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This is the Mini Cooper Convertible, and it鈥檚 a bit like Sir Paul McCartney, in that it鈥檚 been around since the sixties, shows little signs of ageing, and is still a truly talented performer.

In an age of paint-by-numbers SUV design, it鈥檚 a charming antidote 鈥� it鈥檚 small, looks great inside and out and is genuinely good fun to drive. Just look elsewhere if you need any sort of practicality鈥�

Well, anywhere but other convertibles. Alternatives such as the Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet, Mazda MX-5 or Fiat 500 Electric Convertible are all packed full of style, but none are particularly practical.

For the latest Mini Cooper Convertible, the design is a strong case of 鈥渋f it ain鈥檛 broke, don鈥檛 fix it鈥�. You get the unmistakable circular headlights up front, rectangular LED lights at the rear, and even an optional Union Jack design for the convertible roof.

It鈥檚 all very cool and characterful, a theme that continues inside. The Cooper Convertible gets the now-typical Mini interior, which means a large circular infotainment screen in the middle and rough textured fabric on the doors and dashboard.

The Convertible roof is easy to remove, just pull a switch and the first section folds back like a big sunroof, or pull again to fold it away neatly over the boot.

Space and practicality is fairly limited, because although it鈥檚 roomy enough in the front for a six-foot-tall driver to get comfortable, those in the back have little to no legroom at all. At 160 litres, the boot is smaller than most alternatives and has an awkward letterbox-like hatch to post things through.

Still, if you don鈥檛 need loads of space for people and things this is all forgotten the moment you head out on the road. To start with, the small dimensions make the Cooper Convertible ideal for driving around the city, and visibility is great, especially with the roof down.

Things get a bit noisy at motorway speeds, but the suspension deals well enough with bumps and there鈥檚 enough power on top to keep up with traffic. Meanwhile it鈥檚 tempting to take the scenic route because the Mini feels at home on a twisty road.

You have a choice of two petrol engines, one with 163hp called simply C, and the other with 204hp called S. There鈥檚 no manual gearbox option, like in the Mazda MX-5, but the Mini鈥檚 automatic is fine most of the time and suits its character well.

If you want to enjoy roof-down motoring then check out 莲花直播鈥檚 Mini Cooper Convertible deals. You can also browse used Mini Convertibles, as well as other used Minis, from our network of trusted dealers. 莲花直播 can even help you sell your current car, too.

If you go for the entry-level engine (C) and trim (Classic), the Mini Cooper Convertible is quite reasonably priced, comfortably undercutting both the Fiat 500 Electric Convertible and Volkswagen T-Roc Convertible in equivalent trim.

However, it can start to get quite expensive, quite quickly, if you go for more kit and some optional extras. Mini offers three 鈥榣evels鈥� of optional extras, so if you get the S engine, top-spec Sport trim, Level 3 equipment pack and the Union Jack roof, you鈥檙e looking at nearly 拢40,000.

A touch uncomfortable over bumps, but great fun to dart about town in

In town

Sure, the Mini Cooper isn鈥檛 exactly miniature anymore, but by modern standards it鈥檚 pretty small, making it well-suited to city driving. Whether you鈥檙e squeezing down a residential street with cars parked either side, navigating width restrictors or simply nipping into gaps in heavy traffic, the Mini Cooper Convertible excels.

The car has a sporty suspension setup, which pays dividends on a twisty road but does mean you rather crash into potholes and get jostled about on particularly rough surfaces. However, everything feels so well-screwed together, and the suspension settles quickly, so it鈥檚 not enough to get annoying.

The automatic gearbox is sharp-witted enough that you rarely find yourself waiting for it to shift gears and give you the power you鈥檝e asked for, but it鈥檚 no match for the instant response you get from the electric motors in the Fiat 500 Electric Convertible.

On the motorway

Like most modern convertibles, the Mini is impressively refined for a drop-top at higher speeds, though it鈥檚 naturally a bit noisier than the regular hatchback model. What鈥檚 more, while it鈥檚 not exactly limo-like in the way it drives down a motorway, you don鈥檛 feel like you鈥檙e in a small car when cruising at 70mph because the Cooper Convertible is nicely planted.

The suspension jolts a bit over road imperfections, but again, it鈥檚 not enough to shake your confidence or make the car too uncomfortable on a long trip.

Driver aids help, because the Mini systems aren鈥檛 too intrusive, so the car brakes smoothly with the adaptive cruise control activated, and the lane-keeping assistance doesn鈥檛 tug too hard at the wheel.

On a twisty road

Mini has long touted the 鈥榞o-kart feeling鈥� in its models, and the latest generation models even have a 鈥榞o-kart mode鈥� for sporty driving situations. Although it feels a touch artificial, because the steering wheel is quite chunky and you don鈥檛 get much feedback about how much grip the tyres have, the Cooper Convertible is good fun to chuck down a twisty road.

