Well, hold your horses for a minute. BMW spent an awful lot of time and money ensuring that the MINI was as sharp and interactive as any other supermini before it and the Cooper S is a searing hot hatch. Pipe down all you haters at the back. Surely they wouldn't throw it all away in the conversion from hard to soft-top? Okay, even the staunchest MINI-lovers will have to concede that the Cooper S Convertible is terminally cute and hopelessly emasculated, but putting image aside for a moment and judging it purely on ability, the MINI Cooper S Convertible still delivers out on the road.

It retains the tin-top's incredibly responsive steering and wonderfully taut chassis for a start, and with the mild facelift that has accompanied the Convertible launch there's a bit more power now, too. It would be a sensitive soul who'd notice a huge difference with the jump from 161bhp to 168bhp but the gains in torque - up to 162lb ft from 155lb ft - do give the S a greater sense of urgency when lugging out of corners or going for an overtake. It feels just a bit crisper. That's a neat trick considering the extra 100kg that the engine has to haul thanks to chassis strengthening measures, and bodes well for the facelifted standard S.

The straights have only ever been the boring bits that link the corners in the MINI, though. And even with less rigidity (there is noticeable scuttle shake, particularly with the roof down) it's in corners where the S really shines. Front grip is astonishing, so much so that you'll rarely find any understeer, and the rear of the car manages to feel both hyper-alert but trustworthy all at the same time. You can feel it lighten as you tuck the nose into a corner, aiding turn-in, but then the tail stabilises and you can feel the rear tyres digging hard into the road surface. It's this remarkably efficient and lucid cornering balance that allows you to push the MINI right to its lofty limits with no fear.

Add strong traction, minimal body roll and decent feel through the super-responsive steering and you've got a formidable little package. No wonder the Convertible S retains that familiar MINI trait of punching far beyond its weight. The ride is still very firm and short, sharp bumps can upset things but even with that chassis flex the dynamic penalties for choosing the Convertible are fairly minor.

Ultimately the Cooper S Convertible does run out of composure where the closed S would still be hurtling towards the rev-limiter and skipping over nasty surfaces with barely a lift, but BMW has done a fantastic job to retain so much of the donor car's spirit and ability. Unfortunately it's at lower speeds (i.e. normal driving speeds) that the wobbles really seem to take hold of the chassis and around town it can seem a trifle, well... trifley. It's not so bad that it mars the whole experience, just don't expect modern roadster levels of rigidity. The roof itself is a slick, one-touch electric affair, snug and tidy when raised but a bit untidy when folded.

Of course much of this is fairly irrelevant. If you don't like the normal MINI, and there are plenty of you that don't, then you'll despise the Convertible. And even if you do like the MINI you might think that the Convertible is stretching its credibility to breaking point.

Perhaps you're right. I know I couldn't bring myself to buy the soft-top over its more polished tin-top equivalent. Still, it's heartening to know that if somebody very close to you wants a MINI Convertible, you'll still be able to have huge fun when you're forced to borrow it to 'nip to the shops'.