Speaking of County roads in nowheresville, I happened to be clocking a good speed when I caught sight of a turtle in the

If I hadn't stopped to rescue "Sparco" the turle, I might never have known how stellar the car's four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, electronic brake control and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) are. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press)

middle of the road. And being the softy that I am I slammed on the brakes, made a U-turn and went back to save the little critter. And if it wasn't for the turtle I might never have known how stellar the car's four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, electronic brake control and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) are. They stopped the car in a flash. In conjunction with a relatively efficient turning radius and an excellent braking system, I was able to save the romping reptile before any other cars came down the road. Also working in action to stop the car proficiently were a set of optional 195/55R16 run-flat tires with 16-inch 5-spoke "star" design alloy wheels. They not only look awesome but hug the ground in tight turns and during braking.

After rescuing "Sparco" the turtle (yes, I named it), I jumped back into the sweet 5-speed manual ride and took off. Although

The Cooper Convertible sports the same engine as its hardtop sibling; a 1.6-liter, 16-valve, DOHC I-4 producing 115 horsepower. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press)

the Cooper Convertible's engine is not as powerful as the supercharged S, it still has decent get-up-and-go with zero to 100 km/h acceleration in 8.9 seconds. The Cooper Convertible sports the same engine as its hardtop sibling; a 1.6-liter, 16-valve, DOHC I-4 producing 115 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 111 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. New for this year, the Cooper S engine boasts a little more power. Now the supercharged 1.6-liter, 16-valve, DOHC, I-4 produces 168 horsepower (instead of 163 hp) at 6,000 rpm but the torque stays the same at 155. With the engine upgrade its zero to 100 km/h acceleration time has changed from 7.2 to 7.0 seconds.