Fun is the aim of the game with this rag top, but does the Mini JCW Convertible live up to the name?
Overview
The John Cooper Works (JCW) name has only been around for 20 years, after the resurrection of Mini by Bavarian overlords, BMW. Those who bought the brand back in 1996 and didn’t develop their first production car until 2000.
Michael Cooper, son of John Cooper founded JCW in 2002, naming it, obviously, after his father. The man who was responsible for building the original Mini Cooper race cars and tuning them. Quite the CV. By this point, JCW and the now BMW-owned Mini marque were seperate companies, much like how AMG was separate to Mercedes.
JCW started offering tuning kits for the new Cooper, bumping the power by, um, 11bhp. Hardly enough to set your pants on fire, but it did still retain the factory warranty, even if it did cost near £2,000. Other companies have followed suit with this, namely Mountune offering the MP215 kit for the wonderful Ford Fiesta ST.
However, in 2003, Mini released the Cooper S. A sporty version of the hatchback. JCW set to work on making a kit for this, giving it a healthy 200bhp and still retaining the factory warranty again. This kit could not be ordered directly from Mini, but could be fitted at dealerships – it wasn’t until 2005 that it could.
BMW acquired the rights to the John Cooper Works name in 2007, and eventually bought the company out in 2008. And here we are now. With a JCW-badged Mini sat neatly at the top of the hierarchical tree. The biggest change was that they were fitted with a different engine. The Cooper S makes do with a 178bhp 1.6 Turbo, whilst the JCW gets a 227bhp 2.0 Turbo.
Aside from the obvious connotations associated with a bloke driving a Mini Convertible, this car is an incredibly fun little thing – top down or not.
Performance
Whilst 227bhp doesn’t sound a lot in today’s world of supercar beating hyper-hatches, the power is more than adequate for the car. It proves you don’t need 500+bhp to have a good time. That power is sent to the front wheels exclusively through the use of a six speed manual gearbox in this car. An auto option is also available.
But regarding that power, it seems like anymore and the car would really struggle. You already get a fair amount of torque steer, especially if the road is damp. In truth, it seems they’ve hit the sweet spot, it’s enough to have fun and quickly get up to speed without launching you into each corner before you can react. Mini knows the demographic that will buy this car, it is an accessory for most, just a quick one. You’re highly unlikely to get serious drivers in one of these, and that’s just fine. The GP exists for this sole reason.
The power delivery is relatively smooth for a turbocharged engine, there is no real lag making overtaking a doddle. Putting the car in Sport mode (Mid and Eco are the others) really changes the dynamic, the throttle is sharp and eager to please, almost like a dog. The steering has a nice weight to it and you can feel what is going on through the front wheels.
The adaptive suspension, however, is far too hard. On a track, it would be fantastic, but on the tarmac it makes a seemingly smooth road feel like you’re driving in a malfunctioning massaging chair. It does get grating quite quickly but it is somewhat forgivable when enjoying B-Roads – just not in town. In Green, it is acceptable, but you can’t have Sport mode dynamics and softer suspension through an individual mode. Shame. The handling of this drop top is stellar, providing confidence-inspiring levels of grip and shooting you round the tarmac. It never seems to get upset, even if the suspension does make you skip on rough roads.
My favourite part of the entire package is the JCW Pro Exhaust (an £1800 option) which adds a bluetooth switchable valve to really liven it up. This bypasses the rear silencer and provides a throaty yet unobtrusive sound. I’d even go as far as to argue this is one the best sounding 4 cylinders on the market. In Sport mode and with the valve open, the perky Mini pops and bangs at every occasion and really adds to the fun that this car provides.
Economy
Because the engine is not a highly strung, motorsport-derived piece of engineering, economy is actually very good. Over 40 MPG is more than possible when in Green mode with the roof up. If you drive very sensibly you can achieve 50’s, just.
The Mini JCW ‘vert’ (codenamed F67 for those in the know) can do the normal commute if you so please. If you tread lightly and always keep the car in Green mode, you’ll have virtually no complaints. On the motorway, it will sit at around 35-40 MPG depending on gradients, speed, the wind, roof position, what you had for breakfast, driver setting etc.
The only caveat is that the tank is ever so small. Just 44 litres is all you are blessed with. Still, you can often manage 350ish miles to a tank, if you drive nicely with the roof up. It is ever so boring in Green mode, though. The response is typically sluggish and feels very muted – but it does serve a purpose.
Another nice function is that the car will tell you when it is best to change gear and what gear to go into, if you should slow down, and if you should put it into neutral when stopped. There is an economy indicator which is somewhat difficult to read but the goal is to keep the little dot in the green – which coincidentally is the mode this is only available in.
