RE: MINI Clubman JCW 306hp - Three Peaks | Promoted
Tuesday 24th September 2019
MINI Clubman JCW 306hp - Three Peaks | Promoted
What makes a great road trip? The car? The route? The company? We've ticked off all three...
We've been busy. You don't get between the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales without some serious legwork. Not that we were walking, of course. No, we were mostly driving the very recently launched MINI Clubman John Cooper Works 306hp - as it stands, the most powerful production car MINI has yet produced.
With more than 300hp from its turbocharged four-pot, and MINI's All4 all-wheel drive system to deploy it, the Clubman JCW provided PH with the perfect way of getting between the United Kingdom's most famous peaks. Better still, thanks to three willing PHers - IAN_C_UK, MIKESWAGON & CHRIS.AIR - we had a selection of previous MINI JCW cars along for the ride.
No introductions needed for the man in the driving seat - PH veteran Dan T - and in a short while he'll follow up the video with a written account of one of our most ambitious ever dream drives. But reading is for later; for now, dunk a digestive and sit back to enjoy the best Britain - and MINI - has to offer.
To find out more about the MINI Clubman JCW 306hp, and to book a test drive, click here
Discussion
howardhughes said:
Ok here it is. It maybe the most powerful MINI but it gets Gold for the most grotesque looking model produced to date. First and second generation are just proportionally right and by far the nicest models.
Too many doors, proportions all over the place and those hideous tail lights. 
Any chance of that engine in the drop top?
Rumblestripe said:
howardhughes said:
Ok here it is. It maybe the most powerful MINI but it gets Gold for the most grotesque looking model produced to date. First and second generation are just proportionally right and by far the nicest models.
Too many doors, proportions all over the place and those hideous tail lights. Any chance of that engine in the drop top?
When I picked up my new Leon ST in January I pulled up at the island just along from the dealership and some guy in a Mini pulled up next to me
Found myself looking UP at him
Since when did a Mini become so big? Surely the marketing men have missed a trick and (for those of us who remember ladies skirts of the late 60’s / early ‘70s) should keep a smaller version, a slightly bigger version, and the Countryman, naming them ‘Mini’, ‘Midi’ and ‘Maxi’
In second thoughts, the name Maxi has s
te connections to that awful BL offering...
Found myself looking UP at him
Since when did a Mini become so big? Surely the marketing men have missed a trick and (for those of us who remember ladies skirts of the late 60’s / early ‘70s) should keep a smaller version, a slightly bigger version, and the Countryman, naming them ‘Mini’, ‘Midi’ and ‘Maxi’
In second thoughts, the name Maxi has s
te connections to that awful BL offering...howardhughes said:
Ok here it is. It maybe the most powerful MINI but it gets Gold for the most grotesque looking model produced to date. First and second generation are just proportionally right and by far the nicest models.
Agreed. It looks like a stretch limo or hearse version of the MINI. It does at least have the benefit of making the F56 3 door hatch look attractive in relative terms. I am a MINI fan, but I will never buy anything other than the 3 door shape. Given the price, power and four wheel drive this thing is really competing head on with Golf Rs, Audi S3s and the like, which look just as cohesive as a 5 door. It's a shame because I bet it drives a lot better than it looks. Another thought is they must be pinching sales from themselves if anyone chooses this over a BMW 135i xDrive (isn't that practically the same car underneath?). As for the video it would have been nice to hear how the earlier models drove in comparison, realise it was an advertorial but still.
Hopefully the write up will be better.
Edited by Drekly on Saturday 21st September 17:46
Drekly said:
Agreed. It looks like a stretch limo or hearse version of the MINI. It does at least have the benefit of making the F56 3 door hatch look attractive in relative terms. I am a MINI fan, but I will never buy anything other than the 3 door shape. Given the price, power and four wheel drive this thing is really competing head on with Golf Rs, Audi S3s and the like, which look just as cohesive as a 5 door. It's a shame because I bet it drives a lot better than it looks.
As for the video it would have been nice to hear how the earlier models drove in comparison, realise it was an advertorial but still.
Hopefully the write up will be better.
Very true and well put. In terms of the 'Hearse' I couldn't have put it better myself.As for the video it would have been nice to hear how the earlier models drove in comparison, realise it was an advertorial but still.
Hopefully the write up will be better.
Thesprucegoose said:
A golf R is bigger, better and most likly cheaper, you must rally like Mini to get one.
Actually the Clubman is longer than a Golf, has a longer wheel base than a Golf, is wider than a Golf (ignoring wing mirrors) and has more rear legroom. It’s lower than a Golf though, and has a 20 litre smaller boot. But then, it is pitched as a Golf sized car! Not much doubt that the Golf is cheaper, though at the rate at which MINI discount I’m not 100% sure!
