F56 Spec. Questions

[shoestring7]

I'm looking at a JCW to replace my old Gti. I'm more interested in the way its drives than the way its looks, and have got a couple of questions about specifications:

- The model comes with 17" wheels as standard (although everyone seems to 'upgrade'). I've found previous series Minis drive much better on the smallest wheel option. Does this apply to the F56 as well? I can't find any press back to back comparisons other than complaints about grip of the P7 RFT

- Do all JCWs come with the same pattern 'sports' seats, with leather, dinamica, leather/fabric etc. etc. options? The configuration tool isn't helpful on this point, and the sales guy equally vague.

- Is there a digital speed read out with the non-HU dash as well as the analogue speedo?

- Any 'must have' options? Variable dampers?

- Why do almost all moderns cars have every single bit of steering feel and feedback engineered out of the system?*

thanks

SS7
*Rhetorical I guess

-

[shoestring7]

Thanks for clarification of the seat and wheel questions Boog. I'm minded to forgo the delights of the Chilli pack and select 17s, the variable rate dampers and standard JCW seats; the next owner can like it or lump it!

Looks like the rear underfloor storage area is another useful option.

BTW how long were you quoted for a built to order car?


SS7

[shoestring7]

Mcbeth said:

Digital display is included. You just have to select it on the panel.
I would definitely recommend adaptive dampers and a chili pack.
You can have the smaller wheels with the chili pack but I don't know why you would the bigger wheels are a lot nicer and the ride isn't too hard in my opinion.
( I'm in mini sales so have driven all the variants)
Chili pack also improves the resale value. It's what most people look for second hand but it will also improve the monthly payment if you go on a PCP

Thanks for clearing up the question of the digital speedo.

You may well be different but I can recall a conversation with a Mini salesman a couple of years ago who was perplexed by my request for a MCS with 16" wheels and non-runflat tyres as he couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want them. "I've tried them and it rides fine" he told me. Increasing unsprung weight doesn't just affect ride, but braking, steering feel and acceleration also (as well as increasing the cost of replacing tyres). The wheels really only need to be the smallest/lightest that will cover the brakes, and if 17" wheels were adequate for a 600bhp Maclaren F1 I'm guessing they'll manage a Mini's output. Unlike so many moderns, 17"s don't look lost in the wheel arches either - I guess they're smaller to suit the lower powered models.

I will check out the PCP impact of a Chilli pack but as I don't much like the seat or wheels it ends up being an expensive way to get auto a/c.

BTW a few weeks after our conversation the Mini guy called me to say he'd finally tried a Mini on smaller wheels and now got what I was on about.

SS7
PS Don't want to be too obdurate about this. Its possible that BMW optimised the JCWs new suspension around the 18" wheels, in which case they may well be a better option as they will offer a large contact patch.

Edited by shoestring7 on Tuesday 14th July 18:09

[shoestring7]

Boogs said:

I completely accept the trade in/dealer view. I am not sure that a private buyer will look at it the same way - condition, owners and mileage being far more important on a car more than a few years old.

The Chili pack is £1K on the "One", but it is £2470 on the JCW.

The individual price of all the components is about £2600 (give or take - this is from memory). Subtract the wheels and "Excitement pack" and chavvy lighting you are already saving over £800. Should you not want the upgraded seats thats another £1K.

You dont get much on teh JCW with the Chili pack. Just my view and thought process.

I have to say I couldn't really see the value of the Chilli pack on the JCW. Its pretty well specified as it is, and at more than 10% of the list price I couldn't see the value. FWIW I've never really seen leather seats as much of an upgrade.

Some time ago I bought a new Porsche Cayman. I didn't include many of the 'must have' options (paint, leather, parking, bum warmers, stereo upgrade, wheels) but did include a couple of the more driver-focused ones. I later sold it for the asking price within 48hrs of putting an ad on PHs to someone with the same view as me.

SS7

[shoestring7]

I thought I'd round this thread off.

I've read various comments about the Mini's off-set pedal layout, so last Friday I arranged a try of a regular Cooper S on the basis that the JCW was the same thing turned up to 11, and so long as I experienced no discomfort with the driving position I could move on to ordering one (assuming I decided I could live with a car smaller than my Golf).

I’m glad I did - it goes to show how important the lost art of the test-drive can be. First off - the off-set pedal issue presented no concerns whatsoever, and had it not been pointed out on various fora I’d never have even been aware of the odd geometry. The first thing I noticed as I left Dick Lovett’s campus in Bristol was the heavily over-servoed brakes. I know the only manual car I drive now is a steam driven 911, but the slightest pressure on the pedal had the Mini on its nose. Apologies to the nice sales lady gritting her teeth in the passenger seat…..

Shame really as the pedals are nicely set up for a bit of H&T action, but I’d find it almost impossible at normal road speeds. Turns out its a moot point anyway as there’s a rev-match function to do it for you.

Within 10 meters I was aware of another worrying issue; there was a slight but distinct lag in response at set-off - almost as if its about to stall - before the turbo blows and the torque arrives. I noticed this before (albeit in more exaggerated form) in an Eco diesel Volvo V40. In that foul device any attempt to join a busy roundabout without a bootful of revs and clutch slip risked one being left stranded across the lanes in a barely moving car. The Mini wasn’t as bad, but it did feel as if something had been unresolved.

The third issue arrived a few seconds later; the poor thing had either been fitted with a bus flywheel, or has been engineered with the same effect for emissions reasons, or to stop novices stalling. Either way I had to wait for what felt like a full second for the revs to drop before I could select second, and the same happened from 2nd the 3rd. The softest bite-point I’ve ever felt in any car with a working clutch didn’t help either, so a brisk take-off was only accomplished in a series of spurts and pauses, unless you are happy to jam in the next gear and have the drive-train jolt as a spinning flywheel met slower moving clutch plates…..

I can’t recall reading anything in the press about these issues - but it certainly didn’t feel like a problem with this particular example. I really wanted it to be a hyperactive snickety thing, and was so disappointed it wasn’t. Of course, once the car was up and running, there was lots of good pull in every gear, even in 6th, the interior is almost grown-up,and refinement is good, but the other chassis shortcomings (feel-less steering, lumpen ride over m/way transverse ridges on its 18”wheel+ runflats) added to that fundamentally unsatisfactory control set up means it’s been dropped from my list.

Not sure of that makes me an old fossil or if the industry has just lost the ability to delivery manual sporty cars for keen drivers.

SS7