[holly999]

im designing my mini one convertible and cannot decide if i should get air con or not...? friends n family have mixed opinions? its quite pricy at £600 can anyone help me decide?

[Rakey]

Yes you need it, as some days it will just be too hot to have the roof down without the risk of burning, or if you are on the motorway you might not want the roof down etc

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Despite being a convertible I would say yes.

The weather in the UK means that its not always going to be possible to have the roof down, but the car will still get hot

Also it may well have a bit of an affect come resale time

[mister.t]

If you're doing long motorway journeys with the roof down and no A/C, you will be burnt to a cinder, and have no hair left So for longer journeys, and to stop the car steaming up, then yes definatly

[Wish]

Nope ....

We have a mini one convertible and have never felt the need to have it.
We have it in our other car (BMW X3) and dont use it in that either.


Some times we have the roof up and the front and back windows open, its got great line when this is done.

[minicabrio]

As with anything on the MINI, your spec is your own personal choice.... Some people would spec it, some wouldn't.

I didn't have it on my Convertible, and to be honest in 3.5 years and 58k miles, there were only a couple of occasions where A/C would have been nice.

£600 is a lot of cash that you can spend elsewhere - if you think you can live without it.

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Quote: Originally Posted by supa-dupa-cooper (original)

The weather in the UK means that its not always going to be possible to have the roof down

The above quote of course didnt apply to Jon (minicabrio ^^) as the top was off at every possible opportunity, rain or shine

[Paulro]

Personally, I think that air con is one of those luxuries that you can easily live without.
My Mini has air con, but I bought it second hand. There's no way I'd spec it at £600. I could count the number of times i've felt the need to use it on one hand (In traffic jams, on rare hot days).
I'd use the money on other things, if speccing a new Mini.

[clawz90]

Always thought with a car like the mini and how much you pay for the things air con would be standard, is it standard with the hardtop?

[mister.t]

Quote: Originally Posted by clawz90 (original)

Always thought with a car like the mini and how much you pay for the things air con would be standard, is it standard with the hardtop?

It will be on the forthcoming factory JCW

[Buz999]

Yes get it!
It maybe rare we get scorching hot days but i use it quite often just to chill the air to arrive at work cool and fresh and not blown around from the windows open
If you're splashing out on a brand new ONE then whats another £600.

[M.O.S]

People on the used market demand air con, and you will most probably recoup the cost upon resale, so go for it!!!

[MrDurst]

YES 100%. Anyone who's had A/C and knows how to use it in winter and summer would miss it if they didn't have it. Modern systems don't hit fuel economy so hard. It's expected on most cars nowadays so I can't understand why BMW don't put as standard across the MINI range?

[minicabrio]

Quote: Originally Posted by MrDurst (original)

YES 100%. Anyone who's had A/C and knows how to use it in winter and summer

Am I missing something? You push the button to turn it on, and push it again to turn it off?

Going back through my car history, my car prior to my first MINI had manual aircon, the MINI Cabrio didn't have aircon, then I went to a Merc CLKwith autoair so it was always on regardless, now back in a MINI with aircon, and I rarely use it.

[dalboyne]

I find the aircon invaluable........about a dozen times a year! If it's warm, and not raining, then I open the roof. But I agree with the comments that a non-aircon car is becoming a rarity, and it could make the difference when you come to sell......one day

Ian

[Serby]

I didn't have AC on my One Convertible, and to be honest I didn't miss it.... Saying that though, my current motor has Auto AC and now that I'm use to it, I'm not sure I could live without it

As has been said, its all personal preference. Whilst it will help with the resale value, it is an expensive extra, and the money could be spent on something else. I do think that it is an 'expected' feature of modern cars, whether convertible or not.

In my opinion though, I wouldn't have said that it was a necessity, especially if there are alternative optional extras that you would like.

[fakesnake]

It is a must have.
Many people just do not use it properly as it is the best instant demist in winter -just switch it on with recirc & misting goes. Climate control can be done without IMHO.

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by MrDurst (original)

YES 100%. Anyone who's had A/C and knows how to use it in winter and summer would miss it if they didn't have it. Modern systems don't hit fuel economy so hard. It's expected on most cars nowadays so I can't understand why BMW don't put as standard across the MINI range?

Why would they - they can sell us it as an optional extra and make even more money! Lets face it, the amount of MINIs bought if aircon is optional isn't going to be any less really than if it was standard! Its all about greed!

[dakini]

Quote: Originally Posted by M.O.S (original)

Why would they - they can sell us it as an optional extra and make even more money! Lets face it, the amount of MINIs bought if aircon is optional isn't going to be any less really than if it was standard! Its all about greed!

oy.

actually, i suspect it's that there are some people who actually don't use it very often. not everyone wants it, or needs it. so it's not standard. why make people pay for something they won't use?

[ben__allen]

You should spend the extra on air-con - I find it much more valuable to have in winter than in summer, it is not just for cooling down the car. It is so good to be able to drive around without the windows steaming up, and visibility ain't great in a MINI convertible with the hood up, so you need all the help you can get!