Top up or down, the 2009 MINI Cabrio is Always Open. February 12, 2009

Drop-top motoring is one of life's most romantic, and romanticized, experiences. Sun, breeze and speed conspire over an eager engine's clean whine, producing sore smile muscles, obscene endorphin levels and, if tresses are hanging loose, killer blow-outs. Proper topless rides unleash pleasures unknown to all but a few savvy motorists. Provided, that is, they're motoring in a proper convertible.
The 2009 MINI Cabrio lets the sunshine in, but don't call it a "soft" top. Leave those over-stylized prima-donna convertibles to their catfights. They can't, after all, build their top-down dreams on the MINI Cabrio's iconic bulldog stance - drum-tight and evoking a sporting heritage stretching back to Granddad's day. Driver and three very, very lucky passengers also get an ingenious sunroof built into a wondrously tactile cloth roof. And, when the spirit moves them (and it often does), one-button wizardry for folding the top away in a scant 15 seconds. Pragmatic to a fault, today's influencers bolster their wilder creative urges with good old-fashioned, sensible guts - underpinnings shared by the MINI Cabrio. Handling, steering and braking are all engineered around maintaining poise without sacrificing spirited, inspired movement. Not only does the Cabrio arrive in style, but also in time ­ and with class-leading fuel efficiency, too. On the car's steering column, a curious throwback analog gauge catches the eye: the Openometer. No self-respecting design maven is won over by mere gadgetry, but even the staunchest minimalist can geek out over this. The Openometer measures the total time the MINI Cabrio has spent in motion while the top has been folded down. A barometer for measuring how much Open has entered into your life. With any luck, it's reading as high as those endorphins: off the charts. Related Links The MINI Cabrio