New JCW buyers - thoughts so far ?
Discussion
My wife has had 3 new Mini's - a 2010 3 door Cooper, a 2013 Cooper Countryman and now a 2016 Cooper Clubman. This new Mini I have to say I like the new version very much. Many of the things I disliked about the previous version have been changed (for example the location of the electric window switches) and it has some really nice, cool, quirky features that set it apart from silmilar cars in its class.
I like it so much I fact that I am thinking about "downsizing" getting a new 3-door JCW, whilst waiting to see if the rumoured Clubman hybrid with 300+ bhp is released in 2017. Having driven Porsches for the last 10 years or so (currently have a 996 Turbo), I have become disenchanted with Porsche and want to find something fun to drive again (fast does not necessarily mean fun) - something that makes we want to drive it as a "50 something" and relive my youth
Plus want to get something new(er) that is cheaper to run in a country where cars are very expensive (The Netherlands).
So for those who have bought the new model 3-door JCW I have a few questions.
What are your thoughts with the overall ownership experience so far ?
Manual or sport automatIc ?
What car did you come from to the Mini ?
Thanks in advance
1/2p
Do you drive it daily ?
Any extras you absolutely must have ?
I like it so much I fact that I am thinking about "downsizing" getting a new 3-door JCW, whilst waiting to see if the rumoured Clubman hybrid with 300+ bhp is released in 2017. Having driven Porsches for the last 10 years or so (currently have a 996 Turbo), I have become disenchanted with Porsche and want to find something fun to drive again (fast does not necessarily mean fun) - something that makes we want to drive it as a "50 something" and relive my youth
Plus want to get something new(er) that is cheaper to run in a country where cars are very expensive (The Netherlands).So for those who have bought the new model 3-door JCW I have a few questions.
What are your thoughts with the overall ownership experience so far ?
Manual or sport automatIc ?
What car did you come from to the Mini ?
Thanks in advance
1/2p
Do you drive it daily ?
Any extras you absolutely must have ?
I or more accurately my wife has a jcw roadster. It's a real hoot, excellent on the twisties and more than enough power for the road. On sport the exhaust pops and crackles on over-run. It gets consistent 37 mpg where as her previous cooper s was 34-35 mpg. Uses some oil but not as much as the cooper s. Servicing is every 18-20k. Front Brakes last about 40-45k in my (wife's) hands, however like the cooper s it eats front tyres - you are doing well if you get 12-14k out of them
The manual is good, light clutch and setup for heel and toe, though it's easy to select reverse instead of first and stall when pulling off
I too have a Porsche turbo and can understand your dilemma. Given that the quality of the Porsche, handling and even noise are much better than a JCW, I would recommend trying a 996/7 c2 or c2s - better noise than the turbo, 90% of the performance, better handling and almost as pretty
. It you are worried about bore scoring, rms, ims etc go for 997.2 c2 instead - noting that it only effects around 5% of cars. Not the turbo though since it got the mezger race proven engine.
On jcw options front, the media pack is a must imho, along with anything that removes the harsh ride (sport suspension delete, adaptive) even swapping out run flat tyres for normal ones and repair kit make a significant difference.
I went mad with the options. Leather was good, media great for phone/music streaming, wish I'd deleted the sports suspension, wish I could of selected adaptive for uk pot holed roads.
The manual is good, light clutch and setup for heel and toe, though it's easy to select reverse instead of first and stall when pulling off
I too have a Porsche turbo and can understand your dilemma. Given that the quality of the Porsche, handling and even noise are much better than a JCW, I would recommend trying a 996/7 c2 or c2s - better noise than the turbo, 90% of the performance, better handling and almost as pretty
. It you are worried about bore scoring, rms, ims etc go for 997.2 c2 instead - noting that it only effects around 5% of cars. Not the turbo though since it got the mezger race proven engine.On jcw options front, the media pack is a must imho, along with anything that removes the harsh ride (sport suspension delete, adaptive) even swapping out run flat tyres for normal ones and repair kit make a significant difference.
I went mad with the options. Leather was good, media great for phone/music streaming, wish I'd deleted the sports suspension, wish I could of selected adaptive for uk pot holed roads.
tjlees said:
I or more accurately my wife has a jcw roadster. It's a real hoot, excellent on the twisties and more than enough power for the road. On sport the exhaust pops and crackles on over-run. It gets consistent 37 mpg where as her previous cooper s was 34-35 mpg. Uses some oil but not as much as the cooper s. Servicing is every 18-20k. Front Brakes last about 40-45k in my (wife's) hands, however like the cooper s it eats front tyres - you are doing well if you get 12-14k out of them
The manual is good, light clutch and setup for heel and toe, though it's easy to select reverse instead of first and stall when pulling off
I too have a Porsche turbo and can understand your dilemma. Given that the quality of the Porsche, handling and even noise are much better than a JCW, I would recommend trying a 996/7 c2 or c2s - better noise than the turbo, 90% of the performance, better handling and almost as pretty. It you are worried about bore scoring, rms, ims etc go for 997.2 c2 instead - noting that it only effects around 5% of cars. Not the turbo though since it got the mezger race proven engine.
