Test Drive Mini Cooper Roadster From 2011 Convertible

Without tower

Test the most selfish mini.
MINI owners are often taken for people not from this world. Such, you know, slightly awesome, in the good sense of the word. Originals. A little egoists. They love when closely, low, shake, defiantly and expensive. The most recent modification of Mini Roadster is the most selfish. Double and completely without tower. That is without roof.

Mini company is unique. Who else is actually on the same platform, with one single motor, albeit different power, is managed to release six models at once? At the same time, the influence of the MINI brand in the modern world is so large that the eccephalus of the English brand go beyond the marketing department of the BMW-mini system, catching every exhale in the form of another model.


No roof Roadster looks great. All in the suit: and the strong slope of the windshield, and the passenger compartment horizontal, turning into the bare wings, and powerful arcs behind the seats.

Sixth account reading Heritage Alecia Iscigonis Roadster. If the owners of ordinary mini and even the versions of Cabrio could still cherish the hope of a couple of unfortunate graduates of the circus school, then the rhodster owner such a prospect is not available in principle: places here only for two. No compromises.


With the raised cloth riding Roadster is not so beautiful as without it. But the roof distinctly highlights the body three-capacity and the proportion of the rhodster. And the speakers here are more than in the heavyweight Coupe.

For half a year ago, MINI Coupe was shown with the roof in the form of an inverted cap. So, the soft felt coat of the rodster almost thoroughly reproduces the baseball caps of the coupe. There is only a visor, which was the rear door on a double door. And it is good that there is no weight of the roof immediately disappeared, especially from behind. In the body profile, Roadster is clearly three-volume and quite symmetrical relative to the central axis. The British tried to observe the classic proportions of the Rhodster, and they succeeded.


In these pictures, the distinctions of Mini are clearly visible in the roadster from mini in the Cabrio and Coupe bodies (the photo shows Mini Roadster in the John Cooper Works version).


In fact, the roadster differs from Coupe only by the presence of a soft folding top instead of a rigid roof and safety arcs. But here is the rear sloping glass, which in the compartment is at the same time both the lid of the luggage compartment, the roadster disappeared; The trunk opens in sedanovsky, and not in Hatchback.


The front of the body of Cabrio and Roadster is similar. The same and the wheelbase, and the total length of cars.

The windshield at the Rostcher is tilted slightly stronger, the seats are only two, and the back of the body looks more dynamically, oddly enough, due to a slightly longer trunk.

Well, the most important thing: your cap Roadster can always take off. True, not independently. A fully automatic roof folding mechanism is not provided here at all. There is only a semiautomatic option. But even then it has to fix the locks with a special swivel handle under natural grip.

On the test cooper s roof and at all were completely mechanical: turn the handle and the dextering movement remove the light roof back. Moreover, a little adapting to do it can also be at low speeds. If you are on the go, driving past the entrance to a fashionable club, boldly reset the cap, exposing polished arcs, the effect will surely be awesome.

This is all the essence of Mini: See what I am cool!. And Roadster in this sense is the abroad of the rest Mini.

It is difficult to believe that the awesome, choosing such a mini, generally worries the matter of practicality and convenience. Well, what does a person understand in ergonomics, agreed to ride in the car, whose salon resembles a slot machine? Nevertheless, for them in Mini prepared a surprise: a spacious trunk with convenient access. And very roomy, by MINI 240 liters! Just 20 liters are less than the long-base Clubman.


Rhodster trunk thanks to the lack of rear seats, it turned out a roomy: its 240 liters in fact easily absorb several bags or suitcases. The walls of the separation are smooth, and access is convenient due to the horizontal lid.


In the partition between the seats and the luggage compartment there is a hatch for longs. But the total length of cargo is still limited by the backs of the chairs.

You can put a pair of large suitcases, and you can even try to push into a special ski lung or a skiing board. But, first, it is necessary to ride it then one (otherwise the long ride in the front seat), and secondly, it is unlikely that someone will take care of riding the roadster with a thin roof in winter.

If only in warm edges where winter does not happen. As we are in the picturesque Portuguese coast, without a tower, it is still gentle in the rays of the sun. Only local people look at us with surprise: +16 degrees Celsius in Portugal it is cold, and no one goes with the root roof. But after Moscow minus 25, we simply could not refuse such pleasure.


The versions of Roadster Cooper S, presented at the presentation, played well in all sports disciplines: acceleration is fast, the controllability of the ostera, and slows down the lightweight car is powerful and predictable.


Modification Cooper with 122 forces under the hood will be expected to be less rapid, but ride along the coast and on it in joy.

When you go without a roof, road noise, which mercilely penetrated through a light rag roof, is replaced by the votes of nature by surf, wind, seagulls. Idyll, which is gradually replaced by worrying for his health: Sweets in Roadster, even with raised windows and installed between the seats with windproof screen. Already at speeds about 90 kilometers per hour, the wind walks in the area of \u200b\u200bthe back, you will go a little faster, it begins evil tremble hair on the painter. And after 100-120, it becomes uncomfortable at all. Although at ambient air temperature from +25 and more discomfort would certainly be less noticeable.

