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2005 Mini Cooper and Cooper S Compact Convertible
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Exterior
The 2005 Mini Cooper convertible has the same muscular, British-bulldog look, and stance, as the coupe version. The face is instantly recognizable as the Mini.
There have been a few changes to the front of the vehicle. The headlights have been redesigned with new reflectors and bezel underneath the glass. Fog lamps have been added to the bumper. The grille has a new three-slat design.
The 2005 Mini Cooper S convertible gets everything mentioned above plus the addition of s body-colored grille, and bumpers. The hood still has the scoop which provides air to the intercooler for the supercharger.
Mini's trunk lid folds down like the cars from the 50s, with the hinges on the bottom. This makes it possible to access to the trunk when the roof is down. Though the trunk door folds down like a tailgate, don't sit on it. It can't hold more than 125 pounds.
The convertible roof is a fantastic bit of technology. It maintains the roof line of the coupe when closed. It has a glass window in the back, rather than the plastic ones that used to yellow so badly. The convertible top has two-stages of open: sunroof and fully open. The first provides a 15 3/4 inch sunroofesque opening over the front seats. It can be left open in this position at speeds of up to 75 mph. This is perfect when you want to let the day in, but you have lots of stops to make, and don't want to wait for the roof to close. But when you want big sun, the roof folds down completely in a little over 15 seconds.
The car has exposed roll bars which are built in behind the rear seats.
Interior
The Mini convertible has the same interior as the coupe. But there are a few, new options.
Mini's standard dash configuration has large speedometer in the middle of the cowl. The tachometer is on the steering column.
If the navigation system is ordered, then the display for it is put in the center of the dash and the speedometer is moved the steering column next to the tachometer. Mini offers a Chrono Gauge Package with analog readouts for the fuel level, coolant temperature, oil pressure, and temperature. This package moves the speedometer to the steering column.
For an extra touch of style, order the Chrome Line interior trim package. This adds chrome bezels around the gauges, air outlets, some of the dash switches, the parking brake handle, and the cup holders.
A second cup holder was added for 2005 as there was only one in the original version. It hangs on the passenger's side of the center stack. It takes up a lot of space, and we had to remove it for our drive.
There is an optional multifunction steering wheel with switches for the cruise control and radio.
The contoured sports seats, which are optional on the Mini Cooper, and standard on the S, are also standard on the convertible.
There is plenty of room in the Mini Cooper convertible for four adult passengers. It has always amazed us how Mini's engineers have been able to provide more seating space than many much larger cars.
There are eight upholstery fabric options for the Mini Cooper convertible, and seven for the Mini Cooper S convertible. There is a new water-resistant cloth interior, which is perfect for an open-top car. And, or course, leather seating surfaces are also available. All the materials used are high quality, just like what one finds in a BMW.
There are 10 exterior color options for the 2005 Mini Cooper convertible. These include two which are exclusive to the convertible: Hot Orange and Cool Blue. These are the colors we feature in the photos for this review.
The roof is fully automatic, and very fast. Touch a button and the sunroof opens, or closes, in just over 15 seconds. And, for convenience sake, the roof can also be controlled from the key fob.
Despite the size of the convertible top, Mini managed to maintain the car's carrying capacity. With the roof up there are 5.8 cubic feet of cargo space, and with the rear seats folded down there is 21.3 cubic feet for hauling your stuff. With the top down there are 4.2 cubic feet of cargo space.
The only serious problem in the 2005 Mini Cooper convertible is the extent to which the driver's view is obstructed by the closed roof -- the window is tiny -- and by the roll-bars behind the rear passenger seats.
