OPEN IS BETTER; New Mini convertible might be a bigger step forward than the hardtop.(NEWS)

Byline: J. P. VETTRAINO

Call it dedication to the cause, clever marketing or a publicity stunt. Mini's tagline for its all-new convertible is "Always Open, intended to emphasize the little front-drive fun wagon's all-season capability. To make its point, the company offered a first-drive opportunity in the snow-slammed Austrian Alps.

It wasn't our idea of fun, but we went along, even through near-whiteout blizzards, logging hours on the convertible's Openometer, which records the amount of time the car is driven with the top down. In the process, we learned that the second-generation Mini convertible might be a bigger improvement over its predecessor than its hardtop counterpart.

The 2009 Mini Cooper convertible's foundation is the second-gen hardtop launched in 2007 ("All [Mostly, Sorta, Hard to Tell] New! AW, Dec. 4, 2006). The hardtop can be called an evolutionary car, incrementally better than the first generation in many ways but a great leap forward in none.

As with the hardtop, the convertible is nearly three inches longer than the first-generation car, with a bit more volume inside, though the soft-top loses about two inches of rear-seat legroom compared with the coupe. The convertible now has Mini's new 1.6-liter inline-fours, developed jointly by BMW and Peugeot-Citroen to improve fuel efficiency. The engines also boost output in the Cooper convertible and its S version by 5 hp and 7 hp, respectively.

The normally aspirated base engine features BMW's Valvetronic throttleless VVT technology. It generates 118 hp at 6,000 rpm and 114 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm. The turbocharged 1.6 in the S version adds high-pressure direct fuel injection, delivering 172 hp at 5,500 rpm and 177 lb-ft starting at 1,600 rpm. Its overboost feature can spike peak torque to 192 lb-ft for about two seconds under full throttle. Every Mini convertible will come standard with a six-speed manual; a six-speed torque-converter automatic is optional.

The obvious difference between the second-gen hardtop and the convertible is the folding top. To accommodate it, the convertible is restructured from the windshield pillars rearward with a reinforced floorpan, A-pillars and side sills. The enhancements add roughly 60 pounds compared with the hardtop (2,885 pounds unladen for the manual S model), but the new convertible is 22 pounds lighter than its predecessor. Mini claims that the new one improves rigidity and crash protection by a minimum of 10 percent, depending on the measure.