On jcw options front, the media pack is a must imho, along with anything that removes the harsh ride (sport suspension delete, adaptive) even swapping out run flat tyres for normal ones and repair kit make a significant difference.
I went mad with the options. Leather was good, media great for phone/music streaming, wish I'd deleted the sports suspension, wish I could of selected adaptive for uk pot holed roads.
Great feedback - thanks.The manual is good, light clutch and setup for heel and toe, though it's easy to select reverse instead of first and stall when pulling off
I too have a Porsche turbo and can understand your dilemma. Given that the quality of the Porsche, handling and even noise are much better than a JCW, I would recommend trying a 996/7 c2 or c2s - better noise than the turbo, 90% of the performance, better handling and almost as pretty
. It you are worried about bore scoring, rms, ims etc go for 997.2 c2 instead - noting that it only effects around 5% of cars. Not the turbo though since it got the mezger race proven engine.On jcw options front, the media pack is a must imho, along with anything that removes the harsh ride (sport suspension delete, adaptive) even swapping out run flat tyres for normal ones and repair kit make a significant difference.
I went mad with the options. Leather was good, media great for phone/music streaming, wish I'd deleted the sports suspension, wish I could of selected adaptive for uk pot holed roads.
Nope. My Porsche days for the moment at least - are over. I've had a number of them over the years - 968, 964's, Cayman S, 993 and now 996T. High road tax and insurance costs here in the Netherlands coupled with the price of cars means anything slightly new will be close to EUR100k. I was looking at a 997 GTS from 2011 with 88k km on the clock up at EUR80k. At some point that will need new suspension, brakes maybe clutch etc etc etc. The whole ownership experience is different her to the UK also. So time to move on but keep something fun, newer and overall cheaper to run.
Does your wife's car have the Heads Up Display ?
I was thinking about the adaptive sports suspension with automaat gears. See if it's as good as PDK
OP, I assume when you say "new" you are talking about an F56 - the last review, being a roadster is the old platform and they are very different beasts (we have an R56 MCS (old platform) and an F56 JCW (New one)).
So in respect of the current model JCW (F56) my wife has had hers for just under 11 months.
To put my opinions in context I drive a Lotus Evora, so comparable with the Porsche. Hers is deliberately on the 17 inch wheels (non run flat) and has the adaptive dampers.
My view is that the car is huge fun. The exhaust sounds great and the pops and bangs are great, although be warned they can often be over the top and on a couple of occasions it has been just plain embarrassing. It will even pop on an upshift if you are pressing on.
Adaptive dampers is a must, as in sport mode (hard setting on the dampers) the ride can be harsh on poor roads and also makes the torque steer worse (see below). Sport suspension (standard option) is even harder apparently. Although being a Porsche owner you may be quite happy about/used to this.
The thing I am a bit disappointed with is how it can torque steer on uneven or wet roads. Appreciating that it is probably over powered for a FWD car, it is still worse than I expected and you have to be really quite careful using anything like full throttle on these surfaces. I need to get a run out in another as I'm not 100% convinced that there is not something amiss with the diff. My sons MCS is nothing like this. I suggest that on a test drive you find some uneven roads and give it some stick in 2nd/3rd and see what you think.
Please however don't let this put you off. I mention this because it is the one thing that I think could be improved. Both my wife and I love the car and I use it instead of my Merc whenever we are just running around and even take it on holiday if we're not in the Lotus, (ie 4 up). We'd rather offset the room against fun. It gets used more than any of or other cars. It is also the reason my son ended up with his MCS.
As far as options:
- the manual gear change is excellent. My wife wont drive an Auto so never tested one so cannot comment on that.
- 17s so you don't get run flats is my preference, but many will disagree - most have the 18s.
- 17s are also easier/cheaper to refurb, and mini wheels will need refurbing quite soon, I really don't know what they paint them with, but they are notorious for corrosion.
- Adaptive dampers
- do not spec lounge leather - you lose the JCW seats if you do and get standard ones. You want one of the 2 options of the JCW seat
- do not spec exterior chrome line as you lose the red JCW grille
- in our opinion the visual boost radio is fine, but I can see why someone into their music would want to upgrade, it's a bit gutless
I can't think of anything else that is a must have, although we do like the sunroof as it helps lighten the interior.
Overall though, go for it. We really do love our MINI. I've even been considering changing the Merc for an old style JCW Clubman, which would put 3 on the drive!
So in respect of the current model JCW (F56) my wife has had hers for just under 11 months.
To put my opinions in context I drive a Lotus Evora, so comparable with the Porsche. Hers is deliberately on the 17 inch wheels (non run flat) and has the adaptive dampers.
My view is that the car is huge fun. The exhaust sounds great and the pops and bangs are great, although be warned they can often be over the top and on a couple of occasions it has been just plain embarrassing. It will even pop on an upshift if you are pressing on.
