F56 JCW buying advice

[nickfrog]

^ that's very near me and they have a great reputation. But those seats are not JCW shape and support, just Cooper S in leather. For me it would be a shame to not have JCW seats Inna JCW. And still wrong size wheels

I am such a kill joy, sorry.

[un1eash]

The lounge seats are very similar in shape, they have a separate headrest where as JCW seats are one piece backrest.

Correct no HK, easy way to tell is no speaker on the A pillar.
It does have pro nav, heated seats and windscreen though and is a full LCi. I say Full as there were unicorn cross over cars in 2018 to confuse things more.

I always look for cars with HUD.

[BOR]

We have those seats in our Cooper S.

That leather was an expensive option - you get...union jacks on the back of the headrest.

I'm not sure if you can get the JCW seats with seat heating?

[nickfrog]

^ yes you can either with alcantara or cloth.

[spitfire-ian]

Assuming the Countryman seats are the same, I've found the JCW seats to be a lot more comfortable than the leather seats we had in the Cooper S before.

And yes, heated seats in both leather and not.

[TameRacingDriver]

nickfrog said:

^ that's very near me and they have a great reputation. But those seats are not JCW shape and support, just Cooper S in leather. For me it would be a shame to not have JCW seats Inna JCW. And still wrong size wheels

I am such a kill joy, sorry.

Agree, they're Cooper S seats and I agree I'd want one with the proper seats.

Being nit picky on the wheels, they're not technically the wrong size, as most come with those, but they aren't the BEST size, key difference. They drive so much nicer on 17s, I'd actually say the difference was as pronounced when I swapped to 17s as when I put the JCW Pro coilovers on!

[WayOutWest]

Heathwood said:

What do we think about this one folks? Not 100% sure about the lounge seats - are these the same shape as the normal JCW ones but leather? Also no HK I don t think but otherwise looks a good spec.

https://www.targafloriocars.com/used/cars/mini/hat...

I actually like the lounge leather seats, I would have bought a JCW with them. I think they are based on Cooper S seats but I actually find these more comfortable than the JCW ones, and supportive enough having now driven a few long journeys in my Works 210 (which has the part leather/part diamond cloth ones). So much better than the R56 seats.

I do agree I'd rather have 17 inch wheels with non-run flats. HK sounds good but I don't have a reference point for a non-HK equipped car.
Other options to seek out, the full nav system is decent, the reversing camera - I wondered do you really need one in a MINI (it was essential in a Megane 275 due to the terrible rear visability) but now I have that option I find it is incredibly useful.
The heads up display - again a really handy tool and makes checking your speed much easier, I think I would have got nicked without it by now. Shame it doesn't have a mini rev counter on that display also.

Edited by WayOutWest on Thursday 18th September 12:18

[wong]

WayOutWest said:

The heads up display - again a really handy tool and makes checking your speed much easier, I think I would have got nicked without it by now. Shame it doesn't have a mini rev counter on that display also.

Edited by WayOutWest on Thursday 18th September 12:18

The mini rev counter can be coded into the HUD with Bimmercode and an OBD adapter

[Heathwood]

Thanks guys. This is such hard work; there are always compromises aren’t there?!

[PT1984]

Consider that a comfort spec JCW. We had lounge leather on our MCS, an expensive option, but very comfy. But I’d want the buckets.

[nickfrog]

Heathwood said:

Thanks guys. This is such hard work; there are always compromises aren t there?!

If you can wait for a year mine will be on the market then

2017 35k mile (then)
Silver with red roof and dechromed
Sensors
Boost screen
17' wheels
Climate
Will still be under MINI extended warranty

[Heathwood]

nickfrog said:

Heathwood said:

Thanks guys. This is such hard work; there are always compromises aren t there?!

If you can wait for a year mine will be on the market then

2017 35k mile (then)
Silver with red roof and dechromed
Sensors
Boost screen
17' wheels
Climate
Will still be under MINI extended warranty

Sorry Nick, looking to replace the current car rather sooner than that.

[Heathwood]

nickfrog said:

Heathwood said:

Thanks guys. This is such hard work; there are always compromises aren t there?!

If you can wait for a year mine will be on the market then

2017 35k mile (then)
Silver with red roof and dechromed
Sensors
Boost screen
17' wheels
Climate
Will still be under MINI extended warranty

Sorry Nick, looking to replace the current car rather sooner than that.

[Heathwood]

So, a bit of an update. I’ve bought a JCW (the one from Chichester). I’ve yet to collect, but hope to do so later this week. It’s got the wrong wheels (18s) and the wrong seats (lounge leather) - sorry Nick

I really don’t like run flats, having had them on my 130i years ago, so they’ve got to go. The default option seems to be PS4, and I’m considering going to a 215/40/18. Has anyone done similar?

[nickfrog]

Good move. You could upgrade to 17' wheels

In fact I am serious, they are significanly better then the 18'.

Should cost you zero if you play your cards right.

[cerb4.5lee]

Nice one!

I can thoroughly recommend the 17's too. Plus I've always liked the lounge leather as well, and the Cooper S that I first test drove had it.

[Heathwood]

I’ll keep that as a plan B option mate. I’ll try switching out the Dunlop run flats and see how I get on.

[Heathwood]

Yeah, I quite liked the lounge leather. I probably would’ve preferred the JCW seats from a selfish POV, but I will have the kids in the back from time to time and the high back buckets make things quite a bit darker and more claustrophobic back there than the lounge, so a worthwhile compromise I think.

[GT4P]

Heathwood said:

So, a bit of an update. I ve bought a JCW (the one from Chichester). I ve yet to collect, but hope to do so later this week. It s got the wrong wheels (18s) and the wrong seats (lounge leather) - sorry Nick

I really don t like run flats, having had them on my 130i years ago, so they ve got to go. The default option seems to be PS4, and I m considering going to a 215/40/18. Has anyone done similar?

Yes I ditched the Dunlop run flats that were on from new a few years ago ( they weren’t too bad ) Anyway I went PS4 215/40 18 (cheaper than 205) and had no problems over 2 years. I sold a few months ago and the fronts needed replacing after circa 16k

[Heathwood]

So, I picked the JCW up today and drove it the 3 hrs home, mostly on motorways. Targa Florio were great to deal with from start to finish. Would definitely recommend.

I’m still getting to know the car of course and mostly it’s been impressive. I expected the ride to be firm but to be honest it wasn’t as bad as feared. What wasn’t so good was the tyre roar, even at very low speed. After a while I found it rather all consuming. It might be the pitch / harmonics as much as the volume, so I’m hopeful that a switch to PS4s will bring it back to being acceptable in this respect. If so, I think I’ll have a lot of fun in the little beastie.