steering column and therefore, regardless of the position of the steering wheel, are always perfectly visible. The seats themselves are very convenient and have a complete set of mechanical adjustments. Moreover, this applies not only to the driver’s, but also to the passenger chair.

But behind the definition, it is crowded. In addition, if passengers are there, you will have to remove the curtain. Over the headrests there are powerful chrome arcs that protect in the case of a car coup. True, at least kill, I don’t understand how to roll over on mini. It should be an completely difficult situation the car is very tight on the road. For safety reasons, the central racks were slightly thickened. It is impossible not to note the presence of climate control, as well as audio systems with the speakers of Harman-Kardon, which sounds excellent. Although strange sounds appear with a closed roof and with high volume, as if plastic rattles. The rest of the interior of Mini Cabrio practically copies the interior of ordinary 3-door versions.

We ignite!
The Cooper Cabrio version with a 4-cylinder engine of 1.6 liters with a capacity of 115 hp, and with a 6-speed variator visited the test. Therefore, the acceleration of the car was somewhat reminiscent of a trolley acceleration, you press the accelerator pedal, the tachometer arrow jumps to the mark of 4,500 rpm, and begins, without any jerk, a set of speed. The motor can also be spurred by forcing it to spin almost to the limiting revolutions, it is worth only throwing the selector handle to S Sport position. In fairness, I will note a somewhat nervous tuning of the accelerator pedal, especially at the very beginning of the course. You touched a little, the body twitches, let go completely, again a sharp slowdown and a small bit with your nose. However, this only recalls that the pedal has a certain move, and not two extreme positions. On the other hand, I am a supporter of mechanics on such machines only with it can fully realize the potential of the car and enjoy the excellent running qualities of the mini.

Cabrio rides in the same way as his fellow with the roof. Despite the exclusion of the element that is so important for the rigidity of the body as a hard roof, the habits of the convertible are not much different from the harts of the hatchback. In the bends you get genuine pleasure from perfectly configured pendants, although someone may seem too tough for someone. So, after all, others do not have to be lost that very amazing stability in corners and clear reactions to the bend of the lamb, make them a little softer. It seems to me personally that the level of comfort and with the available settings at a quite acceptable level. Nevertheless, Mini is quite demanding on the quality of the roadway. The car sensitively reacts to the rut so common, and on the asphalt waves the body begins to go out.

In terms of controllability, Mini Cabrio can serve as a standard, demonstrating almost neutral rotation. In the bends, the sides will rather begin to whine than the body will stand across the road. Touched a steering wheel, rather sharp steering, excellent brakes of what else is required to storm some kind of winding, a suburban path on a sunny day?

It will be not enough

Obviously, the mini is a niche car, that is, not for everyone, and even more so the convertible. I do not think that in our climatic conditions he will cause excitement demand and does not need. But those who want to emphasize their personality should hurry: only a few thousand Mini convertibles will be produced, and a few units will fall into Russia.

Well, if for a potential buyer of such a car and the price matters, then I will say that Mini Cabrio costs 23,600 euros in the One version, 25,600 is Cooper, and 32 500 is an extreme Cooper S. True, the car is well equipped with the standard equipment Cooper It includes climate control, xenon headlights, cast discs, electric windows, ASC+T stabilization system, rain sensor and much more.

Text: Andrey Osipov
 
 

Source: Newspaper "Automobile Izvestia" [No. 10 (78), 2005]