Adaptive dampers is a must, as in sport mode (hard setting on the dampers) the ride can be harsh on poor roads and also makes the torque steer worse (see below). Sport suspension (standard option) is even harder apparently. Although being a Porsche owner you may be quite happy about/used to this.
The thing I am a bit disappointed with is how it can torque steer on uneven or wet roads. Appreciating that it is probably over powered for a FWD car, it is still worse than I expected and you have to be really quite careful using anything like full throttle on these surfaces. I need to get a run out in another as I'm not 100% convinced that there is not something amiss with the diff. My sons MCS is nothing like this. I suggest that on a test drive you find some uneven roads and give it some stick in 2nd/3rd and see what you think.
Please however don't let this put you off. I mention this because it is the one thing that I think could be improved. Both my wife and I love the car and I use it instead of my Merc whenever we are just running around and even take it on holiday if we're not in the Lotus, (ie 4 up). We'd rather offset the room against fun. It gets used more than any of or other cars. It is also the reason my son ended up with his MCS.
As far as options:
- the manual gear change is excellent. My wife wont drive an Auto so never tested one so cannot comment on that.
- 17s so you don't get run flats is my preference, but many will disagree - most have the 18s.
- 17s are also easier/cheaper to refurb, and mini wheels will need refurbing quite soon, I really don't know what they paint them with, but they are notorious for corrosion.
- Adaptive dampers
- do not spec lounge leather - you lose the JCW seats if you do and get standard ones. You want one of the 2 options of the JCW seat
- do not spec exterior chrome line as you lose the red JCW grille
- in our opinion the visual boost radio is fine, but I can see why someone into their music would want to upgrade, it's a bit gutless
I can't think of anything else that is a must have, although we do like the sunroof as it helps lighten the interior.
Overall though, go for it. We really do love our MINI. I've even been considering changing the Merc for an old style JCW Clubman, which would put 3 on the drive!
Boogs said:
OP, I assume when you say "new" you are talking about an F56 - the last review, being a roadster is the old platform and they are very different beasts (we have an R56 MCS (old platform) and an F56 JCW (New one)).
So in respect of the current model JCW (F56) my wife has had hers for just under 11 months.
To put my opinions in context I drive a Lotus Evora, so comparable with the Porsche. Hers is deliberately on the 17 inch wheels (non run flat) and has the adaptive dampers.
My view is that the car is huge fun. The exhaust sounds great and the pops and bangs are great, although be warned they can often be over the top and on a couple of occasions it has been just plain embarrassing. It will even pop on an upshift if you are pressing on.
Adaptive dampers is a must, as in sport mode (hard setting on the dampers) the ride can be harsh on poor roads and also makes the torque steer worse (see below). Sport suspension (standard option) is even harder apparently. Although being a Porsche owner you may be quite happy about/used to this.
The thing I am a bit disappointed with is how it can torque steer on uneven or wet roads. Appreciating that it is probably over powered for a FWD car, it is still worse than I expected and you have to be really quite careful using anything like full throttle on these surfaces. I need to get a run out in another as I'm not 100% convinced that there is not something amiss with the diff. My sons MCS is nothing like this. I suggest that on a test drive you find some uneven roads and give it some stick in 2nd/3rd and see what you think.
Please however don't let this put you off. I mention this because it is the one thing that I think could be improved. Both my wife and I love the car and I use it instead of my Merc whenever we are just running around and even take it on holiday if we're not in the Lotus, (ie 4 up). We'd rather offset the room against fun. It gets used more than any of or other cars. It is also the reason my son ended up with his MCS.
As far as options:
- the manual gear change is excellent. My wife wont drive an Auto so never tested one so cannot comment on that.
- 17s so you don't get run flats is my preference, but many will disagree - most have the 18s.
- 17s are also easier/cheaper to refurb, and mini wheels will need refurbing quite soon, I really don't know what they paint them with, but they are notorious for corrosion.
- Adaptive dampers
- do not spec lounge leather - you lose the JCW seats if you do and get standard ones. You want one of the 2 options of the JCW seat
- do not spec exterior chrome line as you lose the red JCW grille
- in our opinion the visual boost radio is fine, but I can see why someone into their music would want to upgrade, it's a bit gutless
I can't think of anything else that is a must have, although we do like the sunroof as it helps lighten the interior.
Overall though, go for it. We really do love our MINI. I've even been considering changing the Merc for an old style JCW Clubman, which would put 3 on the drive!
Once again - thanks very much for the useful feedback. Yes I was referring to the F56.So in respect of the current model JCW (F56) my wife has had hers for just under 11 months.
To put my opinions in context I drive a Lotus Evora, so comparable with the Porsche. Hers is deliberately on the 17 inch wheels (non run flat) and has the adaptive dampers.
My view is that the car is huge fun. The exhaust sounds great and the pops and bangs are great, although be warned they can often be over the top and on a couple of occasions it has been just plain embarrassing. It will even pop on an upshift if you are pressing on.