The lack of a manual gearbox is a shame here, particularly as the automatic in the Mini has a tendency to hold onto gears a bit too long, so if you鈥檙e looking for a convertible that鈥檚 a more focused driver鈥檚 car you should look no further than the Mazda MX-5.

Surprisingly spacious and comfortable up front, but the rear seats are tiny and so is the boot

If you鈥檙e sitting up front then the Mini Cooper Convertible is actually surprisingly spacious for a car of this size. It鈥檚 a touch claustrophobic for headroom until you drop the roof, but otherwise even taller drivers should be able to find a comfortable driving position.

Storage is reasonable too, with a nifty covered box between the front seats, a pair of cup holders, and a vertical phone holder that doubles as a wireless charger if you get the Level 1 option pack. The door bins are fairly small but can fit a purse and a bottle of water.

Space in the back seats

Life in the back is rather more cramped. With a six foot driver鈥檚 natural seating position there鈥檚 virtually no legroom, so you鈥檒l probably want to limit rear seat passengers to young children 鈥� and even then there鈥檚 a good chance you鈥檒l have to move the front seats further forward than you鈥檇 like.

There are no door bins or pockets to hold loose items, though you do get a small tray and cup holder between the rear seats, of which there are only two. You certainly wouldn鈥檛 want to squeeze three in the back, even if there was a middle pew.

You do get ISOFIX points in the rear seats as well as the front passenger seat 鈥� useful if it鈥檚 just you and your baby, because while it鈥檚 possible to fit a child seat in the back, it is a bit of a squeeze.

Boot space

Practicality isn鈥檛 the Mini Cooper Convertible鈥檚 strong suit, and this is further evidenced by the small boot. At 160 litres only the Mazda MX-5 has a smaller capacity at 130 litres, while you get 185 litres in the Fiat 500 Electric Convertible and 284 litres in the Volkswagen T-Roc Convertible.

You access the boot through a hatch that folds down towards you, so it鈥檚 not the easiest to access, and then there鈥檚 only room for a few soft bags for a weekend away. You can fold the rear seats if you want to carry something long, but the low boot ceiling means you won鈥檛 be fitting anything too chunky inside.

Cool designs, materials and technology, but there are some compromises to be made

As with all modern Minis, the highlight of the Cooper Convertible is the cabin. You get interesting fabrics used on the doors and dashboard in place of your typical plastics, while the cabin is dominated by a large circular infotainment display.

This centrepiece looks great, the graphics are sharp and it鈥檚 generally pretty simple and slick to use. The native operating system makes good use of the circular shape, though the climate controls that are permanently displayed at the bottom can be fiddly to use on the move.

Unsurprisingly, the unconventional shape doesn鈥檛 come without compromise, and the main one is the way it displays Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Because these phone mirroring services don鈥檛 support circular displays, they鈥檙e shown within a square in the centre, which is just a bit jarring aesthetically. It all works perfectly fine, though.

Like the unique display, there are also plenty of materials used throughout the Mini鈥檚 interior that you won鈥檛 see in many other cars. The fabric on the doors and the dashboard looks fantastic compared with the usual black plastics you get in most modern cars, and although it鈥檚 rough to the touch there鈥檚 an overall feeling of quality.

The Mini Cooper Convertible comes with a choice of two engines, signified by C or S when configuring the car. Both are 2.0-litre units, but the C has 163hp and the S has a sportier edge with 204hp.

According to official figures there鈥檚 not much in it fuel economy-wise, with both around 42-43mpg. However, it鈥檚 likely you鈥檒l see slightly worse economy from the S in the real world, simply because you鈥檒l want to make the most of the extra power from time to time.

First-year Vehicle Excise Duty rates are pretty low, and all models fall under the 拢40,000 threshold, so you don鈥檛 have to pay anything extra in years two to six. However, if you鈥檙e considering a company car, an electric vehicle, such as the Fiat 500 Electric Convertible, would be a better choice because of the favourable Benefit-in-Kind rates.

The Mini Cooper Convertible has not been safety tested by Euro NCAP, so it鈥檚 tricky to say how well it will perform in a crash.

However, you do get some useful assistance kit as standard, such as lane-keeping, blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control and a system that will park the car for you. Opting for the Level 3 option pack adds a more advanced cruise control system, 360-degree parking cameras, and augmented reality navigation.

Mini finished in the bottom half of the Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, placing 20th out of 32 manufacturers. That sounds bad, but the old Mini Hatchback, with which this Cooper Convertible shares most of its parts, came fifth overall, only really losing marks for space and practicality, as well as poor running costs.

You get a three-year/60,000-mile warranty with the Mini Cooper Convertible, which is just about the industry standard, and similar to what you get with alternatives.