I had the pleasure of taking Crown's new Cooper S Roadster for a spin through town and out on 295 yesterday
.
White Silver, black leatherette, black top, Cold Weather, Premium, 17" Twin-Blades, 6-speed manual, some of the MINI Yours/Soda exclusive options, and other options. Sticker
$34,400.
Fun car with a quality feel and rattle-free structure although it had just 82 miles on the odo so it was still quite new and 'green'. I did not drive it with the top up. It was top down all the way with heated seats on max
. No visibility issues at all with it down.
The top was a bit difficult for me (5'7" and not-so-buff) to raise from the driver's seat, but do-able. Easier to raise/lower from outside the car. A semi-automatic (power) roof is a $750 option and only adds about 11 lbs, according to MotoringFile. My S2000 spoiled me and I would seriously consider it if I bought one or just keep the car in the garage with the top down
. There is no tonneau cover as the top sinks in the well and snaps in place, fitting the top of the top (*laugh*) flush with the boot lid - very nice. I hate the chrome line interior so that would have to go
. To raise the top, you first press the (big round) button high up in the center console between the seats which releases it and you manually pull it up, then line up the latches, pull it down with the handle, twist, and lock it in place.
This car did not have the optional ($250) wind deflector, which was a bummer because I wanted to note the difference with and without it. There was a surprisingly large amount of buffeting at low speed, but when I hit the interstate it actually calmed down a bit and having a conversation with the sales guy was pretty easy. Of course, the wind deflector should eliminate some/most of the buffeting as it worked well in the S2K.
Even though this wasn't the factory JCW like my car, it had the burble-burble-pop-pop when I let off the gas and sounded great on decel with the top down
.
Photos:
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