THE outside temperature is 36-degrees plus. It's midday in the sun-baked Spanish countryside a few miles outside Seville.

There's a long drive ahead, but never mind, the new MINI convertible will provide an exhilarating, refreshing wind-in-the hair experience.

Except that the electronics that should push the soft top back into its holding bay behind the rear seats has experienced the MINI equivalent of a serious meltdown. The electronics refuse to work, the roof refuses to open.

MINI technicians scurry between the 20 or so test vehicles trying to solve the problem.

In some cases they are successful, and the motoring journalists set off to begin their 200-mile test drive, through the hilly Spanish interior.

The remainder are advised to head off with the roof closed and, after a few miles advised to stop and once again try the simple press-button electronics. The drive should have helped cool off the system.

Whether it did or not turned out to be immaterial, because it was so, so hot outside it was more comfortable and considerably safer to sit under the closed roof with the car's air conditioning on full blast. Bliss!

Explanations and apologies followed later from MINI chiefs: the cars were pre-production models, and the electronics had been working back in the UK, so the excessive heat must be at the heart of the problem. Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell.

Had it been working, the roof operates in two stages. Press the button once and the roof slides neatly back 40cm to create an open sunroof effect. It can be opened safely at up to 75mph.

Park up and press the button again and the roof retracts fully, neatly folding down into a compact arrangement behind the rear seats. No messy catches, tricky levers or fiddly tonneau covers, and it takes only 15-seconds. The roof is made of high quality fabric, and when tucked away, folds into three layers on top of one another.

It does take up some boot space, 45-litres when down, but with the roof "on" the boot capacity increases to 165-litres.

The soft top also includes a heated glass rear window, and is available in three colours for the Cooper convertible and Cooper S, black, dark green and dark blue. The MINI One roof is black.

With an ever-growing demand for convertibles in this country and most of the rest of the world, it is no surprise that the MINI wants a share. But by introducing its convertible, the MINI has created a problem. One of weight versus performance.

This is one of those strange phenomenon where lots of car has been removed, but the vehicle puts on weight. This is actually down to the mechanism needed to drive the soft top, as well as the added safety bars to protect the occupants in the event of a roll over. Together another 100 or so kilos have been added to the car's overall weight, equivalent to packing another human being into the car and, frankly, it does not enjoy the experience.

Thinking back to the arrival of the MINI one and Cooper, the performance return was terrific, exciting and sporting.

But, although powered by the same 90hp petrol engine producing 140Nm at 3,000rpm, the MINI One convertible is sluggish, in fact (not to put too fine a point) one motoring writer declared: "It couldn't pull the skin off a rice-pudding!" Even the MINI Cooper convertible with its 115hp engine producing 150Nm at 4,500rpm found the Spanish hills daunting. Definitely better, yet still finding it a drag.

The only way to build up any sort of speed was to work the gears thoroughly, and to achieve a speed of 90mph on a dial showing a top speed of 150mph it was necessary to drive foot down hard, and downhill.

Fully loaded, that is as a four-seater or packed with luggage for two, the word "performer" will be hard to live up to.

However, things should improve somewhat with the August arrival of the MINI Cooper S convertible with added supercharger and intercooler providing another seven bhp to the original engine, and taking its power to 170bhp at 6,000rpm.

Both MINI One and MINI Cooper convertible are fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox, while the Cooper S will have a six-speed box.

Prices are £13,325 for the One convertible, £14,625 for the Cooper and £17,595 for the Cooper S.

Despite the earlier quibbles (and I am sure the roof electronics will be sorted out) the MINI convertible series will attract loads of admirers, keen to own a car, different from others in so many ways, and perhaps not even bothered by uninspiring performance figures. Instead, they may want a car that stands out for its design, good looks and one that can provide an interesting range of interiors and exterior packages, guaranteed to make every MINI different.

For example, upholstery comes in a choice of three different cloths, or a choice from three combinations of cloth with leather, or even from three all-leather interiors.

These upholsteries can be combined with different trims, such as silver, anthracite, alloy patina or wood effect. Then there are the body colours, chili red, liquid yellow, cool blue, hot orange and for the Cooper S only, hyper blue.

Then there is the range of options, special packages to personalise the driver's view of the dashboard, or add extra interior lighting, or introduce lots of chrome finishes to instruments, doors, cup holders and exhaust, to list but a few ideas.

So, it is highly unlikely the convertible will fail to sell well in the United Kingdom.

We Brits are a nation obsessed by convertibles, despite the generally inclement weather. More convertibles are sold here than anywhere else in Europe, and MINI's marketing gurus are confident of at least 8,000 sales a year, therefore adding considerably to the 98,316 topless models from all manufacturers sold last year.

Updated: 09:26 Friday, June 18, 2004