Adaptive dampers is a must, as in sport mode (hard setting on the dampers) the ride can be harsh on poor roads and also makes the torque steer worse (see below). Sport suspension (standard option) is even harder apparently. Although being a Porsche owner you may be quite happy about/used to this.
The thing I am a bit disappointed with is how it can torque steer on uneven or wet roads. Appreciating that it is probably over powered for a FWD car, it is still worse than I expected and you have to be really quite careful using anything like full throttle on these surfaces. I need to get a run out in another as I'm not 100% convinced that there is not something amiss with the diff. My sons MCS is nothing like this. I suggest that on a test drive you find some uneven roads and give it some stick in 2nd/3rd and see what you think.
Please however don't let this put you off. I mention this because it is the one thing that I think could be improved. Both my wife and I love the car and I use it instead of my Merc whenever we are just running around and even take it on holiday if we're not in the Lotus, (ie 4 up). We'd rather offset the room against fun. It gets used more than any of or other cars. It is also the reason my son ended up with his MCS.
As far as options:
- the manual gear change is excellent. My wife wont drive an Auto so never tested one so cannot comment on that.
- 17s so you don't get run flats is my preference, but many will disagree - most have the 18s.
- 17s are also easier/cheaper to refurb, and mini wheels will need refurbing quite soon, I really don't know what they paint them with, but they are notorious for corrosion.
- Adaptive dampers
- do not spec lounge leather - you lose the JCW seats if you do and get standard ones. You want one of the 2 options of the JCW seat
- do not spec exterior chrome line as you lose the red JCW grille
- in our opinion the visual boost radio is fine, but I can see why someone into their music would want to upgrade, it's a bit gutless
I can't think of anything else that is a must have, although we do like the sunroof as it helps lighten the interior.
Overall though, go for it. We really do love our MINI. I've even been considering changing the Merc for an old style JCW Clubman, which would put 3 on the drive!
Just took one for a test drive. Rebel green with black leather comfort seats, and all option including the trick factory exhaust and sport automaat.
I walked back into the dealer with such a big smile, a couple who were with the sales guy asked what I had been driving. I said the JCW and that I maybe 50 but it made me feel 17 again
The couple took it out and the guy came back with the same silly grin on his face.I agree though that it could be a bit much after a while. Driving through the Schiphol tunnel (a road tunnel under the airport in Amsterdam) was great fun though
I did not feel any torque steer you mention. I took it on the highway, A-roads and back roads. Halfway through the test drive it started raining and even with sport mode engaged I didn't feel and noticeable torque steer - so maybe yours needs a check ?
It is certainly fast enough for normal road use - joining the highway I got it up to 180kph with no problem. I didn't find the adaptive suspension (which the test car had) to hard at all, and allowed for some "enthusiastic" speeds around corners controlling the body roll well. It also had 18" wheels which I didn't feel too stiff. Perhaps I'm just used to the Porsche - and I had 3 Lotus's also before the Porsches that I used daily (an Exige and 2 Elises).
The HUD was nice - but not essential. I agree he JCW seats are much nicer. The exhaust is a must, was good fun.
The car I drove had comfort access - not sure I would spec this myself.
The Harman Kardon system was great - so would deffo spec that.
Re the gearbox - I would absolutely have the manual. The sport automaat was fun, and I liked the fact that it would hit the rev limiter and not change up for you, but I felt it changed too slowly and wouldn't change down when I wanted - although I did like the fact that you pull and hold the change down paddle, and the gearbox changes down automatically to the lowest possible gear. But I still think I can change faster and have more control with a manual.
Otherwise I really liked it.
Another question - colour of the car.
The test car was Rebel Green - which was nice - had a black roof with glass panoramic roof, carbon mirrors and bonnet scoop and black light surrounds. Looked really mean.
But I really quite like the "Moonwalk Grey" I think it is called - with a red roof and red mirrors, black light surrounds and JCW stripes.
What colour are your JCW's ?
Thanks again for the tips - all good !
Edited by halfpenny43 on Saturday 18th June 16:02
Hey 1/2p
I'm two and a bit weeks in to JCW F56 ownership - not quite your car history with Porsche but I'm ex-Lotus Elise back in 2001, then had company car diesel boxes ever since, last two being good spec A4's. Could have taken the 4-series, 5-series, A4, A6, Evoque company car route again, but had the chance to opt out. Tax benefits made it very attractive and I now do many many less miles and with remote/home working. To give you my answers to your questions....
I tried to get as near as damn it back to an Elise, but had to meet company opt out rules, so tin top, and as I have kids, needed 4 seats for the school run. Tried Audi S3 and TTS, Golf R, even Fiesta and Focus ST. Had recent fall out with Audi over my wife's A1 so browsing through the web saw JCW's don't hang about (but press don't seem to rate them) and thought I'd give one a go.
