I was waiting on a watch repair at Westroads today, so I dropped by Markel to see the new cabrio. They had 4 there: a Pepper White with denim blue roof that was already sold, a Dark Silver S, an Astro Black non-S, and, in the showroom, a Horizon Blue with Hot Chocolate interior. I was so busy taking in the Horizon Blue that I didn't notice whether or not it was an S. I really liked the Lightening Blue, but the Horizon Blue grew on me very quickly.

Steve let me take the Astro Black out for a spin. Woot! It was quite sharp, with 17" wheels, Black Jack mirror covers and side scuttles, and rally lamps. Now, I'm coming to this as a Clubman owner of all of 6 months whose only other MINI driving experience was 2 days in an MCS while my anthracite headliner was installed, so I don't even pretend to be an expert. I've never sat in, much less driven, a first generation cabrio. All I can say, however, is that this car was a blast to drive!

It handled beautifully, was a nice smooth ride, and had great oomph -- I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't an S. And the roof, of course. Hard to distinguish from a hardtop when closed, nice and snug and solid-feeling (but a little less headroom, or was that just me?), fun in partially-opened sunroofy mode, and sheer heaven with the top down. Hey, it was over 50 degrees today, so why not? The final stretch down Regency Parkway with the top down was fantastic. Heads did turn! I have to admit I was happy to see that I put a few minutes on the openometer. True, that thing's a little goofy, but it did make me smile. Steve says it now comes standard.

The one thing about the cabrio that didn't absolutely thrill me was the visibility out the back when the top is down. I'm 5'2", and about the bottom half of my rear-view mirror was filled by the top when on level road. Maybe that's just something to get used to, like the center post in the Clubman, which never bothered me at all. Anyway, I just loved the cabrio. If I hadn't just gotten the Clubman, and really needed its extra cargo room, I'd be seriously tempted. Well, maybe a few years down the road! Thanks to Steve for letting me take this baby out!