GETAWAY

It's pretty evident that the Mini Cooper S Convertible is the perfect Sunday car, but does it still put a smile on your face from behind the wheel?

- DHRUV BEHL

British royalty and its German connections are well known.

But I'm not talking about the House of Windsor! I'm referring, in fact, to German stewardship of British automotive royalty - VW's ownership of Bentley and BMW's stewardship of Rolls-Royce.

It's safe to say that both marques have probably never had more stability and access to resources throughout their storied histories as they do now. Moreover, it wouldn't be an understatement to say that they continue to produce some of the most incredible cars in the world. But there's another legendary British brand that's thrived under BMW ownership, and that's Mini.

I drove the first resurrected Mini over two decades ago, and it's a drive that I'll never forget because it was everything that a Mini for the modern-day ought to have been. It was like nothing else on the road at the time - it had tons of character, was very well built (as you would expect from BMW) and, most important of all, it was incredibly fun to drive. That's a trait that perhaps no one could have done better than BMW. Of course, we always knew that they were masters of the rear-drive platform, but they proved, with Mini, that they also had the versatility to make a front-wheel drive car equally fun to drive. More importantly, it was small and light enough to enjoy throwing around while driving down to the shops. You didn't need a racetrack or even a set of twisties to get the most out of a Mini, which was very much in keeping with the spirit of the original.