This is my first thread and here's my story. The Mini Cooper is my wife's "dream car". So as I'm looking/test-driving Mini's for her, I left the dealership thinking that these cars are really fun to drive. Although I truly love my 2007 VW Eos hardtop convertible, as it is fun to drive and I love the hardtop perspective as well, these Mini Coopers (especially the S) was even more fun to drive. I'm also concerned about the reliability of my VW Eos down the road (as I had a very bad experience with a VW Passat in the past) and the service department (at least the one I go to) stinks. My concerns/questions follows:
If I got a 2009 Mini Cabrio will I regret/miss the hardtop perspective? If I got a Cooper S, will I miss the convertible perspective? My wife having a Cooper be good enough as I could probably drive it a fair share of the time or is it not the same as having your own? Is there anything else I need to weigh that will help me make a "good" decision here. I do live in South Florida/Fort Lauderdale area. My wife is going to buy a 2008 or 2009 Copper within the next 4 months. I would greatly appreciate all/any feedback here...thank you so very much.

 

I'm going to bunt. I love my Cabrio but have never driven the Eos. Am I reading right that you are looking at getting one for yourself besides the one for you wife?

If that's the case, I'd see if you like your wife's Mini and wait for the new Cabrio Mini to be out a little bit to work any first model bugs out.

 

cadfael tex, thanks for stepping up to the plate for me/going to bat for me and bunting - I greatly apprreciate the sacrifice you made. Your advice sounds like a real hit to me - thanks again.

 

Only you can decide if you'll miss having a convertible, and if you and your wife can share cars without problems. We went with a hardtop MCS as IMO it's a much better looking car and more practical (has a trunk), even though we're definitely convertible people.

What do you like about your folding hardtop? Do wind and road noise bother you? Soft tops are more expense and work, but at least the mini has a glass window so you won't have that issue. Pesnally I'd be looking at the NC MX-5 with the folding hardtop.

 

Just to pick nits greystone, the Cabrio does have a boot but the hardtop is more practical. As far as road noise, it is louder than a hardtop (convertible or otherwise) - no doubt about it. One thing to consider (and I think they'll still have it on the next model) is the sunroof feature. It's nice to be able to have that 'little bit of air' that can be opened or closed at any speed. Really useful when traveling in on and off rain.

 

greystone, this is what I like about the hardtop convertible: safety perspective, less likely to leak (I think), better wear and tear,...
Wind and noise does not bother me whatsoever - with the top down, there is a wind deflector in front and another wind deflector behind me that comes off/out when you need to seat 2 passengers in the back. With the top up, it is extremely quiet - no rattles or anything else noisy.
cadfael tex, the sunroof does sound like a decent alternative to the convertible perspective. Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts.

 

I think tex was referring to the cabrio's sunroof feature.

No doubt the MINI cabrio is a ragtop... but it's a very nice ragtop.. WAY quieter than my old Sebring with the top up.

Personally, I'd be more concerned about leaks with a folding hardtop... more joints and weatherstripping. The MINI roof isn't likely to leak... multi-layer material with a rubber laminate....

And I can attest that the MINI cabrio has some boot space... I can pack enough in there for a weekend trip for a family of four.

 

I'd look very closely at any VW, if considering one for purchase. The last brand new one I had seemed to have seemingly correct and good designs for parts and shapes. But, the material quailities were lacking and many things broke that should not have. For example, manual window crank handle snapped. Another example, the trunck lid latch (hook) bent. Both of these things occured because the materials quality was lacking. You could readily see designs were German, but I've been leary of VW ever since. Contrastingly, my 2006 MINI displays mostly German engineering and design, as well as, a few British ones and has never given a hint of trouble.

 

STAY AWAY from VW!!!!
Nothing but problems with my Jetta.
Built with German Engineering but made in Mexico!
Over $5,000 in repairs during warranty

 

BlimeyCabrio, your car is awesome! Do they make that exterior color these days? Your interior is also gorgeous - do they make that these days as well? Did you buy your car in the states or elsewhere? Thanks for making me feel much better about the Cooper's ragtop.
billie morini/MiniO, thanks for your warnings/bad experiences with VW - I too had one of my own with a previous Passat. My Eos, which I presently own (but am contemplating trading in for a 2009 Cooper S Cabrio) was made in Portugal, not Mexico - do you think that makes a difference

 

Thanks!

Blimey is Cool Blue - a cabrio-only semi-pearlescent metallic color that was offered in 2005-2007 models, now discontinued. There are quite a few of them out there, it was a pretty common color for dealer spec cars, though I don't see many on the road around here. It looked like ugly lavender in the configurator, so I don't think a lot of people ordered them custom... Interior color is body color. Interior leather boots & armrests are custom, by Redline Goods.

 

The EOS was on my list of consideration when I was looking at buying a car this year. Beautiful little car, sporty, looked seriously fun to drive and that transformer top down thing that REQUIRED ripping the sound effect from the cartoon to have it on a CD in the car was just plain cool. But our local VW dealership... well those guys are a bunch of buttheads. They screwed up several repairs on my husband's Cabriolet, to the point where we had to have them pay for a repair to fix their repair at another shop. I really did not want to have to deal with their service center. Still, I considered the EOS until I saw the automatic's MPGs for city driving and the reliability numbers for VW for the last five years.

