Time to be blunt: the
Mini Convertible is possibly the best of the breed. OK, so the breed is a bit
marginal if you're talking hatch-based cuteness that has some semblance of
driver appeal - but the revised version of the Cooper S has a great many
talents all wrapped up in the kind of bizarrely fluffy image that usually peers
out from convivially placed Wellington boots.

The sprint takes seven
and a bit, the top speed is the thick end of 130mph and even though the version
II Convertible is still some 100kg heavier than its coupe brother, it still
steers, stops and goes with the kind of terrier-like verve that we've all come
to know and love.

Good bits? We like the
fact that the roof stows more neatly (at speeds up to about 15mph) and that the
rollover bars are sleeker - you now have a use for the rear-view mirror when the
roof is down.

The open top timer' is a
friendly but useless piece of gadgety tat that tells you how long you have the
roof down (I kid you not). Otherwise it's the last of the Mini variants to
switch to the MkII platform - so no more clamshell front, and turbo rather than
supercharger on the 1.6-litre four-cylinder.

The boot is acceptable
for shopping, as long as you don't like big dinners and don't expect to be
transporting too many portly friends in the back seats, But you knew that. At
nearly £20k, it ain't cheap, but it's got pretty much everything you'll need.
We like. A lot.