RE: Mini updates John Cooper Works for 2021

[frayz]

The original R53 was a great looking thing, they have just gotten worse and worse with every iteration.

When did convex wheels become a thing? They look awful!

[Dolf Stoppard]

Tim bo said:

They really need to bring the hatch up to the same powertrain as the JCW Clubman and Countryman - ie 306bhp.

They have the GP3 with that powertrain, but it's fking gopping so no one will buy it.

Having the hatch, MINI and JCW's figurehead, with a significantly lower-powered engine than the rest of the JCW range is nonsensically idiotic.

But this isn't MINI's figurehead or 'range toppper'. The same way a Fiesta or a Polo aren't for Ford / VW. If you want the most powerful engine in a hatch you need to go up a size and spend more money. The GP isn't a 'mainstream' car and the market for a 306bhp two door hatch would be too small to make financial sense for MINI. Which is why they haven't built one.

And despite being 'gopping' lots of people bought the GP.

[TameRacingDriver]

Not keen on this at all. Looks too tall, and MPVish, while at the same time, bulbous in places, and far too fussy. They're losing the plot. The R53 and R56 were great looking things, F56 less so, but this is possibly 2 steps in the wrong direction from that generation.

[jorders500]

Too cutesy to be taken seriously.

GR Yaris for me.

[SeekerOfTruthAndPies]

I had an '18 plate F56 JCW for about 18 months, and thought it was very good. You know what you're getting: just short of 230bhp in a small car is not class leading anymore, so why complain it's underpowered? No it wasn't the quickest, but it certainly had some go in it. I never felt it was any worse for torque steer than any other turbo hatch, and found it handled well enough. Uncomfortable? I drove from the UK to Berlin and back in it with my good lady, and had no trouble with it at all. The only reasons I got rid of it were practicality: the boot is too small, and at 6'2" I couldn't get anyone in the back behind the driver's seat. All in all, it was good fun.

[cerb4.5lee]

Loplop said:

Everytime I took it for a 'proper' drive, it fell to bits. Handling was 'okay' at best, the gearbox didn't like to be rushed (Manual), the brakes SHOULD have been brilliant, they're the same discs and calipers as on all of the ///M 40i cars but I had no confidence in it and the engine was the most boring 230bhp I've ever had a hold of. Ridiculous bottom end but it just felt flat and diesel like throughout the rev range. And the seats were naff, uncomfortable and not particularly supportive.

Other than the manual gearbox feeling a little on the cheap and nasty side to use(it is basically just a skinny bit of thin metal), I did like how quick you could change gear at speed in it though(especially after some of the BMW manauls I've used).

The engine is a bit of a head scratcher though, the BMW B48 2.0 turbo engine was what attracted me to mine(Cooper S) in the first place(I got it mainly for the engine...definitely not for the looks!). However it was really punchy low down(which I loved) but it didn't have any top end(which I didn't love). It was frugal though and it felt effective rather than exciting to use for me.

[Rumblestripe]

If only looked more like an R50 or even an R56, the interior is a nice place to be but the F56 is ugly and no amount of bits of plastic can fix an ultimately unbalanced design.

Amusingly those new spangly alloys look like Halfords plastic wheel covers, genius!

[sagarich]

The F56 is really growing on me and I've always had a soft spot for a little JCW. I don't really need a car anymore, but if I did, this would be a good option.

[tiggyzak]

MightyBadger said:

Front and back just look fussier.

"Fussier" ?

I hate it when people come on here and slag off new cars ,but I have to say ,this does look a bit of a dogs dinner. Sorry . Maybe it'll look better in the flesh .Car designers don't very often misjudge the car buyers mood and tastes.

I am sure that in every other department it will be a great car.

[TameRacingDriver]

Fussier probably means too many little details which I would agree with in this case.

[okenemem]

blue al said:

An example of trying far too hard to make the same car look better/different.

[Tim bo]

Dolf Stoppard said:

Tim bo said:

They really need to bring the hatch up to the same powertrain as the JCW Clubman and Countryman - ie 306bhp.

