Would suit:
Dolly birds and dolly blokes.
Price (as tested):
£15 250 (about R183 000).
Top speed:
190km/h, 0-100km/h 10sec.
Combined fuel economy:
6.75 litres/100km.
You're still going to want a Mini Cooper Cabriolet, aren't you? I mean, even after seeing that the Nissan Micra C+C is better value, has a folding glass-and-metal roof which means better security and a far better view of the road than the Cooper's claustrophobic canvas one.
Even when you've heard about all the extras that come as standard in the Nissan - which you would have to cough up several monthly mortgage repayments to obtain in the Mini - you are still going to ring the bank, make whining noises down the phone, ignore that awful old avocado bathroom suite that you've been meaning to rip out since you moved in six years ago, and buy the Mini.
But wait just a minute. I know it's a Nissan, and I know it looks like an extra from a Pixar animation, but the C+C really is a terrific little car. For a start, it's fun to drive; the Micra hatchback on which it is based was a sound car to begin with: peppy, eager and it made a good fist of the twisty bits.
The C+C has a pumped-up version of the best Micra engine - a quad-valve, 1.6-litre - but, to be honest, it is still pretty sluggish. It carries an extra 126kg of chassis stiffening but I still really enjoyed driving it. A slick gear change and an engine that lives happily at the higher end of its rev range helps.
The Mini has always had reliability issues which makes the UK-designed, Sunderland-built Micra not only more British than the BMW Series but indisputably better-built.
Impressive rigidity over potholes is a good sign that the C+C is well engineered; another is the good-quality-for-the-price interior. Plus, the Micra has vastly more boot space than the Mini (457 litres with the roof up, versus, ooh, I reckon about half a pint in the Mini), it will cost less to insure and drinks less petrol (a diesel is due next year, too).
Of course, if you're cruising the showrooms for a cheap convertible this spring, there are other cars you will be toying with - the Opel Tigra, for example. That's sharper looking, also has a fine engine and is better built than you might think. But it has only two seats and sales have suffered accordingly.
The Micra has four, although admittedly those in the rear are titchy; you sit bolt upright as if waiting for the volts in an electric chair and the leg room makes SAA economy class feel like business class.
But they'll suffice.
So the only issue would seem to be which C+C to go for. I'd counsel against the entry-level Urbis with its piddling 1.3-litre engine. I haven't driven it, but I suspect you can gauge its performance in terms of custard skin-pulling and, anyway, the 1.6 Sport is only £500 or so more and comes with air-conditioning.
Meanwhile, I tried the top of the range Essenza model that comes impressively stuffed with sat nav, alloy rims and climate control.
So that seems to be the one to go for. But there's just one other problem: the basic Mini Cooper Convertible is, in fact, cheaper than the whizz-bang C+C Essenza. I know which I'd want and I think I know which one you'd buy too. - The Independent, London
- Sadly, Nissan SA has no plans to import the Micra.