In short, if you need to drive the Mini JCW Convertible carefully to maximise your mileage, rest assured it will do it no problem. It’s just boring in this little thing.
Comfort
You’d forgive the Mini on a track with how hard the suspension is, especially in Sport mode, but in Green mode it is still quite firm. It isn’t massively uncomfortable, but the combination of low profile tyres, a stiff chassis and hard suspension makes it not the most enjoyable of rides.
On the motorway, it is perfectly placid. You can still feel every bump though but it doesn’t become unpleasant – unless of course you are in Sport mode. The seats are reasonably supportive but they really don’t hug you as much as they should for a car of this calibre. The seats in the previously mentioned Fiesta ST are much better.
The infotainment system however, is very good and easy to use. The SatNav screen is clear and concise, plus showing the directions in the heads up display is very useful. Being a small car, the cabin does heat up rather quickly on a cold winter’s day along with the heated seats. The headlights at night are also brilliant, even if you do get flashed several times. No, not in that way.
However, being a convertible with a fabric roof, wind noise and general road noise are fairly extreme. You find yourself shouting when using the hands free to combat this. Another annoyance that I have never gotten used to is just how much outside noise you can hear. It always sounds like you have a window down when stationary with other vehicles going past.
The JCW isn’t bad, but it isn’t great. The Harman/Kardon sound system is an absolute peach and really saves this car from being unpleasant to drive on longer journeys.
Practicality
It’s a small car and one with half of the normal body panels you would expect. Unfortunately, the Convertible really isn’t practical at all. Of course it completely depends on what you use the car for. Popping to your bi-weekly hair appointment is no dramas, but going for your big shop is a different matter.
The boot size is understably non-existent, it is more akin to a second glove box – provided it is used for childrens gloves. The actual glove box is just as useless as well. There are rear seats very kindly provided by Mini, but these are only useful if those sitting in them have no legs and no concern for their wellbeing.
The rear seats are horrifically cramped and because of this, they are never used. This car is basically a two seater with two jump seats for very short journeys. In this particular car, they function as the boot space. Even the dogs get pride of place on the passenger seat rather than exiled to the rear.
Of course, if you need to carry something that simply won’t fit, you can just pop the roof down and hold on to it. Not sure if the boys in blue would appreciate the gesture mind.
If this is going to be your only car and there are just two of you with no need to transport anything – then it works perfectly. But if that isn’t you, then a wagon would be much better.
Reliability
This car replaced the old R57 Cooper SD in our fleet. The diesel in that was pathetic and was constantly in need of maintenance – almost on a monthly basis. Thankfully, in the 6 years this car has been with us, it has had no issues at all. Granted it is not used everyday and only shows 58,000 or so miles, but it has been utterly reliable for us.
It is often used how it should be (tearing up the Welsh mountain roads) and has thrown up zero complaints in the process. The only slight issue was some squeaky wipers that needed to be replaced twice but it is hardly worth mentioning when Mini don’t make the blades themselves.
There is little to disagree about it regarding reliability. There are some owners who have mentioned the roof sticking and not opening properly – but ours has been spot on, even when opening and closing under the 20mph limit multiple times.
This car has been all around Europe, on the Nurburgring (nice one, mum!) and countless miles travelled on home turf with absolutely no problems whatsoever. Next to our Lexus, it is one of the most reliable cars we have – and that’s a high pedestal to place it on.
Due to it being a premium brand, parts are, naturally, quite expensive when it does go wrong with labour at Mini dealerships not being the kindest on the wallet. But there really is little to worry about.
Nice job, Mini/BMW.
Verdict?
It was always going to come to this, the car is so brilliantly fantastic and such good fun to drive, but it does have a fair few compromises. But those compromises are inherent to the nature of a convertible. The Mini is just so small that they are exemplified.
As a second car, it is worthy having, especially for the 2 days in June when the sun comes out. The plucky little JCW has stayed with us due to the utter joy it gives you to drive and it will likely stay with us.
If being a convertible puts you off, there is always the equally brilliant hatch. But do not dismiss this car for what it is, because what it is, is absolutely bloody fantastic fun.
| Price when new [tested] | From £27,330 [£32,430] |
| Price now [tested] | From £10,500 [£18,000] |
| Power | 227bhp |
| Torque | 320Nm |
| 0-60 | 6.4s |
| Top speed | 150mph |
| Weight | 1310kg |
| Fuel capacity | 44L |
| Road tax | £220 |
