F56 JCW owner opinions and "must have" options
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm looking at getting a smaller "hot hatch" commute car and fancied an F56 Cooper S, until I saw the JCW and its performance/options. This would be my first car of this type.
It seems to tick all the boxes for me, so what are thoughts from existing owners, reliability, mpg, servicing costs and general "livability" ?
I am swapping from an A4 Avant to this - bit of a change!
In terms of the must have options, what would they be? I have every option on the Audi including pano roof, which makes for a nice cruiser.
There are so many things to choose from, colours, etc - I am a bit lost!
Ideally would love a BRG / red roof but also like the electric blue.
I like to fiddle, so I expect a wavetrac LSD, eventuri intake, eibach springs and remap would be almost certainly done on day 2 !
Cheers,
I'm looking at getting a smaller "hot hatch" commute car and fancied an F56 Cooper S, until I saw the JCW and its performance/options. This would be my first car of this type.
It seems to tick all the boxes for me, so what are thoughts from existing owners, reliability, mpg, servicing costs and general "livability" ?
I am swapping from an A4 Avant to this - bit of a change!
In terms of the must have options, what would they be? I have every option on the Audi including pano roof, which makes for a nice cruiser.
There are so many things to choose from, colours, etc - I am a bit lost!
Ideally would love a BRG / red roof but also like the electric blue.
I like to fiddle, so I expect a wavetrac LSD, eventuri intake, eibach springs and remap would be almost certainly done on day 2 !
Cheers,
Edited by stuart-b on Monday 13th April 11:33
Thanks guys, I moved out of the UK to Europe, so mine will be a German imported car.
They all seem to be fairly high spec, a lot of them come with LEDs etc. Good tips on the heated seats etc, and didn't realise there were variations in the Nav, thanks.
I ditched the run flats on my other BMWs too, usually go with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
I have a tuner local to me who would do the work.
How do you find the torque steer in the JCW out of the box?
They all seem to be fairly high spec, a lot of them come with LEDs etc. Good tips on the heated seats etc, and didn't realise there were variations in the Nav, thanks.
I ditched the run flats on my other BMWs too, usually go with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
I have a tuner local to me who would do the work.
How do you find the torque steer in the JCW out of the box?
Thanks everyone! Lots of good tips.
So this will seriously narrow my search
but I'll focus my attention on ...
1. An interesting colour. Every car of mine is/was either black or titanium/gray/silver - except for an old Porsche in red, which was more pink than anything. Now my GTR is Millennium Jade, I want the mini to follow suit... some sort of green, perhaps BRG
2. Panoramic sunroof
3. LED lights
4. Wide Nav/infotainment
5. Heated Seats
6. Cruise
7. Head up display (won't be a deal breaker for me, but a good option)
Not sure if I want leather, I have it in my BMW Z4 and you get sweaty in the summer.
I think I would prefer half-leather/alcantara is which is what I have in the Audi - if that's even an option in the JCW.
So I've probably got more mouse buttons than there are cars for sale at this spec level - my search may take a while ...
So this will seriously narrow my search
but I'll focus my attention on ...1. An interesting colour. Every car of mine is/was either black or titanium/gray/silver - except for an old Porsche in red, which was more pink than anything. Now my GTR is Millennium Jade, I want the mini to follow suit... some sort of green, perhaps BRG
2. Panoramic sunroof
3. LED lights
4. Wide Nav/infotainment
5. Heated Seats
6. Cruise
7. Head up display (won't be a deal breaker for me, but a good option)
Not sure if I want leather, I have it in my BMW Z4 and you get sweaty in the summer.
I think I would prefer half-leather/alcantara is which is what I have in the Audi - if that's even an option in the JCW.
So I've probably got more mouse buttons than there are cars for sale at this spec level - my search may take a while ...
blue al said:
The Lounge leather in satellite grey to me feels more premium than that in a M140i
Mine still looks good at 70k
And being pale won’t suck up the heat, I guess 1 in 100 option for a jcw so don’t waste your time looking too hard.
But equally I wouldn’t discount the black, as you can programme the key to drop the windows and open the sunroof as you approach the car, also useful in car parks as it often has the effect of moving on “bad parkers”
Satellite grey sounds good to me too. I can't buy another black car! Mine still looks good at 70k
And being pale won’t suck up the heat, I guess 1 in 100 option for a jcw so don’t waste your time looking too hard.
But equally I wouldn’t discount the black, as you can programme the key to drop the windows and open the sunroof as you approach the car, also useful in car parks as it often has the effect of moving on “bad parkers”
Malo said:
We just bought a 2017 JCW, not yet picked up due to dealer lockdown.
I originally really wanted a pano sunroof, but after test driving one found it was not a must have which gave is much more choice.
So that left must haves as
Heated seats
Manual gearbox
Cloth seats
No red on dash
Harmon Kardon sound
Media XL
Yep, or the half leather, I can cope with that. But you've hit the nail on the head.I originally really wanted a pano sunroof, but after test driving one found it was not a must have which gave is much more choice.
So that left must haves as
Heated seats
Manual gearbox
Cloth seats
No red on dash
Harmon Kardon sound
Media XL
Also I think the pano may upset the handling since it's a lot of weight on the top of the car. It's noticeable on my Audi and I think it's more than 100kg!
Great feedback and interesting about how the DSC is affected by the brake fluid/bleeding. I'll be sure to remember that tip!