PSRG said:
Actually the Clubman is longer than a Golf, has a longer wheel base than a Golf, is wider than a Golf (ignoring wing mirrors) and has more rear legroom. It’s lower than a Golf though, and has a 20 litre smaller boot. But then, it is pitched as a Golf sized car! Not much doubt that the Golf is cheaper, though at the rate at which MINI discount I’m not 100% sure!
Clubman is an estate? Golf R estate has a 250l bigger boot... jwilliamsm3 said:
My mother had the clubman JCW F54, she had it less than a year iirc. Nice car lovely interior but without doubt the most gutless 231bhp ive ever driven. That engine did not like to be revved
Peculiar, SWMBO just bought a 17 plate JCW and it's an absolute hoot. Redline is relatively low, but most are these days, yet it seems to have no issue with getting there quickly.pairfect and yee-haa in the same video, lol
we're a multinational bunch, the PH community
also...
you lot who are comparing the cargo capacity of this latest Clubman with a Golf and so on: keep in mind that the MINI buyer is looking for a particular (British) combination of sport and practicality -- and is unlikely to respond to overwhelming appeals to the analyitical left brain or to the idea of a "car as appliance"
Good to see Dan T. leading a video again.
Loplop said:
jwilliamsm3 said:
My mother had the clubman JCW F54, she had it less than a year iirc. Nice car lovely interior but without doubt the most gutless 231bhp ive ever driven. That engine did not like to be revved
Peculiar, SWMBO just bought a 17 plate JCW and it's an absolute hoot. Redline is relatively low, but most are these days, yet it seems to have no issue with getting there quickly.I'll be the first to chip in.....
We had a great time making that, long tiring days, but I'd do it again. The roads and the scenery, well you can see in the vid, and everyone involved were a pleasure to be around, which was a bonus.
I came from an F56 Cooper, and had test driven an early F54 Cooper S, but wasn't impressed enough to change up.... I went the other way and got the R55 JCW back in April. Having followed Dan over many miles, I grew to really like the new F54, and in the metal the LCI lights really work - funnily enough I don't care for them on the F56 LCI.
Driving it was great fun, it feels very quick and very well planted on the road. I didn't miss having a manual box, quite the opposite and found the paddles really easy. Launch control left me stuck for words, then giggling like a little kid. It didn't feel significantly bigger, but it's still not a big car.
I like MINIs, but I'm by no means a fan-boy. If I had that kind of money, it would definitely be in the short list for the next car, along with the usual Golf GTI, S3 etc. Rebel Green or Emerald Grey with a white roof please.
We had a great time making that, long tiring days, but I'd do it again. The roads and the scenery, well you can see in the vid, and everyone involved were a pleasure to be around, which was a bonus.
I came from an F56 Cooper, and had test driven an early F54 Cooper S, but wasn't impressed enough to change up.... I went the other way and got the R55 JCW back in April. Having followed Dan over many miles, I grew to really like the new F54, and in the metal the LCI lights really work - funnily enough I don't care for them on the F56 LCI.
Driving it was great fun, it feels very quick and very well planted on the road. I didn't miss having a manual box, quite the opposite and found the paddles really easy. Launch control left me stuck for words, then giggling like a little kid. It didn't feel significantly bigger, but it's still not a big car.
I like MINIs, but I'm by no means a fan-boy. If I had that kind of money, it would definitely be in the short list for the next car, along with the usual Golf GTI, S3 etc. Rebel Green or Emerald Grey with a white roof please.
jwilliamsm3 said:
My mother had the clubman JCW F54, she had it less than a year iirc. Nice car lovely interior but without doubt the most gutless 231bhp ive ever driven. That engine did not like to be revved
Funny you say that’s how I felt about the X2 M35i that I drove, admittedly it only had like 1000 miles on it but It felt lifeless after 4K rpm and was very quiet at that point with no grunt left. The only urgency it had about it was the gear change, it was very fast and pushed you back into your seat. It didn’t feel like a 300bhp car at all, felt like a 1.0 compared to my Type R.I imagine BMW/Mini map the engines in the X2’s and Clubmans differently to the Mini Cooper S’s and the upcoming M135i (well I hope anyway as they won’t sell any) to favour more low down torque and refinement to suit the school run mummies who will never take it past 3k rpm.
I had a 68 plate Cooper S courtesy car for a month with 190 bhp and it felt a lot more lively than the X2 despite the massive power deficit. I can’t imagine a JCW Mini Cooper S with 230 bhp feeling gutless like your clubman
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