I has been planning on buying another Mini for sometime now. I have given some serious thought to a Carbrio. I just wanted to know if they are more fun to drive than a hatchback mini. I have test drove one and it was mighty fun, but I dont know how it would be for a daily driver.
Thanks,
John

 

I LOVE mine. My daily drive is 26 miles, about 22 of it on the interstate. I don't have the windscreen, but kind of wish I did, it's just soooooo $$. I only put the top up (so far) when its raining or I have groceries (flapping plastic bags). The visibility is not too good, but the passenger side multivex mirror I added helps alot. I never regret my choice of cars.

 

I traded the one I had for a tin top. It was a daily driver for me and with the top up you just can not see out the back. Drive one with the top up it's awful. Fun with the top down but sometime you have to put it up. There is a reason it has the back up warning system.

 

I never had a hardtop MINI so I can't make that assessment. But the car makes me smile. It's really fun to drive (especially after 11 years of minivan driving.)

I have a 55 mile round trip drive each day. Most of that used to be on highways, but now I take the backroads because it's so much more fun.

No probs with groceries--they fit in the back seat if I can't get them in the trunk.

The blindspot is HUGE unless you get multivex mirrors. They are definitely worth it. I no longer worry about changeing lanes.

And I LOVE the windscreen. I have yet to lower the top because of temperatures because it really keeps the cold air out and the heated air in the cockpit (Except for my 16 yr-old daughter. We don't want to muss her hair godforbid. )

 

I don't know, I love my cabrio but have to admit that the rear visibility is a challenge. The visibility isn't a whole lot worse from my RSX S that I got rid of so I really don't have a problem. I like the fit and finish of the roof....they did a nice job

 

I drove a Chrysler Sebring convertible for 8 years before I got my MINI cabrio - so I was used to pretty big blind spots. In the cabrio you certainly have even worse rear visibility due to the rear roll bars / headrests (even with the top down) - but big rear quarter top up blind spots are pretty much a given with most 4 seat ragtops...

Ditto on the multivex passenger side mirror - I have that plus an autobahn mirror on the driver's side - I like that setup so far (course I'm only 7 days in...)

But I can GUARANTEE that I won't be trading mine for a tintop...

 

I'll echo a few of the previous comments:

• rearview blindspots? - yes. can be remedied with multivex (still on wishlist)
• fun to drive? - yes
• Daily driver? - yes

I drive 20 miles round-trip on major roads including a traffic circle. Rain, snow or sun - 5 days a week, plus motoring on the weekends except to go grocery shopping. Been driving it now since APR 2005.

The only thing I do differently now is I always back into parking spots when possible due to visability issues. If you can get past the visability issues, it's a great alternative. also, a garage is very helpful too when not driven. I probably would not have gotten the cabrio if I didn't have a garage.

Good luck on your decision

 

Mine is my daily driver and I love it. I've found that aiming the side mirrors correctly solves all of my blind spot issues. The visibility is really not an issue for me.

And top-down motoring is awesome!

Mark S

 

thanks for all the help guys after hearing all your stories I think ill just stick with the old tin top.

 

Its really fun to drive a mini convertible especially the S however you will notice a diffrence from your hard top. Consider this:
1. It isnt as stiff as a hard top.. think about it you have so much support with a hardtop.. a half of your cars sturdy framework will be gone.. once you get a rag top it handles a little diffrent.. a little "looser"
2. Its noisier.. expect more rattling noise and you can seriously hear trucks and other outside noise much louder.. imagine driving your hard top with the windows down just a bit at all times
3. Its another thing you have to keep maintanence with.. eventually itll give you a problem here and there
4. You may not consider parking in certain areas with a rag top.. i can cut it open with a plastic knife for gods sake!
5. A convertible is always much heavier in weight than its counterpart.. all that metal adds a couple of hunder lbs- so if your considering racing it i wouldnt recommend it.. when the top is down they tend to lag on the highway.. which is obvious i guess

The pros deffinetly outway the cons though! If you asked me personally i would totally recommend it- i never owned a convertible before this.. so these are just a few things i encountered in my transition..i still wouldnt trade it for a hardtop

 

i was nervous about the blind spots too as soon as i sat in it at the dealership and i thought.. "maybe this wasnt such a good idea" but the dealer told me if i just move the side mirrors out just a smidge more than you usually would it gets rid of the blind spot when changing lanes- A LOT.. as far as backing up i also park the other way.. or i hope that its nice enough to put my top down lol- no but really you get used to it

 

The MINI cabrio is one of the quietest ragtops around with the top up thanks to partial lining and it makes a very good daily driver because of this. It is also very calm and quiet with the top down especially with the windblocker in place. The blindspot is something most people get used to. Learn to use your mirrors. Compared to the tin top with a sunroof, there is no comparison to the open air feeling of the cabrio if you like that sort of thing. I have driven several tin tops with a sunroof and tried to like it but to me you still feel closed in and isolated like every other car on the road and opening the panoramic sunroof makes it miserable because of the wind noise. The sunroof mode on the cabrio is actually much better because you can crack the rear windows open and allow the air to flow through. The main advantage to the tin top with a sunroof is that it allows light into the cabin even on nasty days. Can't do that with the cabrio. As far as fun factor, there's nothing like driving an open top go kart. There's a reason why almost all 2 seat roadsters are convertibles. The MINI just adds 2 more seats.

 

I think the wind noise would drive me crazy and a ragtop is easy to break into. Already had my mini broken into, dont need that again.

