Can you put a roof rack on a Mini Cooper?
Yes! A lot of people may think that a Mini Cooper is too small for a roof rack, or it may not be designed in a way that would allow one to be fitted—but this is definitely not the case. The Mini Cooper is such an iconic car, however it has a practical downside in the amount of luggage it can hold. A great way to overcome this limitation is a roof rack!
Benefits of adding a roof rack
✔️ Greatly increase storage space
✔️ Allow transportation of bikes, kayaks, skis, surfboards etc.
✔️ Possibility to add a tent onto the roof for camping!
Quick recommendations
If you’re in a hurry and want the summary, here are our top recommendations:
How much weight can the roof rack hold?
For the Mini Cooper, the weight limit we would recommend putting on the roof is 75kg/165lbs—this is including the weight of the roof rack, attachments, and roof box/bike rack etc.
In numbers:
- Our recommended roof bars weigh 2.9kg/6lbs
- Our recommended roof attachments and foot pack come in at around 3.4kg/7.5lbs
- If you had a 3-door and need the short roof adapter—500g/1lb
All combined these come in at around 7kg/15.5lbs—this gives you plenty of weight for your cargo. As an example you would be able to hold any of the following:
- 3 adult mountain bikes + 3 roof bike racks with space for 2 children’s bikes
- 2 kayaks + 2 Kayak roof adapters + straps
- 2 maximum weight hand luggage (23kg each) bags + a decent aerodynamic roof box
Can you put a roof rack on a Mini Cooper with a sunroof?
You can indeed, the sunroof actually has no impact on installing a roof rack. The way the roof racks are installed on Mini Coopers means nothing actually touches the top of the roof, all of the weight goes through the clamps attached to the side frame.
Can you put a roof rack on a 3 door Mini Cooper?
Yes of course, however you will need to also obtain a short roof adapter—this is because the way the roof rack sits on the Mini Cooper it requires an open door frame to be able to install the tethering feet. Because the 3 door obviously only has 2 side doors, you instead fit both feet onto the single door, and then use a short roof adapter that “sits” on the roof to extend the size of the roof rack, as shown below.
