{"id":4398,"date":"2026-08-05T11:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T11:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/?p=4398"},"modified":"2026-08-05T11:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T11:03:29","slug":"enjoy-a-mini-convertible-for-24-hours-and-free-fish-n-chips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/lincolnshire\/business\/enjoy-a-mini-convertible-for-24-hours-and-free-fish-n-chips\/08-2026","title":{"rendered":"Enjoy a MINI Convertible for 24-hours… and free fish ‘n’ chips!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Listers Boston MINI makes the Great British summer last a bit longer with an extended test drive, and a fish ‘n’ chip lunch… and the car itself? Magnificent!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MINI Convertible\u2026 absolutely awesome! Proverbially, the sun shines on the righteous, but perhaps due to a clerical error, I appear to have made the cut recently, too. A heatwave, 10th<\/sup> July, and my car\u2019s air conditioning chooses 30\u00b0C temperatures in which to pack up. Great(!). But then a fortuitous email from our friends at Listers Boston MINI arrived with not one, but two, very exciting offers\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first is a voucher for free fish and chips for two, at Eric\u2019s Fish & Chips in Thornham in North Norfolk, for anyone test driving a MINI Convertible until the end of August. For those unfamiliar with Eric\u2019s, it\u2019s a nostalgic place headed up by three AA rosette chef Eric Snaith. His aim from 2015 was to celebrate our national dish by creating the best example of it you\u2019ve ever tasted\u2026 and he has succeeded. All fresh and homemade, with chips cooked in beef dripping and pure-white fresh cod in beer-batter, served in a quaint coastal location, all very retro and authentic; the best of British. Suits the MINI perfectly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second offer from Listers Boston MINI was the opportunity for me to live with the MINI Convertible for the weekend. This was just as appealing given my own car\u2019s lack of air conditioning, never mind the opportunity to lower the MINI\u2019s roof in just 18 seconds. The clever three-in-one roof can also retract just a little, a bit like a traditional sunroof rather than a convertible. And it\u2019s fully electric, operating at speeds of up to 19mph. You can even operate it remotely via the key fob, if you\u2019re a show-off\u2026 and I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Friday evening, heatwave in full swelt, and England due to face Norway in the World Cup the following evening. Burghley House\u2019s Battle Prom concert was also due to take place that weekend, with Elgar\u2019s Nimrod playing as a Spitfire flew overhead. It was shaping up to be the most British weekend ever, and I had the perfect car for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hackneyed to say that MINI is a genuine motoring icon, but what else can you say? The car launched in 1959 and over 10 million have been sold. Even the modern MINI celebrates its 25th<\/sup> anniversary this year, and over five million of those have been sold globally, including one million in the UK. Last year alone the company sold in excess of 250,000 vehicles with electrification perfectly suiting its nimble handling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And today\u2019s MINI isn\u2019t just fun and universally admired, it\u2019s also underwritten by excellent BMW engineering. Whilst convertible sales have dropped by 90% over the past two decades, the MINI is still fighting the good fight. Not only is it one of the most affordable open top cars on the market, but it\u2019s one that\u2019s suitably funky and youthful enough, with cheerful paint colours and a character that suits carefree summer motoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scientists at MINI appear to have invented an entirely new colour, a bit like red, but more\u2026 red. It\u2019s hard to state just how red the car is, but it looked fantastic, especially with gloss black highlights and a black hood. It\u2019s a car that makes you smile every single time you approach it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, plenty of room in the front seats, not a massive amount of legroom in the rear but surprisingly usable for children or less lofty folk. The boot isn\u2019t huge but it\u2019s deeper and more capacious than appearances suggest\u2026 a full week of supermarket shopping could be easily accommodated. Build quality? Very impressive, with a lovely knitted recycled plastic material on the dash and a lovely strip of woven material on the bottom of the small diameter, thick-rimmed steering wheel with its large thumb pads. It felt great and the leather on the wheel and the seats, although vegan, undoubtedly has a premium feel. Instrumentation and switchgear are typically quirky (for instance, the round touchscreen) but no ergonomic complaints. It all looks