Two minutes behind the wheel, deal done. Fast is not fun, your right, Golf R and S3 were immediately discounted. Still loved TTS but £40k+, even with some haggling, a lot of money which I can spend on something else right now.
Ended up keeping away as far as possible from the options, to keep it on brief - a basic (they are not that basic - really) but day to day drivers car that will do the occasional school, station and airport run - maybe 10k miles a year and go like stink on the B-roads around Herefordshire.... with a bit of character, so:-
Standard F56 Manual
White / Red Roof (you have to have red roof, JCW only option see)
Black 17" wheels - came with P-Zero's, can of tyre repair stuff and a compressor - no run flats here
Visual Boost and Harmon Kardon Speakers
Sports Chrono Pack (turbo dials on the dashboard in place of HUD)
and I treated myself to the ASBO Pro Exhaust with 'loud' button
And b***dy h*ll is the exhaust loud in track mode - its brilliant and really suits the nature of the car.
With a bit of haggling, all in came to about £25k including TLC 5 year service pack, so a bit of a performance bargain really. After two weeks:-
Interior quality is superb, as good as anything premium I've ever driven
Standard non-Chilli pack interior is lovely, hunt one down before you spend loads on the seats
Interior design is very Mini, unique but everything falls nicely to hand
Bluetooth integration without an iPhone is limited - my Samsung S6 does calls and music but only via Spotify
Harmon Kardon Stereo superb
I thought daily ride would be a killer (I didn't spec adaptive dampers) - it really isn't, but I'm on 17's with proper 205/45 rubber
Very very smooth on the motorway, as good as my last A4 (TDI-e spec with sports suspension), actually A4 was much harsher
Fidgety on rough surfaces - keeps you on your toes to be honest, but all that torque going through front wheels, not surprising really
Drive it carefully in green mode, I'm hitting 45 - 47mpg on a 200 mile motorway trip with cruise at 70mph, averaging 40ish day to day. I am still running it in though
Overall, for the £25k I spent, it hits the mark for me, its a beast, its noisy and brash when you want it, subtle and polite when you don't. Not massive power in todays numbers, but it weighs in under 1300kgs, proper B-road pocket rocket.
Any questions, photos of specific bits, drop me a note!
I'm two and a bit weeks in to JCW F56 ownership - not quite your car history with Porsche but I'm ex-Lotus Elise back in 2001, then had company car diesel boxes ever since, last two being good spec A4's. Could have taken the 4-series, 5-series, A4, A6, Evoque company car route again, but had the chance to opt out. Tax benefits made it very attractive and I now do many many less miles and with remote/home working. To give you my answers to your questions....
I tried to get as near as damn it back to an Elise, but had to meet company opt out rules, so tin top, and as I have kids, needed 4 seats for the school run. Tried Audi S3 and TTS, Golf R, even Fiesta and Focus ST. Had recent fall out with Audi over my wife's A1 so browsing through the web saw JCW's don't hang about (but press don't seem to rate them) and thought I'd give one a go.
Two minutes behind the wheel, deal done. Fast is not fun, your right, Golf R and S3 were immediately discounted. Still loved TTS but £40k+, even with some haggling, a lot of money which I can spend on something else right now.
Ended up keeping away as far as possible from the options, to keep it on brief - a basic (they are not that basic - really) but day to day drivers car that will do the occasional school, station and airport run - maybe 10k miles a year and go like stink on the B-roads around Herefordshire.... with a bit of character, so:-
Standard F56 Manual
White / Red Roof (you have to have red roof, JCW only option see)
Black 17" wheels - came with P-Zero's, can of tyre repair stuff and a compressor - no run flats here
Visual Boost and Harmon Kardon Speakers
Sports Chrono Pack (turbo dials on the dashboard in place of HUD)
and I treated myself to the ASBO Pro Exhaust with 'loud' button
And b***dy h*ll is the exhaust loud in track mode - its brilliant and really suits the nature of the car.
With a bit of haggling, all in came to about £25k including TLC 5 year service pack, so a bit of a performance bargain really. After two weeks:-
Interior quality is superb, as good as anything premium I've ever driven
Standard non-Chilli pack interior is lovely, hunt one down before you spend loads on the seats
Interior design is very Mini, unique but everything falls nicely to hand
Bluetooth integration without an iPhone is limited - my Samsung S6 does calls and music but only via Spotify
Harmon Kardon Stereo superb
I thought daily ride would be a killer (I didn't spec adaptive dampers) - it really isn't, but I'm on 17's with proper 205/45 rubber
Very very smooth on the motorway, as good as my last A4 (TDI-e spec with sports suspension), actually A4 was much harsher
Fidgety on rough surfaces - keeps you on your toes to be honest, but all that torque going through front wheels, not surprising really
Drive it carefully in green mode, I'm hitting 45 - 47mpg on a 200 mile motorway trip with cruise at 70mph, averaging 40ish day to day. I am still running it in though
Overall, for the £25k I spent, it hits the mark for me, its a beast, its noisy and brash when you want it, subtle and polite when you don't. Not massive power in todays numbers, but it weighs in under 1300kgs, proper B-road pocket rocket.
