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2009 MINI Cooper Convertible Review

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Marc Bouchard
Styling is always the predominant feature of any MINI on the road. Its friendly little face, can’t-miss presence and half-retro, half-modern looks make this car absolutely impossible to fly under the radar. In fact, it’s impossible not to smile when looking at it, plain and simple. In a lot of ways, the MINI is similar to the iconic smart.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the MINI is aging remarkably well.

Take the top down, as was the case of my tester, paint it in Nightfire Red and you got yourself a real pleaser -- both for drivers and onlookers.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the MINI is aging remarkably well and continues to be one of the sexiest (in the cute sense of the word) and most entertaining cars in the entire auto industry.

Limited power

When I said "entertaining", I didn’t mean powerful. The base 2009 MINI Cooper Convertible I tested had really nothing to make the tires squirm and scream upon taking off. The little 118-horsepower engine under the hood is lagging in straight-up accelerations and sometimes lets out a few unhappy rumbles. Just look at the numbers: it took me over 9 seconds to reach 100 km/h from a standstill, which is more than 1.5-second slower than the Cooper S.

Featuring a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, my tester was obviously a pale copy of its legendary racing parent. True, the gearbox is generally effective, delivering precise shifts in manual mode, but the slight hesitations at times take away a good deal of power. It’s arguably perfect for cruising and parading on the strip, but not zooming by other vehicles.

Dynamic handling

That said, the MINI is still very enjoyable on the road as far as power and accelerations aren’t concerned. With go-kart handling and equally incisive brakes, drivers have many reasons to feel happy.

Regardless of road and driving conditions, the tiny British car literally bites the pavement or, if you prefer, it seemingly rides on rails -- with no intention of getting off. Plus, the razor-sharp steering allows the MINI to maintain course with little driver intervention but maximum communication.

With go-kart handling and equally incisive brakes, drivers have many reasons to feel happy.
Marc Bouchard
Marc Bouchard
Automotive expert
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