RE: Mini JCW back in production after six months off
Discussion
sidesauce said:
mylesmcd said:
Branding. That is all.
No, that's not all actually. It's making money for BMW too, plus contributing toward giving over 4,000 people jobs in Oxford and Swindon.BMW's bottom line and jobs in England are not my concern, anymore.
On a side note, is the next one going to be 4wd does anyone know?
mylesmcd said:
My point being, it could and should, be so much more. Apart from the exhaust note and torque steer.
BMW's bottom line and jobs in England are not my concern, anymore.
On a side note, is the next one going to be 4wd does anyone know?
Well, of course it's not your concern - that's why you can make such a sweeping statement.BMW's bottom line and jobs in England are not my concern, anymore.
On a side note, is the next one going to be 4wd does anyone know?
My point is, as a car, it's certainly good enough and doesn't need to be any more, definitely not for the sake of keeping people like you happy - it sells well in many markets and keeps people who are concerned with their jobs with a roof over their heads as well as making BMW a healthy profit.
Edited by sidesauce on Wednesday 19th December 12:31
howardhughes said:
I have the first gen R53 Works, by far the best variant in the works range.
The only thing I like on the latter is the rear Union Jack lights. Everything else is awful.
They are just too big and bulbous.
I have an R53 S which I bought partly as a cheap way of seeing if a mini would work for my needs before committing to a more expensive F56. Funnily enough I like almost everything about the F56 apart from the tacky Union Jack lights.The only thing I like on the latter is the rear Union Jack lights. Everything else is awful.
They are just too big and bulbous.
Quickmoose said:
Great performing
Enjoyable steer
Ridiculously ugly and over styled
Badly packaged
Not small car
Not as good as back in the day
Massive Marketing success story
Providing manufacturing jobs
Now a cash cow
Missed anything?
Whichever way you lean.... it’s not exactly ‘progress’ is it....?
Pretty much sums up the debate to be had with MINI. My two pence is that the BHP (231) isn't much for a 2 litre top of the range model. Yes, I know its to do with emissions, but damn it power matters!Enjoyable steer
Ridiculously ugly and over styled
Badly packaged
Not small car
Not as good as back in the day
Massive Marketing success story
Providing manufacturing jobs
Now a cash cow
Missed anything?
Whichever way you lean.... it’s not exactly ‘progress’ is it....?
OK - I wrote this yesterday and scrapped it - but here goes:
Why does a so called British brand (I know who owns them) think its a good idea to show us a left hand drive car with uk plates ?
It's almost as bad as those awful Cillet Bang adverts and other such pan-European trashy ads on TV where it is blatantly obvious that they have just done a really bad english voice over on what is a foreign language advert with awful lip sync.
If they cant be bothered to at least try to show something that suits the market its intended for then don't bother !
As for those rear lights - come the hard brexit :-( nobody in europe would want to be seen driving around with those on !!
Victor Meldrew will now leave the house.
Why does a so called British brand (I know who owns them) think its a good idea to show us a left hand drive car with uk plates ?
It's almost as bad as those awful Cillet Bang adverts and other such pan-European trashy ads on TV where it is blatantly obvious that they have just done a really bad english voice over on what is a foreign language advert with awful lip sync.
If they cant be bothered to at least try to show something that suits the market its intended for then don't bother !
As for those rear lights - come the hard brexit :-( nobody in europe would want to be seen driving around with those on !!
Victor Meldrew will now leave the house.
nunpuncher said:
I would agree regarding the power. I was quite shocked to learn that the first generation R53 JCW cars weren't THAT far off the current model in terms of power.
Yep, the old R53 and R56 models pushed out 211 bhp from a 1.6 litre. The brand new Audi S1 is now pushing out 250. Seems a bit lack lustre compared to ford who are pushing 250 bhp from their 2 litre ST.oilit said:
Why does a so called British brand (I know who owns them) think its a good idea to show us a left hand drive car with uk plates ?
Because we drive on the wrong side of the road. They probably sell more to LHD markets, so why not? The plates are obviously vanity plates and possibly Photoshopped on anyway. oilit said:
Why does a so called British brand (I know who owns them) think its a good idea to show us a left hand drive car with uk plates ?
It's almost as bad as those awful Cillet Bang adverts and other such pan-European trashy ads on TV where it is blatantly obvious that they have just done a really bad english voice over on what is a foreign language advert with awful lip sync.
The pre-production cars are always a mix of LHD and RHD cars - predominantly LHD as that reflects sales volumes. As they're made in Oxford and registered at the factory, they have UK 'OX' plates. Granted, there are often a few early pre-production cars that will be registered in Germany, but the majority are from the UK.It's almost as bad as those awful Cillet Bang adverts and other such pan-European trashy ads on TV where it is blatantly obvious that they have just done a really bad english voice over on what is a foreign language advert with awful lip sync.
Similarly, if you drive on any of the roads around Crewe you will see LHD Bentleys on UK 'DG' plates - factory registered pre-production cars.
So it's not a concession, but the original plate of the car.
sidesauce said:
mylesmcd said:
My point being, it could and should, be so much more. Apart from the exhaust note and torque steer.
BMW's bottom line and jobs in England are not my concern, anymore.
On a side note, is the next one going to be 4wd does anyone know?
Well, of course it's not your concern - that's why you can make such a sweeping statement.BMW's bottom line and jobs in England are not my concern, anymore.
On a side note, is the next one going to be 4wd does anyone know?