Any questions, photos of specific bits, drop me a note!
I have a manual 2016 JCW on sport suspension/17" wheels/non run flat tyres (P Zero) and it is a lot of fun. However if you are on uneven roads or a noticable camber it will torque steer, on flat roads its fine.
One of the things I like most about the car is it can feel fast without driving around at stupid speeds on a public road and it feels "chuckable" on a twisty country lane.
One of the things I like most about the car is it can feel fast without driving around at stupid speeds on a public road and it feels "chuckable" on a twisty country lane.
I have a F56 Cooper S with nearly all the options, still drive a rose-jointed racing 964 on the track, and would not want any other 'small' car than the MINI. My long-distance car is a BMW 640d. I hesitated between the MINI and a road 911(997) but felt that the latter was compromised for road fun: crashy and only becoming alive at license suspension speed. I would sell the 640d if I did not have to drive to Southern France once in a while. The MINI is really THAT good/fun, even in Cooper S form.
It is a relatively big torque rich engine for a small car - I'm taking it steady for the first 1000 or so miles, keeping to a 4k rpm limit. But you still make very rapid progress riding the wave, its constantly there in the background. Pottering around town in 5th and 6th even is normal and seems to help keep the fuel right down.
The torque steer nature seems to be a common theme, but don't let it put you off, its certainly not extreme or uncontrollable, just part of its character with that engine. The thing is huge fun in the 40-70mph play zone and importantly you dont need to do silly speeds. The way it goes about its business, especially with the exhaust flap open is franky hilarious. Cant believe they offer the exhaust as an option.....
The torque steer nature seems to be a common theme, but don't let it put you off, its certainly not extreme or uncontrollable, just part of its character with that engine. The thing is huge fun in the 40-70mph play zone and importantly you dont need to do silly speeds. The way it goes about its business, especially with the exhaust flap open is franky hilarious. Cant believe they offer the exhaust as an option.....
JCWbeast said:
Hey 1/2p
I'm two and a bit weeks in to JCW F56 ownership - not quite your car history with Porsche but I'm ex-Lotus Elise back in 2001, then had company car diesel boxes ever since, last two being good spec A4's. Could have taken the 4-series, 5-series, A4, A6, Evoque company car route again, but had the chance to opt out. Tax benefits made it very attractive and I now do many many less miles and with remote/home working. To give you my answers to your questions....
I tried to get as near as damn it back to an Elise, but had to meet company opt out rules, so tin top, and as I have kids, needed 4 seats for the school run. Tried Audi S3 and TTS, Golf R, even Fiesta and Focus ST. Had recent fall out with Audi over my wife's A1 so browsing through the web saw JCW's don't hang about (but press don't seem to rate them) and thought I'd give one a go.
Two minutes behind the wheel, deal done. Fast is not fun, your right, Golf R and S3 were immediately discounted. Still loved TTS but £40k+, even with some haggling, a lot of money which I can spend on something else right now.
Ended up keeping away as far as possible from the options, to keep it on brief - a basic (they are not that basic - really) but day to day drivers car that will do the occasional school, station and airport run - maybe 10k miles a year and go like stink on the B-roads around Herefordshire.... with a bit of character, so:-
Standard F56 Manual
White / Red Roof (you have to have red roof, JCW only option see)
Black 17" wheels - came with P-Zero's, can of tyre repair stuff and a compressor - no run flats here
Visual Boost and Harmon Kardon Speakers
Sports Chrono Pack (turbo dials on the dashboard in place of HUD)
and I treated myself to the ASBO Pro Exhaust with 'loud' button
And b***dy h*ll is the exhaust loud in track mode - its brilliant and really suits the nature of the car.
With a bit of haggling, all in came to about £25k including TLC 5 year service pack, so a bit of a performance bargain really. After two weeks:-
Interior quality is superb, as good as anything premium I've ever driven
Standard non-Chilli pack interior is lovely, hunt one down before you spend loads on the seats
Interior design is very Mini, unique but everything falls nicely to hand
Bluetooth integration without an iPhone is limited - my Samsung S6 does calls and music but only via Spotify
Harmon Kardon Stereo superb
I thought daily ride would be a killer (I didn't spec adaptive dampers) - it really isn't, but I'm on 17's with proper 205/45 rubber
Very very smooth on the motorway, as good as my last A4 (TDI-e spec with sports suspension), actually A4 was much harsher
Fidgety on rough surfaces - keeps you on your toes to be honest, but all that torque going through front wheels, not surprising really
Drive it carefully in green mode, I'm hitting 45 - 47mpg on a 200 mile motorway trip with cruise at 70mph, averaging 40ish day to day. I am still running it in though
Overall, for the £25k I spent, it hits the mark for me, its a beast, its noisy and brash when you want it, subtle and polite when you don't. Not massive power in todays numbers, but it weighs in under 1300kgs, proper B-road pocket rocket.
