The Openometer is back. True fans of the Mini Convertible will instantly knows what that means, a way to track just how much of the time behind the wheel of the little British ragtop you spend with the top down. It’s one of the quirkiest features of a car that puts a premium on the fun-to-drive factor.
The 2025 Mini Convertible makes its formal debut in Greenville, South Carolina on 11/11/24
When it comes to Mini, “fun-to-drive” is critical, and few products the British automaker has offered over the years has had as much of a fun factor as the little Mini Convertible.
Mini has struggled in recent years for the brand which has seen demand for its pint-size products losing momentum in a bigger-is-better market. But “I think we’re on the border of a small car renaissance,” contends U.S. brand boss Mike Peyton. And Mini wants to be ready for it.
The coming 2025 model year will be a big one for the brand, with 16 new or completely updated products coming to market worldwide, 11 of them bound for the U.S. market. And the good news is that the next-generation Mini Convertible makes it State-side.
What’s new
The ragtop shares most key components, as its overall look, with the familiar 3-door hardtop – which the Brits revealed last month in John Cooper Works form.
The 2025 Mini Convertible will be offered in three different trims.
It features a softer, more refined shape, with a distinctive new grille and brightwork grille frame. There are new exterior accents and wide front air intakes. The back end and taillights are largely carried over, and it retains the basic roof design – which is available with the familiar Union Jack design. The Convertible shares key brand signatures, like the round headlights seen on the Hardtop package.
The 2025 Mini Convertible will be offered in three trim packages: the base Cooper, the upgraded Cooper S and the sporty JCW package.
A number of different 17” and 18” wheels are offered, depending on trim and option choices.
Interior design
A look at the interior of the 2025 Mini JCW Convertible.
As one would expect of a Mini, the Convertible features a single, round LCD display atop the center console. It serves as both the gauge package and infotainment screen. The 9.5-inch touchscreen can be reconfigured for different driving modes and to match the layout drivers prefer.
The top is fully powered and can be opens in just 18 seconds – and operated at speeds up to 18 mph. Alternatively, it can slide back 18 inches in “sunroof” mode. But it has to be completely down to register with the Openometer, a beloved feature reborn. The original Mini Convertible used a mechanical counter to clock the time you spent driving al fresco. The new ragtop turns to a digital chronometer.
It’s an appropriately silly feature for a car that readily brings a smile to your face. But lots of owners took the openometer quite seriously, Mini officials told Headlight.News, with some serious challenges to see who could log the most time driving open-air.
Mini has put an emphasis on using recycled materials for about 90% of the interior package.
More Mini News
- First Look: 2025 Mini Cooper and Cooper S
- Mini Cooper 4-Door Brings More Style, Space
- Mini Maxes Out
Powertrain
The 2025 Mini Convertible will be offered with a choice of three powertrains, depending upon trim.
There will be three powertrains available for the 2025 Mini Convertible:
- The Cooper features a 2.0-liter turbo-four making 161 horsepower 184 pound-feet of torque. It launches from 0-60 mph in 7.9 seconds;
- The Cooper S is retuned to make 201 hp and 221 lb-ft, cutting launch times to 6.7 seconds;
- The JCW package jumps to 228 hp and 280 lb-ft, and will hit 60 in 6.2 seconds.
All three packages are fitted with a 7-speed automatic gearbox sending power to the front axle.
Pricing and availability
Production of the 2025 Mini Convertible has already begun at the plant in Oxford, the UK. Expect to see volume availability around the end of January, though a small number of vehicles might be available in the waning days of 2024 or early in the New Year.
As for pricing:
- The The 2025 Mini Cooper starts at $28,950 plus $995 destination and handling;
- The 2025 Mini Cooper S comes climbs tof $32,200 plus $995 destination and handling;
- A fully loaded JCW package , including Iconic trim, the Union Jack roof and other upgrades will reach $48,700 before destination fees..
That’s about $300 less than the top-line version of the outgoing 2024 model – with more equipment, a Mini official told Headlight.News.
Is there really a market for these things? The only positive aspect is it doesn’t look like every other car out there and should be easier to find in the parking lot. Not a very good reason to spend medium/big bucks.