Audi A3 Cabriolet vs Mini Cooper Convertible

Audi India brought-in the soft top version of its popular A3 sedan, they call it, A3 Cabriolet. The drop-top is priced at Rs. 44.75 Lacs (Ex-Showroom New Delhi) in the country and is imported as CBU (Completely Built Units). Speaking of its competitors, there’s only one rival left for the Audi’s drop-top that is Mini Convertible since BMW did not sell 3 series convertible anymore. Let’s see how the cheaper Mini Cooper Convertible (Rs. 34.80 Lac - Ex-Showroom Delhi) stack against the A3 Cabriolet!   

EXTERIORS AND INTERIORS

Talking in terms of sheer size, A3 has an edge over Cooper Convertible with over 4m - 4.4m length compared to Mini’s 3.7m. A3 Cabriolet is based on the sedan, while Cooper Convertible is crafted from the Cooper hatch. Mini has its quintessential retro feel while Audi looks contemporary. Speaking of the features, both the cars features Bi-xenon headlamps along with daytime running lamps (Mini offers non LED DRLs) and LED taillamps. About the soft-top, Mini Cooper’s top can be retracted under 19 seconds while Audi’s roof can be retracted under 18 seconds and at speeds up to 50 kmph, Mini does it around 30kmph.  

On the interiors, A3 Cabriolet borrows the dashboard from the sedan while Cooper Convertible borrows it from the hatch. The Audi offers an elegant and less claustrophobic design to dash, Mini on the other hand continues to its classic retroness and offers a quirky looking dashboard. Adding on the infotainment system, A3 Cabriolet offers a 7-inch pop-out screen featuring Audi’s MMI along with a touch pad while Mini offers a central speedometer mounted MID (Multi-information-Display). Like the Audi, Mini's unit is also a non-touch display and is controlled by a joystick placed behind the gear lever.  

SPEC COMPARISON 

ENGINE, PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY     

A3 Cabriolet clearly excels on paper when it comes to engine specs, courtesy to bigger turbo charged 1.8-liter TFSI petrol motor compared to Mini Cooper Convertible’s naturally aspirated 1.6-liter engine. Audi’s 1798cc engine chucks out 177 bhp and a peak torque of 250 Nm. While Mini’s 1.6-liter 1598 cc musters 122 bhp and 160 Nm of max torque. Speaking of the transmission, Audi offers a modern dual-clutch 7-Speed S-Tronic automatic box compared to Mini’s 6-Speed automatic unit. With the bigger block Audi zooms from 0 to 100kmph in 7.8 seconds while Mini takes 11.1 seconds.

SAFETY

The A3 Cabriolet comes loaded with seven airbags - dual front airbags, front side airbags along with head airbags and driver’s knee airbag. Apart from these A3 Cabriolet comes with Active rollover protection, ESC - Electronic Stability Control along with electronic limited-slip differential. The Mini Convertible on the other hand will offer four airbags - dual front airbags along with head/thorax airbags. Similar to the A3, Mini also offers Dynamic Stability Control and Active Roll Over Bar. Moreover, Adaptive headlights and Dynamic Traction Control are optional features on Mini.   

Read More on : Audi A3 cabriolet detailed review