Any questions, photos of specific bits, drop me a note!
Thanks a lovely looking car in white. And yes - I would go for a red roof too I'm two and a bit weeks in to JCW F56 ownership - not quite your car history with Porsche but I'm ex-Lotus Elise back in 2001, then had company car diesel boxes ever since, last two being good spec A4's. Could have taken the 4-series, 5-series, A4, A6, Evoque company car route again, but had the chance to opt out. Tax benefits made it very attractive and I now do many many less miles and with remote/home working. To give you my answers to your questions....
I tried to get as near as damn it back to an Elise, but had to meet company opt out rules, so tin top, and as I have kids, needed 4 seats for the school run. Tried Audi S3 and TTS, Golf R, even Fiesta and Focus ST. Had recent fall out with Audi over my wife's A1 so browsing through the web saw JCW's don't hang about (but press don't seem to rate them) and thought I'd give one a go.
Two minutes behind the wheel, deal done. Fast is not fun, your right, Golf R and S3 were immediately discounted. Still loved TTS but £40k+, even with some haggling, a lot of money which I can spend on something else right now.
Ended up keeping away as far as possible from the options, to keep it on brief - a basic (they are not that basic - really) but day to day drivers car that will do the occasional school, station and airport run - maybe 10k miles a year and go like stink on the B-roads around Herefordshire.... with a bit of character, so:-
Standard F56 Manual
White / Red Roof (you have to have red roof, JCW only option see)
Black 17" wheels - came with P-Zero's, can of tyre repair stuff and a compressor - no run flats here
Visual Boost and Harmon Kardon Speakers
Sports Chrono Pack (turbo dials on the dashboard in place of HUD)
and I treated myself to the ASBO Pro Exhaust with 'loud' button
And b***dy h*ll is the exhaust loud in track mode - its brilliant and really suits the nature of the car.
With a bit of haggling, all in came to about £25k including TLC 5 year service pack, so a bit of a performance bargain really. After two weeks:-
Interior quality is superb, as good as anything premium I've ever driven
Standard non-Chilli pack interior is lovely, hunt one down before you spend loads on the seats
Interior design is very Mini, unique but everything falls nicely to hand
Bluetooth integration without an iPhone is limited - my Samsung S6 does calls and music but only via Spotify
Harmon Kardon Stereo superb
I thought daily ride would be a killer (I didn't spec adaptive dampers) - it really isn't, but I'm on 17's with proper 205/45 rubber
Very very smooth on the motorway, as good as my last A4 (TDI-e spec with sports suspension), actually A4 was much harsher
Fidgety on rough surfaces - keeps you on your toes to be honest, but all that torque going through front wheels, not surprising really
Drive it carefully in green mode, I'm hitting 45 - 47mpg on a 200 mile motorway trip with cruise at 70mph, averaging 40ish day to day. I am still running it in though
Overall, for the £25k I spent, it hits the mark for me, its a beast, its noisy and brash when you want it, subtle and polite when you don't. Not massive power in todays numbers, but it weighs in under 1300kgs, proper B-road pocket rocket.
Any questions, photos of specific bits, drop me a note!
Interesting feedback - thanks. My journey to work is about 7km each way and I can choose highway (1 junction) or the backroads when I'm not on the bicycle !
When you say the car is "fidgety" on rough surfaces - you mean the nose is moving about, the front wheels suffer with a lack of traction etc ?
I read the car has some sort of clever electronic LSD - does this not help at all ?
Still not sure if I'm going new or used as of the 17 used cars for sale, only one is a manual !
PhilRS said:
I have a F56 Cooper S with nearly all the options, still drive a rose-jointed racing 964 on the track, and would not want any other 'small' car than the MINI. My long-distance car is a BMW 640d. I hesitated between the MINI and a road 911(997) but felt that the latter was compromised for road fun: crashy and only becoming alive at license suspension speed. I would sell the 640d if I did not have to drive to Southern France once in a while. The MINI is really THAT good/fun, even in Cooper S form.
Interesting comment - taking the Mini over the 997 for what you needed it for. Would you not have looked at a Cayman ?Do you have a standard Cooper S - or one with the JCW tuning kit ?
Fidgety - torque steer, rough surfaces, you really feel it tugging for traction, no issue at all with actual grip. Flat smooth surface, nothing. Probably amplified as I'm used to diesel and not revving the nuts of it yet, seems worse at lower rpm. Think the diff is an electronic widget not an true lsd. New Challenge version has a proper LSD I think.
As I said, certainly not wild uncontrolable, but a little more than the Golf GTI I test drove. Doesnt bother me at all, reminds me what I'm driving gas some grunt! Rather have that than my old S1 Elise which seemed to favour snap oversteer in the wet
Something else I quite like, in sport it blips the throttle on downchanges for me (manual version), so I dont need to trip over my own feet trying to do it myself. Maybe not to everyones taste. Maybe I'm just getting older!
