Anyone have a clubman cooper s or jcw
Discussion
I've Golf 7.5 R estate and the other half the r55 N18 Clubman. The mini has so much character and is a riot to drive..... in the dry. You're going to miss the tractability of the golf so going quickly half of the year in the uk isnt as easy. Apart from that small issue they are brill little cars.
I bought a Clubman Cooper S a few months ago to replace my partners written off car... The JCW wasn’t on sale at the time; I think the WLTP emissions changes resulted it being withdrawn. Not sure if it’s back yet, though a quick look on mini.co.uk indicates not. What would you like to know?
It’s a while since we’ve had a MINI, but there’s nothing particularly small about the Clubman...it’s Golf (hatch) sized really. Well equipped (at a price, though it looks like MINI have also simplified the options choices as well...) and reasonably nippy. Not compared to a Golf R though. While the performance numbers are okay, it never feels that quick to me, though that might be because my car is an M235i. I like the 7 speed DSG box though, but unsure whether the £500 for adaptive dampers was worth it. But, I enjoy driving it and, in the spec of ours, it feels premium enough to me
It’s a while since we’ve had a MINI, but there’s nothing particularly small about the Clubman...it’s Golf (hatch) sized really. Well equipped (at a price, though it looks like MINI have also simplified the options choices as well...) and reasonably nippy. Not compared to a Golf R though. While the performance numbers are okay, it never feels that quick to me, though that might be because my car is an M235i. I like the 7 speed DSG box though, but unsure whether the £500 for adaptive dampers was worth it. But, I enjoy driving it and, in the spec of ours, it feels premium enough to me
Yes, it manages to be fun to drive while still good on long journeys well. Comfortable too; lumbar support as standard, unlike the BMW!
Yes, it needs lowering slightly I think..the 19” JCW wheels were fitted as an accessory afterwards,as they weren’t available with the adaptive suspension from new. Though, I’m not sure that the adaptive suspension is really necessary...
Ours has got adaptive suspension. I’ve read somewhere that that in comfort mode it’s 10% softer than the suspension on a non adaptive Cooper S, and 10% firmer in sport mode. Ours is also on 19” wheels with run-flat tyres (225/35 profile). To be honest, the only time if feels too firm in sport mode is when you hit a pothole, though they make a fair old bang even in comfort mode. If I was ordering again I think I’d save the £500 that adaptive cost, spec sports suspension FOC, spend £100 on a spare wheel, keep the 18” wheels and swap the tyres for non runflats!
What I’d also add, when I picked ours up the exhaust was disappointingly quiet compared to the demo car. But now it’s done over 3k miles it sounds much better. So if your demo car is low mileage look out for that! I’m sure the sound of ours will continue to improve; my M235i has now done 28k miles and it sounds better than ever.
Ok had a brief drive today and was a little underwhelmed tbh, we were 5 up I suppose (2 kids) but didn’t pull like I thought it would and front end was wandering and pulling on acceleration.nice low down torque though.
Would have liked to check tyre pressures as didn’t feel right to me , anyway other half loved the interior so we’ve arranged a 48hr test drive later this week, if she could have got it in that orange colour it would have been a cert!.
Would have liked to check tyre pressures as didn’t feel right to me , anyway other half loved the interior so we’ve arranged a 48hr test drive later this week, if she could have got it in that orange colour it would have been a cert!.
It’s ‘only’ got 192 BHP from memory, which is a lot less than a Golf R, so I’m not suprised that with 3 adults and two kids in it you were underwhelmed by the performance - I think I mentioned it didn’t feel as quick as the figures suggest ...
I am surprised by the wayward front end; sure, on damp roads if you floor it there’s evidence of it being FWD and some torque steer that the electronics will reign in, but under normal but quick driving it’s not noticable (in ours at least). You can check the type pressures via the iDrive controller under vehicle settings from memory. You also really need to have it in ‘sport’ mode which, if it doesn’t have adaptive suspension, just sharpens the throttle response and gearshifts (and locks out top as well think) if you want to drive it for fun, though in mid setting it can also be a pretty good cruiser as well
I bought ours after a 48 hour test drive; MINI have been doing them for a while now!
I am surprised by the wayward front end; sure, on damp roads if you floor it there’s evidence of it being FWD and some torque steer that the electronics will reign in, but under normal but quick driving it’s not noticable (in ours at least). You can check the type pressures via the iDrive controller under vehicle settings from memory. You also really need to have it in ‘sport’ mode which, if it doesn’t have adaptive suspension, just sharpens the throttle response and gearshifts (and locks out top as well think) if you want to drive it for fun, though in mid setting it can also be a pretty good cruiser as well
I bought ours after a 48 hour test drive; MINI have been doing them for a while now!
Yes I do remember you saying it doesn’t feel as quick as the stats suggest, I’ll give it a blast on my own as it should feel different, other half also said it felt nervous so I think it wasn’t 100%, it was in sport and roads were dry ,maybe having 3 in the back was effecting the handling?
It’s a different car we’re getting this week thankfully
It’s a different car we’re getting this week thankfully
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