Interior


The interior of MINI with the release of each new model becomes better. But his comic and old-wing orientation outweighs the darous mats, and soft plastic: the interior still looks toy. But this is a MINI style, and it's good that he is.


When in search of the music control buttons or navigation you will spend 5-10 minutes, then desperate at the end, detect them and the joystick near the gear lever. But this, if you have not traveled to mini for a long time. For those who know everything is quite convenient.


If there are only two places in Roadster, a special shelf for small things appeared behind the seats. But no fasteners are provided, so your wallet or cap will ride there and here on every turn. The column of the audio system is mounted in the partition.

Due to the fact that the roadster (as well as the coupe, actually) was created on the basis of the Mini cabriolet, its body was originally designed for the lack of a rigidity amplifier in the form of a roof. Therefore, at least the rearview mirror on the uneven road is constantly vibrating, Roadster felt tightly shot down, and the suspension is very tough. Yes, it is exactly tougher than on ordinary mini.

But chassis settings are an indispensable condition of the family feature of any mini, the so-called GO-Kart Feeling, riding like on the map. Which awesome especially appreciate, and for which they pay at the cash shop checkout. Arranged in the corners of the wheel and rigid suspension, as a recipe for good controllability, are invented far from this generation of MINI cars.

But so holy and devoted to these values \u200b\u200bnow believe, perhaps, only the British.

Roadster suspension hardness is fully comparable to the first mini (in fact, the second after the classic), which appeared in 2001. Sausage so that you feel your hands and ass every bar markings in Portuguese roads. And on the pit it is more serious, you can clutch your teeth.


At speeds above 80 kilometers per hour, a spoiler grows on the roaster cap, which automatically folds on 60s per hour. Additional 40 kilograms of the presser force on the maximum speed is his merit.

No, the real kart begins on serpentine with perfectly smooth coating. This is the road for mini! Let the rolls in Roadster still more than those mentioned by us MINI 2001, but he still writes the trajectory as a circulation. Chassis chassis with an envy of any front-wheel drive car, and the accuracy of the steering mechanism allows not to do in turning any worship: sent once the nose on the apex and roadster goes like glued.


Eh, if all the roads in the world were perfectly smooth! On them mini king.


But you will eat a little with the impeccable asphalt of the highway, you immediately feel every seam, every pebble. The most thrill involved in the driver's management process, but the passenger is disassembled.

Electronic imitation of the EDLC differential lock is perfectly operated (option for all modifications except JCW). The uninitiated person, her intervention will not be noticeably surprised by the fact that it still does not drop the wheel being unloaded in the rotation?

On high-speed devices and looping narrow tracks at the MINI chassis few competitors. And the suspension stiffness is only the reverse side of the medal for acute handling.


There were no differences in the behavior of the car with a raised and lowered roof.


What, however, is not surprising: Roger's body is initially created under the ride without top.


Top 211-strong modification Mini Roadster John Cooper Works in our market is still not available.


From the point of view of sales, the loss is small, because they ordered so powerful and hard in all the MINI relations on the handle only hopeless fans, for which units.

With the dynamics of Roadster, too, everything is in order. However, like any other mini cooper with a Literary S in the title and mechanical transmission. 184 The forces of the 1,6-liter turbogue are always taken, delivered by a successful selection of gear ratios in the gearbox. Even more adrenaline injected the Sport button, exacerbating the response to the accelerator: excellent responsiveness for the modern eco-realities of the Euro 5 standard.

Especially for the fashionable young lady, the most selfish mini, both versions of Roadster, which will appear in our market at the end of April, Cooper (122 forces) and Cooper S will be available with a 6-speed automaton.

But the most awesome Roadster 211-strong version of John Cooper Works will appear later. And she, as always, will be only on the handle. But that is another story. This car is not even without a tower. This is a true scumbag.

Alternative
The main and perhaps the only direct competitor MINI Roadster Mazda MX-5 on our market. One of the most impratifiable cars in the world, equipped with rear-wheel drive. The very simple miat of last year of release is 1.8 liters (126 horsepower), a 5-speed handle can be bought now for 1,100,000 rubles. The price of version with a 2-liter engine starts from 1.275 million rubles per MX-5 with a 6-speed mechanical transmission in the Sport configuration. The machine will cost only seven thousand.

Roadster TT from Audi, unlike competitors, can offer a potential owner two types of drive - front or complete. The monoprium is available both with a 160-strong motor 1.8 TFSI and with a 2-liter turbo video, with a capacity of 211 forces. Prices: from 1 622 200 rubles for 1.8 TFSI (from 1,854 100 rubles for 2.0 TFSI). But the All-wheel drive transmission Quattro is offered only with the most powerful engine. Such TT Roadster is worth a minimum of 2,009 100 rubles.

The CC Abbreviation means a convertible coupe. That is, the peugeot 308 CC is not at all a roadster, and it has a tough roof, automatically folding. But we decided to include it in the list of alternatives as another version of the open car for about the same money. Moreover, for 1,264,000 Peugeot offers a 150-strong modification of 1.6 TNR with a machine to a richly equipped Feline configuration. True, other options are not provided - this is the only version of the peugeot 308 CC in Russia.
 

A source: Motor magazine [January 2012]