good and works well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The convertible range is based on different mechanicals to the hatchback, which is available with a petrol engine or full electrification. An electric MINI Convertible is fabled, but no word on when that might land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve enjoyed MINI\u2019s electrification before, in the brand\u2019s Countryman SUV model, and it\u2019ll likely make the Convertible brisk and quiet, but nothing quite beats the character of the combustion MINI. It\u2019s also quite economical; you\u2019ll easily achieve over 45mpg. Powering the car is a 2.0-litre petrol engine in different states of tune: the Cooper model prioritises comfort, generates 163hp, and reaches 60mph in 8.2 seconds. Our 204hp S version sprints to 60mph in 6.9 seconds, and the 231hp John Cooper Works reaches 60mph slightly quicker, at 6.4 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter, you\u2019ve a choice of Classic, Exclusive or Sport trims, plus Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 option packages. Top trims enjoy adaptive cruise control, electrically-adjustable seats and a Harman Kardon sound system. There are also myriad ways to personalise your MINI, from a Union Jack convertible roof to some really pretty paint colours, but none quite as pretty as our Chilli Red. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve grown accustomed to test driving fully-electric vehicles, and I quite like them. But the MINI Convertible is one of the few cars that make me want to hang on to petrol power for a bit longer. Its rorty, bass-rich petrol engine sounds amazing; not offensively loud but it certainly sounds like you\u2019re driving something with a larger engine with more cylinders. The gearbox is intuitive too, and you quickly learn when to ease off, encourage the car to downshift then prod the throttle for a delicious, smile-inducing pop of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Handling is jolly nice too. I\u2019m not a racing driver or a Jeremy Clarkson-type, but anyone \u2013  even those not concerned with the minutiae of suspension, damper or chassis setups \u2013 will recognise that the MINI is a proper driver\u2019s car, and you don\u2019t have to be misusing it or driving quickly, it always feels a bit special, even at low speeds, even around town. The Convertible builds on that and feels genuinely fun and exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wind noise and tyre noise are a little more noticeable as in all convertibles, but the hood is snug when it gets a little cooler. You can definitely enjoy that wind-in-the-hair sensation, it\u2019s very visceral, and the poser in me enjoyed lowering the hood, turning up the music. I treated the good folk of Sleaford to a carefully-curated Spotify \u2018MINI Convertible\u2019 playlist including \u2013 but not limited to \u2013 Offenbach\u2019s Can Can, Rule Britannia, Gloria Gaynor\u2019s I Will Survive and Quincy Jones\u2019 Soul Bossa Nova. I really don\u2019t care at all whether people were calling me a prat as I drove past, I was having enormous fun, grinning from ear-to-ear. And actually, there\u2019s something about a MINI that\u2019s too accessible, too democratic, to elicit any resentment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People know the MINI Convertible as an affordable, fun, very British car for people who don\u2019t take themselves too seriously, who don\u2019t mind shamelessly showboating and for people who just want to have fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MINI is already a great vehicle, and for anyone who is of the opinion that a convertible car writes cheques that our climate is unable to cash, I suspect you\u2019ll be surprised how comfortable the car is with the roof down, even without blazing hot temperatures. That being said, a weekend of bright sunshine on the red paintwork, a win for England, and the (ultimately unfulfilled) prospect of heading off to the coast for fish and chips made everything seem just that little bit better. I\u2019d book that test drive if I were you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MINI Cooper S Convertible – Frequently Asked Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much is the MINI Convertible? <\/strong>Price: \u00a328,975.
Is it petrol or electric? <\/strong>Mini Convertible is powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo engine, 204hp.
How fast is the MINI Convertible? <\/strong>The car reaches 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds.
How economic is the MINI Convertible? <\/strong>The car has a fuel economy figure of 42.8mpg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listers Boston MINI is currently offering an extended 24-hour test drive offer including a voucher for fish and chips for two at Eric\u2019s Fish & Chips in Thornham. See here<\/a> for details.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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