MINI didn't have a lot of numbers out there, but I was willing to take my chances on a "Fair" to "Good" reliability rating, which were not the ratings I saw for VWs on the various automobile enthusiast mags. My husband has always owned VW's (he's owned five of them) and always loved VW's. His current car, a Honda, is the first car he has ever owned that is not a VW because quality has gone down hill since they started manufacturing all of their cars in Mexico.

That said, it's your car. If you love the EOS, stick with the EOS. Don't let me make that choice for you. Get and drive the car that you love.

Motor on, dude

 

After my wife totaled her Mazdaspeed Miata, she test drove the EOS (still wanted a convertible) and loved it. Then we drove the Cabrio MINI, to elminate it from our choices, and oh crap, we loved it too.
She eventually decided on the EOS. She liked to more luxurious ride and cool hard-top. Well, less than a month later, I was back at the MINI dealer (150 miles away) purchasing a hard-top S.
Now we both love our cars for different reasons but IMO, they are totally different. The MINI is the fun little go cart, and the EOS is the cool, more luxurious cruiser.

 

RandomGemini/billbarr,

You both had Eos/Cooper experiences so your input/thoughts were extremely helpful/invaluable. I thank each of you for taking the time to share such well thought out/informative info with me - it's greatly appreciated.

 

Yes, I meant the trunk is very tiny, much less practical than the hardtop. Do the seats fold down?

 

Stay away from VW's I had 6 all together, nothing but issues with them :(

 

Yep... fold down...







Very impractical. Can't haul ANYTHING in there, really...

I'll agree- if haulin' is your priority, then the MINI coupe is more practical... but the cabrio is SOOOOO much more "practical" than all comparably-performing convertibles (almost all of which are 2 seaters)...

 

Very welcome!
Don't know if being built in Portugal would make a difference or not.
I can tell you though that VW cares very little for their customers.
I wrote letter to German headquarters about the issues and all I received is a form letter back thanking me for my concerns, please accept this $25. GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE VW ON-LINE STORE.
Like I want to advertise for them after the problems I had.
I took a $3000.00 hit just to get rid of the Jetta

 

BlimeyCabrio, thanks for the informative pics.
Cybergypsy, that was and still is by biggest concern...VW reliability.
greystone, the seats do not fold down...there is a small pass thru though.
MiniO, I feel the same way about VW from my past and now present experiences of owning one.
Everyone, thanks again for taking the time to respond!

 

I've had a '95 Passat since it was new, and hardly had any problems with it. It did have a couple of warranty deals, but nothing major and nothing that left me stranded. I also have an '88 Scirocco, which is great in a lot of reasons, and I wouldn't expect any more reliability in something 20 years old. So I thought a lot about getting another VW because I get the parts for cheap, etc. My local dealer is filled with morons, but I just need the parts because I wouldn't let any mechanic touch my car anyway. (The local BMW place is even worse, so no advantage to MINI there).

Anyway, wifey wanted a beetle convertible. Drove it. How pathetic. Slow as a dog, no decent engine options. I drove an A4 convertible next. Amazing amounts of shidder and shake. "Next, please". The Eos was decent. It has lots of noise with the top up - way more than soft top convertibles. Also, there are many many many complaints from owners about leaks. You need to apply Krytox to the seals on a regular basis to keep things reasonably sealed up. I love the DSG transmission, and the 2.0 makes it affordable and would be quick enough with some simple engine work. Still, leaks and noise are a problem with that roof. I wasn't comfortable with that. I drove a used 3-series and wasn't impressed. I drove the MINI and loved the drive, the utility, to style and all that. I took the last slot for an '08 MCSC from a dealer in Houston.

I scrambled to get an order for an '08 because the 2nd generation cars are seriously ugly on the oustide. What's with the fender port hanging out and looking all plastically? What's with the huge gaps around the headlights? It just doesn't do well stylewise what the 1st gen did. Also, ordering the first model year of anything scares me, even though the coupes made it through with only a few hundred ECU's to replace. The improved interior would be nice, and the improved gas mileage with the turbo, which is just a better solution than supercharging, just weren't enough to push me to buy a really ugly car.

So you have missed the new '08's by now entirely I'd guess. Wait until the '09's show up, then buy a used '07 or '08 at a decent discount.

 

haygood,

My Eos has had problems with the windows getting stuck and the convertible top getting stuck, but no leak issues yet.

Thanks for taking the time to write such an elaborate/informative reply to my inquiry - it's greatly appreciated!

 

Math4scher you've had lots of good advise about the VW Mini comparison. (Well except for the made in Mexico comment because their quality of workmanship is of the highest standards and competance) For me the issue came down to the convertible vs the sunroof. I found the convertible mini had a lot of blind spots I wasn't prepared to accept. For some reason sitting in the front seat of the convertible was a problem. I'm 6'4 and run about 250 pounds and just couldn't get my legs in comfortably yet had no problem with the hardtop. The sun roof makes up for the convertible aspect as I usually only use it at night... moon roof....

hope this helps some
chema

 

chema, yes I was given lots of good advice and you helped as well - thanks!

 

My wife's EOS was made in Portugal. Only 5k miles. We'll see how the reliability holds up. My MINI has 4500 miles. No issues their either. (knock on wood)

 

billbarr since you are a Eos/Cooper family, your input is invaluable/relevant to my scenario - thanks for sharing!