My point is, as a car, it's certainly good enough and doesn't need to be any more, definitely not for the sake of keeping people like you happy - it sells well in many markets and keeps people who are concerned with their jobs with a roof over their heads as well as making BMW a healthy profit.
Edited by sidesauce on Wednesday 19th December 12:31
It isnt good enough. Not nearly. It should be so much more, but it disappoints, especially given the price point. The current segment for this car has leaped forward and left this model behind in a massive way. 231bhp, fwd, basic dynamics and torque steer, practicality, gender pronoun issues, the list goes on.
And I would also like to see the *sells well in many markets* backed up.
http://www.motoringfile.com/2018/01/03/mini-usa-sa...
Simply put, the Cooper S is too close in spec (and pricey enough with options added) the JCW also only comes 2 door, not 4 AND MINI as a brand suffers due to the BMW R and D spend over the last few years has left it a little high and dry.
ANd yes. I am just back from the boozer.
winning.I think the MINI are a decent car and make sense on the used market.
The problem I have is that in addition to a good, fast and tidy handling car I like things to be a little step away from mainstream - different, quirky and not that common.
The MINI are everywhere in many guises and for me just not 'exclusive' enough. They are just so 'mid 30's new housing estate dweller who shops at next with little imagination' owner types and as such I'm out.
Re these new GPF devices - I wonder when the issues will start to surface?
The problem I have is that in addition to a good, fast and tidy handling car I like things to be a little step away from mainstream - different, quirky and not that common.
The MINI are everywhere in many guises and for me just not 'exclusive' enough. They are just so 'mid 30's new housing estate dweller who shops at next with little imagination' owner types and as such I'm out.
Re these new GPF devices - I wonder when the issues will start to surface?
I've got one, I'm a 46 year old male and work in oil and gas. Maybe because I'm almost a pensioner I have zero interest in anyone else's opinion of what I look like in my wee (ok not so wee) JCW. I know it's the not the most cohesive of designs with the big chin stuff going on but I have grown to like it.
To put things in perspective, I've had what PH would describe as 'better' cars before, 2016 Mustang v8, Boxster S, various Subaru's including a Foz STi, remapped 335i, S3's ..
I love the wee JCW. It's fun with a capital F. It's not about whether it's only got 231 BHP, or does 0-60 in 6.whatever. Who cares, since when did driving fun become around some numbers on a page. The wee car already struggles to get the power down in the first 3 gears if it's wet so doesn't need any more. I'm pretty sure it feels limited torque wise in 1/2 gear. It's 100% not slow especially in 3rd from 40 upwards. In fact on a Scottish B-road it's an absolute hoot.
I have the JCW pro exhaust system on mine too, and even for a 4 banger it sounds decent, it's bit of a hooligan really. Whack it into sport, turn the traction control off, double click the pro-exhaust noodle and it's just huge fun. Turn all the stuff back off, and it's quiet-ish and you can get almost 50 mpg on a motorway run.
If it's all about number top trumps, then my S3 with revo had about 380 BHP and would probably do 0-60 in @4 seconds and never lost traction, however it was as boring a car as you're likely to get. If I had the S3 and the JCW parked side by side and had to choose which one to drive I'm taking the Mini every time.
To put things in perspective, I've had what PH would describe as 'better' cars before, 2016 Mustang v8, Boxster S, various Subaru's including a Foz STi, remapped 335i, S3's ..
I love the wee JCW. It's fun with a capital F. It's not about whether it's only got 231 BHP, or does 0-60 in 6.whatever. Who cares, since when did driving fun become around some numbers on a page. The wee car already struggles to get the power down in the first 3 gears if it's wet so doesn't need any more. I'm pretty sure it feels limited torque wise in 1/2 gear. It's 100% not slow especially in 3rd from 40 upwards. In fact on a Scottish B-road it's an absolute hoot.
I have the JCW pro exhaust system on mine too, and even for a 4 banger it sounds decent, it's bit of a hooligan really. Whack it into sport, turn the traction control off, double click the pro-exhaust noodle and it's just huge fun. Turn all the stuff back off, and it's quiet-ish and you can get almost 50 mpg on a motorway run.
If it's all about number top trumps, then my S3 with revo had about 380 BHP and would probably do 0-60 in @4 seconds and never lost traction, however it was as boring a car as you're likely to get. If I had the S3 and the JCW parked side by side and had to choose which one to drive I'm taking the Mini every time.
Avalyn said:
It's fun with a capital F. It's not about whether it's only got 231 BHP, or does 0-60 in 6.whatever. Who cares, since when did driving fun become around some numbers on a page.
This!I had a 7th gen Civic Type-R about 10 years ago which was about 6.8 to 60, and have owned a multitude of way faster to 60 cars, but that was by far the most Fun I've driven. Revving the nuts off of it, combined with a fantastic quick shift gearbox it felt way faster than the paper said it was. (3rd gear also came at about 58mph, so the 0-60 was misleading, but you'd only know that if you drove it and enjoyed it like it was meant to be)
People get way too hung up on stats these days. Unless straight line sprints is you're only concern then there are more things to focus on than numbers on a page.
Avalyn said:
I've got one, I'm a 46 year old male and work in oil and gas. Maybe because I'm almost a pensioner I have zero interest in anyone else's opinion of what I look like in my wee (ok not so wee) JCW.
This is really the final word on any car, from a Ferrari F40 to Katie Price's pink Range Rover. If you've got one, you like it and enjoy driving it, then everyone else's opinion is worth the square root of f
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