2013 MINI Roadster

The Cooper S adds a twin-scroll turbocharger that bumps the 1.6-liter’s horsepower to 181 and its torque to 177 pound-feet. The engine connects to the same six speed transmission and gets 26 mpg city and 35 mpg highway -- outperforming the Miata by 4 mpg and 7 mph, respectively. The Cooper S sees significant performance increases, as its 0-to-60 mph time drops to 6.7 seconds, besting the Miata by 0.2 seconds. Top speed jumps to 141 mph.

The John Cooper Works further tunes the 1.6-liter engine to 208 horsepower and hooks it up to the same standard six-speed transmission. Highway fuel economy drops to 34 mpg while city mileage remains steady at 26 mpg. The JCW model sees its 0-to-60 mph sprint fall to a brisk 6.3 seconds, and its top speed leap to 147 mph.

The Mini Roadster is certainly one of the cooler models available, but it has its issues. First of all, it is significantly more expensive than its closest competitor, the MX-5 Miata. The second issue is that its rather pricey base model is very underwhelming in overall performance. Lastly, its convertible top is little more than a piece of vinyl loosely laid over a metal frame, leaving a lot to be desired from a car that can crest the $35K mark.