 

THE CABRIO ROCKS!!!!!!

All my life, I have carried around useless papers..etc. in my vehicle. This was ONE reason I was excited to get a cabrio...you can't drive around with stuff flying out and if you leave stuff in your car, you might as well assume it will get taken if your tops down. lol... I tie off grocery bags or put in boot, no prob. The wind sound is lovely...the smells are lovely, the temperature is lovely....nope, it's not for everyone, but for those with a desire to taste life.

This car is a blast...it's turned me in to a clean car person and I also don't talk on the phone when I drive anymore, thanks to needing both hands to drive!

I still need to get a multivex glass to help with the blindspot...I am sure I'd be fine without it but if I can be just a little safer on the road then it's worth it for me and those I am driving near.

As for getting broken in to? Don't leave crap in your car and it won't get vandalized...glass or ragtop...if someone sees something in your auto and wants it, then will go through whatever is between them and said item.

No regrets, cabrio is favorite car I've ever owned. To each his own.

 

Alas, some are not meant to take the path of enlightenment; convention and sameness awaits. No path is wrong, some are just more fun.

 

We love our cabrio. Wind noise was a concern when we bought ours as well - so we test drove it top down, up, and in sunroof mode. We've never had a cabrio b4 this either.

 

All cars are easy to break into, and someone breaking into a vehicle will use the fastest and easiest method, which is almost always breaking the window. By breaking the window, the most expensive car is just as easy to break into as the least expensive-the difference is which vehicle is most likely to have items worth stealing, and having those items out of sight.

In my experience as a police officer, the reasoning of not buying a cabrio because it is easier to break into is not really true unless you plan leaving the top down all the time--but along the same lines, look at how many people leave their windows down all the time. There's not really any difference between the hardtop and cabrio in those circumstances.

It isn't hard to break a window(or your sunroof for that matter). In fact, it is faster and easier to break the window to gain entry and reach in (or open the door) than to cut through the top and have to climb or reach in from above. Knowing about how vehicle break-ins occur, I can say that a thief can break the window, reach in and grab items from your car, and leave in less time than it takes to cut a hole in the convertible top big enough to reach through.

When I was a police officer, I handled numerous vehicle break-ins, including several cabrios. In the incidents where the car was locked, all of them were done by breaking the windows, none by cutting the top. Over the years, we had a several incidents of vehicle vandalism, and only had one cabrio top cut, but many reports where the vandals broke windows and shattered the sunroof.

(A little off topic, but something else we noticed over the years was that car alarms weren't a big deterence due to the numerous false alarms. We often would hear an alarm going off (or get a noise complaint call) and get there to find the car broken into, items stolen and the thieves gone-and have to wake up the owners to get the info for the theft report. No one looked out to see why the alarm started going off. In one incident the owner heard his alarm going off, assumed it was another false alarm and shut it off only to find out the next morning his car had been broken into.)

 

I live 7 miles from work but cant seem to get there or home in less than an hour

 

Had a FIAT Spyder in college, and then "normal" cars, but always remembered how much fun I had in my convertible. Now that I have my baby Fayt, driving is really, super-fun again. Yes, the noise can be loud, especially at freeway speeds, but with the windscreen and windows up, cabin noise is greatly reduced. With the top up and sunroof open, it can be noisy as well; just put down the back windows slightly. About the blind spots - you will be able to manipulate your side mirrors to compensate - it just takes some nerve-wracking testing, but you get the hang of it. As to her suitability as a daily driver? I drive her every day rain or shine.

 

This is my first rag top, and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to get one! I wouldn't let security issues bother me. I have my mirror and windscreen on order to solve the other "problems".

I concur with my friend Aggie on the joys of driving while it feels like you are outdoors! I have only driven about 10 miles so far with the top up, because it is so much more fun to put on a jacket if needed and let the wind blow!

 

I'm sure everything you said is accurate, but one main thing that keeps me from a soft top 'vert is that people seems to vandalize the tops for the hell of it - tear them not to break in necessarily but just to do it. I don't know how often people report it to the police or insurance but it seems fairly commonplace, enough so that I think I'd only get a hard top cabrio at this point unless I had another car for going out at night, shopping and such.

 

The insurance agents here almost always request a police report for vandalism/thefts/property damage claims. Where I live damage to cabrio tops is FAR from commonplace. As I said earlier, only one report and that was over a period of 13 years. Other damage to vehicles is much more common. Something else could be that a car getting a window broken IS fairly commonplace so it doesn't get much attention, but a cabrio top being vandalized is something less common, and more expensive, therefore it gets more attention(especially amongst cabrio owners). As an example, at my work location today, I saw four cars that had been vandalized, but the two cabrios on the lot were untouched.

I realize that this is just my experience, and other locations may be different.

 

All I can say is that it is a joy to put the top down on a nice day after working a stressful job all day. You can actually feel the stress being released from your shoulders. or it may be the people watching your car as you fly by

 

ME TOO MHEND! Greatest feeling in the world!

 

I traded my '03 hard top for a Cabrio (same color, accessories etc). I love the Convertible but I did miss the hardtop at times... I also autox with the cabrio - blame the extra weight when my time sucks -

Visiblilty bad, very bad but you get used it. Do buy the windscreen, but don't motor with the top down and the windows up - it looks stupid !! plus the MINI has the sunroof option...

Though decision hard top or convertible... do like I did ... buy both !!

Proud owner of these two Little Ones