They have the GP3 with that powertrain, but it's fking gopping so no one will buy it.

Having the hatch, MINI and JCW's figurehead, with a significantly lower-powered engine than the rest of the JCW range is nonsensically idiotic.

But this isn't MINI's figurehead or 'range toppper'. The same way a Fiesta or a Polo aren't for Ford / VW. If you want the most powerful engine in a hatch you need to go up a size and spend more money. The GP isn't a 'mainstream' car and the market for a 306bhp two door hatch would be too small to make financial sense for MINI. Which is why they haven't built one.

I didn't say range topper, I said figurehead, they mean different things. The hatch was MINI's launch vehicle, remains its bestseller, the reincarnated representation of the original: the figurehead of the range.

The JCW Countryman, a crossover SUV, gets the 306hp powertrain. A van-like mini-estate car, the JCW Clubman, gets the 306hp powertrain. And yet the figurehead, the hatch, the most important and best-selling car in MINI's range, does not.

Like I said; non-sensical.

Edited by Tim bo on Friday 16th April 10:28

[TameRacingDriver]

Agreed. It probably would have made more sense to have the JCW clubman etc to have the same power as the hatch, ie 230 bhp, it makes no sense to me either. It's not like someone who is wanting a mega hatch is going to buy a frumpy estate car but I guess it'll make for a good sleeper.

[framerateuk]

tramart50 said:

I have a Clio 200 and the diffuser starts 2 feet forward of the rear of the car, maybe even before the rear axle line. It must be more effective than Minis 'image' of a diffuser!

Also those two ducts on the front look like something off a truck to help you get up to clean the windscreen. No attempt to make it look clean and aerodynamic.

Yeah the Renault ones go right under the car. On my Meg 280 it covers the whole torsion bar. The whole underside of the car is shockingly flat for a fast shopping trolly!

[ghiblicup]

Tim bo said:

Dolf Stoppard said:

Tim bo said:

They really need to bring the hatch up to the same powertrain as the JCW Clubman and Countryman - ie 306bhp.

They have the GP3 with that powertrain, but it's fking gopping so no one will buy it.

Having the hatch, MINI and JCW's figurehead, with a significantly lower-powered engine than the rest of the JCW range is nonsensically idiotic.

But this isn't MINI's figurehead or 'range toppper'. The same way a Fiesta or a Polo aren't for Ford / VW. If you want the most powerful engine in a hatch you need to go up a size and spend more money. The GP isn't a 'mainstream' car and the market for a 306bhp two door hatch would be too small to make financial sense for MINI. Which is why they haven't built one.

I didn't say range topper, I said figurehead, they mean different things. The hatch was MINI's launch vehicle, remains its bestseller, the reincarnated representation of the original: the figurehead of the range.

The JCW Countryman, a crossover SUV, gets the 306hp powertrain. A van-like mini-estate car, the JCW Clubman, gets the 306hp powertrain. And yet the figurehead, the hatch, the most important and best-selling car in MINI's range, does not.

Like I said; non-sensical.

Edited by Tim bo on Friday 16th April 10:28

They don't have a manual gear box for that engine. It's not all about power...

[nippynidge]

When did things change with car design to justify the top-of-the-range model being SO ugly?
I seem to recall when engineers said ‘If it looks right, it probably is right’ - please please BMW tell your designers to make beautiful cars again.

And how about setting a 200bhp limit to the whole range - I thought we were supposed to minimise our footprint instead of adopting conspicuous consumption as our motto? Every amp/bhp of power needs to be generated somewhere...

[new666uk]

Quote "...the auto needs just 6.1 seconds to hit 62mph, making it almost as quick as the 300hp hot hatches in the segment above"

Really? My 2014 M135 fulfils all those criteria and hits 62 in 4.9s seconds. Over a second of difference is a really noticeable gap don't you think?

[Ian.Campbell]

For the time being I’m going to stick with my daily drive, a 2016 ‘66’ UK Spec JCW in Rebel Green and Black Top.

Edited by Ian.Campbell on Sunday 18th April 09:59