As I said, certainly not wild uncontrolable, but a little more than the Golf GTI I test drove. Doesnt bother me at all, reminds me what I'm driving gas some grunt! Rather have that than my old S1 Elise which seemed to favour snap oversteer in the wet
Something else I quite like, in sport it blips the throttle on downchanges for me (manual version), so I dont need to trip over my own feet trying to do it myself. Maybe not to everyones taste. Maybe I'm just getting older!
Edited by JCWbeast on Tuesday 21st June 23:44
Yes, I looked at the Cayman but I am tall (6f3) and my knees interfere with the steering plus the MINI driving position is near ideal, even for tall people--in fact, it is arguably more comfortable than the 640d (and I am picky).
My car is the standard Cooper S. If I had to track it, I would stiffen the shocks and install bigger brake (calipers and disks). But as is (I have the adaptive dampers), it is a great compliant but firm chassis for B-road fun (very much reminiscent of the good chassis BMW used to produce). And I'll drive 500 miles with my fillings still in place. My only gripe (again, I am picky) is the slight drop in torque at low rpms in default mode. This is cured in sport mode but the throttle comes on a bit too abruptly for my taste. A remapping could sort these small problems out.
I run the car on 17inch wheels with NON runflat tyres. This setup considerably improves ride and steering feel. Torque steer is not a problem for me.
What others say here about the engine is very true and impressive. The car drives particularly strongly on torque (like a 964 actually) so you don't need to rev the nuts out of it to move swiftly.
BTW, I am 53 and that's the non B road fun ;-)
https://youtu.be/SMbAN6nDuQ0
Edited by PhilRS on Wednesday 22 June 00:23
My JCW is red with a black roof and black bonnet stripes, and with the red accents on the interior to go with it. I basically just copied the look of the manual press car that Autocar road tested. I have got a few options including Media Pack XL, heated windscreen and seats, sun protection glass, PDC and others. I picked it up on 1 March at midnight which was novel. So far it has averaged a measured 35.80 mpg which is more than acceptable given that it's great fun to drive and the noise encourages you to use some revs. Green mode is rubbish, but use sport mode most of the time. The increase in premium quality of the interior with this generation compared to the previous generations is huge. The seat is really comfortable even for long journeys and overall it's a great little car.
I may add some pics later if I remember. In the meantime, it looks exactly like the Autocar one:
I have noticed this colour scheme turning up recently on other hot hatches, so it seems to work
I may add some pics later if I remember. In the meantime, it looks exactly like the Autocar one:
I have noticed this colour scheme turning up recently on other hot hatches, so it seems to work
steve-p said:
My JCW is red with a black roof and black bonnet stripes, and with the red accents on the interior to go with it. I basically just copied the look of the manual press car that Autocar road tested. I have got a few options including Media Pack XL, heated windscreen and seats, sun protection glass, PDC and others. I picked it up on 1 March at midnight which was novel. So far it has averaged a measured 35.80 mpg which is more than acceptable given that it's great fun to drive and the noise encourages you to use some revs. Green mode is rubbish, but use sport mode most of the time. The increase in premium quality of the interior with this generation compared to the previous generations is huge. The seat is really comfortable even for long journeys and overall it's a great little car.
I may add some pics later if I remember. In the meantime, it looks exactly like the Autocar one:
I have noticed this colour scheme turning up recently on other hot hatches, so it seems to work
Thanks - nice car ! I may add some pics later if I remember. In the meantime, it looks exactly like the Autocar one:
I have noticed this colour scheme turning up recently on other hot hatches, so it seems to work
I think I've decided on Moonwalk Grey with red roof, carbon mirrors and bonnet vent with black rings around the lights.
The thing I am still struggling with is manual or sport auto.
The JCW demo car I drove was an auto. I had fun with the flappy paddles and launch control and would probably get used to the best change down point. I also liked that when in manual mode you can hit the rev limiter, and that hanging onto the down paddle causes the car to select the lowest possible gear. But would I get bored with it ? I also found the downshifts were too slow when pressing on.
My wife's manual Cooper Clubman is nice, it's a manual - but I don't like the way the car blips the throttle on downshifts for you. I have always done this myself and feel like something is being taken away from me
All the reviews however favour the manual box saying it makes it a more engaging car to drive. But I cannot make my mind up !
Maybe I should go auto - as if I were buying a newer Porsche I would almost certainly have a PDK version. But then the Mini is a smaller car that would probably thrive with a manual box...........
I have nothing against autos, I've had loads. However, a manual suits this car very well. It can be a bit notchy when cold, but you get used to the blipping, and the shift and clutch actions are excellent. A big factor in my choice was that the next generation probably won't have a manual option, the way things are going. Manufacturers are busy trying to get 10 speeds and more into automatic gearboxes just to reduce emissions by a fairly small real world amount. One day, manuals will be gone, in the same way that petrol engines are gone in a lot of cars already. The fun and character of many cars is fast being legislated into history. The JCW with the raucous exhaust is holding out. But for how long?
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