You clearly love the car, and I think I will too
It's not ideal to daily tuned N54T or RB26 engines, so this will fit my needs without costing the earth.
I bet that Hellcat is a handful !
You clearly love the car, and I think I will too
It's not ideal to daily tuned N54T or RB26 engines, so this will fit my needs without costing the earth.
I bet that Hellcat is a handful !
Rockster said:
My 2018 JCW 2-door hatchbck is in I think Rebel Green. Very dark.
No sun roof.
Cloth seats.
No heated seats.
Steering wheel not heated either. Even though it doesn't get that cold here my other car has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. I miss the heated wheel feature on my MINI.
Surprisingly the car controls are not glove friendly, either. My Porsches were much better in this regard.
Think the car has the 18" wheels.The (front) wheels barely clear the brakes.
Wheels fitted with run flats. They suck but then I walked out to the car one morning and found it had a flat tire. Drove the thing 10+ miles to the dealer to get the tire replaced. I have decided the run flats still suck but I liked not having to change the tire put on a space saver spare tire. So it is unlikely that when the time comes to replace all 4 tires that I will not replace them with the OE run flats.
6-speed manual. The rev matching on down shifts is cool.
No NAV.
Has HK sound but I never use it.
LED headlights. I like.
Dual climate control. I just set both knobs to 72F and forget about it.
Cruise control.
Rain sensing wipers.
The car is a bit of a beast. 228hp in 2800lb package. That 2.0l 4-cylinder engine pulls like a freight train. My other car is a 707hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat. If that 2.0l MINI engine's size was scaled up to 6.2l (size of the engine in the Hellcat) and if HP scaled up linearly, the 6.2l MINI engine would put out 706hp.
Early on had a problem with the stability control system. The warning light/symbol would flash all to often even in rather sedate driving.
Thought it was "normal". And maybe I was driving it a bit more aggressively than I thought since my previous cars were a Boxster and a Porsche Turbo both of which cornered like they were on rails.
Then the brake wear light came on. Turns out the driver side rear brake the pad with the sensor was worn down. I had the rear brakes replaced: Pads, rotors, etc.
After the warning light/symbol still was coming on too often. 2 year anniversary of when I bought the car arrived and I took the car in for a brake fluid flush/bleed. This was not done when the brakes were replaced. Not sure why I did not ask this be done but I didn't. Generally if I have the brakes done even if just one axle, I'll have the brake fluid flushed and bled.
After the brake fluid flush/bleed the stability control warning light/symbol does not flash.
MPG averages around 30. A bit less with mostly in town driving. A bit more with mostly freeway driving.
Uses no oil. Get the oil changed every 5K miles.
The hatchback offers some cargo space though I seldom need it. Never carry more than one passenger so the car is sized perfectly for my needs.
Overall the car is a pretty decent car and I would buy another one. In fact have thought about trading in the Hellcat and buying another JCW.
No sun roof.
Cloth seats.
No heated seats.
Steering wheel not heated either. Even though it doesn't get that cold here my other car has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. I miss the heated wheel feature on my MINI.
Surprisingly the car controls are not glove friendly, either. My Porsches were much better in this regard.
Think the car has the 18" wheels.The (front) wheels barely clear the brakes.
Wheels fitted with run flats. They suck but then I walked out to the car one morning and found it had a flat tire. Drove the thing 10+ miles to the dealer to get the tire replaced. I have decided the run flats still suck but I liked not having to change the tire put on a space saver spare tire. So it is unlikely that when the time comes to replace all 4 tires that I will not replace them with the OE run flats.
6-speed manual. The rev matching on down shifts is cool.
No NAV.
Has HK sound but I never use it.
LED headlights. I like.
Dual climate control. I just set both knobs to 72F and forget about it.
Cruise control.
Rain sensing wipers.
The car is a bit of a beast. 228hp in 2800lb package. That 2.0l 4-cylinder engine pulls like a freight train. My other car is a 707hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat. If that 2.0l MINI engine's size was scaled up to 6.2l (size of the engine in the Hellcat) and if HP scaled up linearly, the 6.2l MINI engine would put out 706hp.
Early on had a problem with the stability control system. The warning light/symbol would flash all to often even in rather sedate driving.
Thought it was "normal". And maybe I was driving it a bit more aggressively than I thought since my previous cars were a Boxster and a Porsche Turbo both of which cornered like they were on rails.
Then the brake wear light came on. Turns out the driver side rear brake the pad with the sensor was worn down. I had the rear brakes replaced: Pads, rotors, etc.
After the warning light/symbol still was coming on too often. 2 year anniversary of when I bought the car arrived and I took the car in for a brake fluid flush/bleed. This was not done when the brakes were replaced. Not sure why I did not ask this be done but I didn't. Generally if I have the brakes done even if just one axle, I'll have the brake fluid flushed and bled.
After the brake fluid flush/bleed the stability control warning light/symbol does not flash.
MPG averages around 30. A bit less with mostly in town driving. A bit more with mostly freeway driving.
Uses no oil. Get the oil changed every 5K miles.
The hatchback offers some cargo space though I seldom need it. Never carry more than one passenger so the car is sized perfectly for my needs.
Overall the car is a pretty decent car and I would buy another one. In fact have thought about trading in the Hellcat and buying another JCW.
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