2016 MINI Convertible arrives as Cooper, Cooper D & Cooper S. Costs from £18,475

[nggallery id=2203 template=customlinks]

The new MINI Convertible has been revealed – ready to go on sale in March 2016 – costing from £18,474 for the Cooper to £22,430 for the Cooper S.

October may not seem like the best time to reveal a new convertible – certainly for the UK – but the new MINI Convertible has officially arrived now just so it can tempt you to open your wallet when it actually arrives in MINI’s dealers in the UK in March 2016.

There’s no bargain-basement (relatively speaking) MINI One Convertible – at least not for now – so the new Convertible range kicks off with the Cooper Convertible at £18,474, moves up to the Cooper D at £20,225 and tops out with the Cooper S Convertible at £22,430, with both a JCW Convertible, Cooper SD and the One Convertible expected to arrive later.

In terms of what’s on offer in the new Convertible MINI there are no real surprises – it’s a MINI Hatch without a roof. That means extra weight, less performance and poorer economy – but that’s the price you pay for open air motoring.

Just as you get with the new MINI Hatch, the new Convertible offers more room – although you still wouldn’t want to be in the back seats for too long – and thankfully a much bigger boot, although that’s relative – it still only offers 215 litres for stuff with the roof up.

As well as the electric folding roof – which is said to be more acoustically insulating than before, and available with a Union Jack graphic – the Convertible also gets a couple of new colours – Melting Silver and Caribbean Aqua – new brown leather option, 6.5 inch Infotainment screen, Bluetooth, MINI Connect, parking sensors and a reversing camera.

No surprises on the engine front – it mimics the Hatch – with the Cooper getting the 134bhp 1.5 litre petrol, the Cooper D the 114bhp 1.5 litre diesel and the Cooper S the 2.0 litre 189bhp petrol.