What's not so good is visibility. The rear seats and roll bars make it very hard to see out the rear. When the top is up,

Top up or down, visibility out the back of the MINI convertible is limited. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press)

seeing out the back is even more difficult, with blind spots that are literally blinding to the driver. So to appease the situation MINI has incorporated a standard Park Distance Control (PDC) system onto all MINI Convertibles. The PDC sensors are located in the rear bumper and detect the car's proximity to a foreign object such as a post, building or another car. As the MINI gets closer to the object, the system beeps more rapidly. It's a commendable compromise for poor visibility, and one normally only offered on upscale luxury cars. But poor rearward visibility aside, it's a fantastic car with some fabulous standard features. All Cooper Convertibles come with the fully automatic convertible top featuring the power sliding sunroof, four airbags, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, CBC, and EBD, electro-hydraulic steering, a tire pressure monitoring system, heated glass rear window, rear seat backrests that fold forward in 50/50 split configuration and lockable in position, AM/FM CD player, park distance control (PDC), central

The convertibles come with a very long list of standard features, including electro-hydraulic steering, tire pressure monitoring, heated glass rear window and park distance control. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press)

locking with remote control, front and rear power windows, body coloured bumpers and more. My test Convertibles had the sport package on the Cooper and the premium package on the Cooper S. The sport package includes dynamic stability control (DSC), 16-inch 5-star wheels with performance tires, sport seats and fog lamps for $1,800 CDN, as well as the cockpit Chrono package at $450 CDN, and the chrome line exterior at $350 CDN. The premium package includes cruise control, multi-function steering wheel, chrome line interior, automatic air conditioning, on board computer and a Harmon/Kardon premium audio system at $1,750 CDN.