Funniest Convertible: MINI Cabrio S.

 For starters, I must admit that I am a huge fan of MINIs, both classic and modern. I love the image that the British continue to promote even under the wing of the German giant.

Many people say that to call yourself a real car enthusiast, you need to own an Alfa Romeo at least once in your life, but I believe that the experience of owning a MINI is equal, if not more important.

At Alpha, everyone talks about the soul or something like that, with the Mini you will feel what it is like to be part of a huge automotive community. It doesn't matter if you register at the minivod club or avoid them in every possible way, every time you meet another MINI on the way, its owner will blink, honk and wave at you as if he met an old friend. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about - I have been in the garage of the latest generation MINI Cooper 5D for almost two years, I participated in this movement and was sincerely happy when I met other "Mini People", as they call themselves.

At one point, the popularity of MINI around the world was growing so quickly that BMW could not resist and expanded the model range too much. The classic three-door and convertible were first joined by the Countryman crossover and the Clubman station wagon. Then, in the wake of the X6's popularity, there was the Paceman hatchback crossover and coupe I never understood.

With the new generation, the lineup was put in order, getting rid of the latter, so the Kubrick again became the most fun modification.

In Russia, unfortunately, only the S version with a two-liter 4-cylinder engine is presented. I'm not sorry about the engine (although, by the way, the 3-cylinder Cooper is beautiful, if you ignore the vibration at idle), but because of the appearance.

A distinctive feature of the S-ki is the front and rear bumper covers, which, in my opinion, spoil the classic design, but I like the air intake in the hood and th Funniest Convertible: MINI Cabrio S.  e exhaust pipes located in the center.

The roof can be opened entirely, it folds neatly behind the passengers' backs, practically without affecting the dimensions of the tiny trunk with a volume of 215 liters (160 with folded), or partially as a hatch, only above the driver and front passenger.

The complete process takes only 20 seconds and you can remove or close the roof at speeds up to 30 km / h - not a record, but an excellent indicator.

The Mini's feature is the roof: few convertibles look tolerable with the top up, because it is very difficult to make a beautiful car with or without a roof, especially if it is made of cloth. MINI designers have resorted to a clever move by painting over the Union Jack. The British flag, which is now literally everywhere, did not make the car more beautiful, it just distracts from the view of the closed convertible.

This generation was introduced in 2014 and has now received a small update, allowing for a clever design refresh. Most of all, the taillights, which divided the halves of the flag of the United Kingdom, are striking, but the headlights have changed too - the turn signal is now combined with the DRL oval, and the lens has ceased to resemble glaucoma.

Inside, the changes are barely noticeable, except for the Union Jack again on the glove compartment, a new gearshift lever has appeared (the old one was better).

The Cabrick became 190kg heavier than the three-door and retained the most important thing - it remained MINI, and some of its chips became brighter.

This is probably the only convertible that I liked, because I did not think at all about how it drives, how much horsepower it has, etc., I just enjoyed its chips. This car makes you smile.

The multimedia is as fun as the rest of the car, it lets you track how much you've driven with the roof open, how much fuel you've saved, connect your GoPro cameras to it, and more.

https://elzaphotography.net/2021/07/15/funniest-convertible-mini-cabrio-s/