Honestjohn.com Reviews the JCW MINI
And the hits just keep on coming. This time from Honestjohn.com, starting with a word on the torque steer.
>That’s okay when you’re on a track that you can learn every nuance and undulation of. But it’s not okay on a public road full of surprises.
>Then you could get into trouble. Because the car torque steers and tramlines like an old Mk II Golf 16v tweaked to 200bhp. Any variation in surface will have it shifting and squirming all over the place. So best leave it in Sport (if you want) and just switch first stage DSC off.
Even with all of the negatives the reviewers are finding with this MINI, here’s the thing to remember.
>The main thing about this car is there’s no need to go to a WRX STI, or an EVO or a Caterham, or an Elise or a Boxster or a 350Z to get some hair-raising fun.
>You can now do it in a MINI.
This torque steer thing is crap. If you are driving on the street like sane person it is not an issue. I don’t know what the big freakin’ deal is.
Front wheel drive + power = torque steer
Actually there have been companies that have been better at dealing with the torque steer better than Mini has. The R56 is more susceptible because of its very nice torque curve.
Well, I think most people interested in paying the premium for the factory JCW are also interested in doing more than driving on the street like a same person.
^ “sane” person
(wish we could edit our posts)
True eager and in that case they’ll probably be fitting a good suspension set up whether it’s JCW or aftermarket. According to lots of people on NAM a good suspension set up and a drop helps tremendously with the torque steer.
Just a sad day when you have to modify a performance car to make it handle correctly, pretty much the true sign of a half measured car in my small world view.
Btw was reading about M7’s R56, lay money down that it will spank the JCW Mini. Rather funny before Mini can get a “performance” car on the market that tuners are already making more powerful cars.
The problem with taking a standard R56 and getting more power out of it is that the R56 internals may not be able to handle it. The JCW’s increased power also comes with a sturdier clutch, gearbox, etc.
If I bought a JCW, I’d buy it as a platform for further modification–that’s how I’d approach it. But I’ve given up on this generation; I’m already waiting to see what the next generation MINI will be, although I hold out a small glimmer of hope for a special 50th anniversary edition.
<blockquote>Rather funny before Mini can get a “performance†car on the market that tuners are already making more powerful cars.</blockquote>
It was the same story with the R53.
<blockquote>Front wheel drive + power = torque steer</blockquote>
…except that there are plenty of FWD cars with similar or more power and torque that don”t seem to have this problem to the same degree – e.g. Golf GTI, Focus ST, Megane R26 etc.
cct1 I am right with you on hopping for more out of this generation of Mini’s and am hoping still to see something worthwhile for the 50th.
nuvolari I hear what your saying, still for a first true performance Mini (other than the GP possibly) the factory JCW was pretty off the mark in my view. Mini took a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a stellar impression with bringing the JCW sub-brand around and has pretty much lost it. The new JCW is going to be a decent car, but I think they would have been much better off making a initial car that would make people sit-up and take notice. Though the M1 was a pretty miserable first attempt by BMW it is pretty responsible for the long term success of the M division. It created enough buzz to make people notice this wasn’t just another BMW. I think this is something BMWMini has completely missed the mark on. If it were me I would have used the success of the GP as a primer for the future or the JCW brand.
Jon, regarding the comparison to the M7 car… when have tuner’s cars -ever- been spanked by factory ‘hot rods’? This coming from a MB AMG owner… I’m sick to death of the $25K I put into mod’ing my C43. I bought the JCW so I could get a hopped-up pocket rocket that’s fun, great on gas, and all thos go-fast parts covered by warranty. Me thinks if I bought a R56 S and put all the M7 go-fast parts on the car and had drivetrain problems while presumably under the warranty, I’d be on my own.
As the owner of a stock GP and a massively modified S both have their time and place. I haven’t had Mini give me any issues with warranty work with my tuning unless the product that fails is directly related to the after market work. I also have had a great deal of success with dealing with after market vendors that stand behind their products.
Part of the comparison I think Mini should have gone after was the M division work. It’s true that the M3 isn’t the biggest and baddest 3 series running around. However the car leaves little doubt what its designed for. The Factory JCW’s message meanwhile is much less defined. Also the release of M products are usually about the best products offered at the time of their release and often is only later when after market developers product comparable or better products.
The horsepower improvements and torque are meager at best. Meanwhile any number of other manufactures have developed products such as the 3 Speed and R32 GTI that are pretty simple messages. I believe that BMW and Mini should have understood this since their community has a large number of owners that have invested great deal more money on their cars trying to make them better performance cars. Just look at the many sponsors of Motoringfile that only exist because of this market. I am still waiting and hoping that we will see a class dominating Mini roll of the production lines one of these days instead of these so/so mixed message that I feel the JCW Mini offers.
Jon all your points are on the money (everyone notice I don’t say “spot on”). My guess is Mini’s philosophy is “always leave em’ wanting more”.
Maybe the 2010 “refresh” will bring some changes. It did in ’05.
I am hoping so too Greg. Still the one thing that I think they are completely off base on is a portion of the Mini community looking for a true performance cars are going elsewhere. Know personally of more than a few that have gone after the R32 because of the less than stellar initial JCW car.
Why can’t people just take it for what it is? I owned a MINI GP and the handling was awful – it crashed and sought-out every bump and crack in the (UK) roads. It was too much, what with the extra supercharger whine etc. I sold that and looked at a VW Golf GTI, but although it was a very capable car (for a sales rep or family man perhaps?) it was rather dull to drive; not exciting in any way, and there was no sense of speed or occasion.
If the new Mk6 GTI comes with the exhaust sound of the JCW, and/or perhaps an extra 30bhp (210 is not enough in the heavy Golf platform) I would be considering that next. However, that probably won’t happen and the JCW will consequently be a lot more fun to drive, yet you can drive it slowly or sensibly without fuss if you want to… unlike the ‘too compromised’ GP in my experience.
Yes, the steering wheel may tug a bit if you are pressing-on in the twisties, but the driver doesn’t have to use all the power at every opportunity. I suspect the other cars mentioned cope better because of their bigger platforms and longer wheelbases, and perhaps a Ford Focus ST is just as quick as the MINI JCW, but would people rather have the totally mundane experience you get in an ST or GTI? I didn’t experience the ‘specialness’ of the Ford 5-pot at all when I tested the ST, unlike some reviewers… the same ones who are finding a problem with the JCW suspension?
<p>“Just a sad day when you have to modify a performance car to make it handle correctly, pretty much the true sign of a half measured car in my small world view.â€</p>
<p>Rubbish. Any factory hot rod that comes out is going to have an aftermarket because people don’t think it is: fast enough, handles well enough, sits too low, needs Recaros, a short throw shifter and so on. There are aftermarkets for everything from Shelbys to Corvettes to Evos to Ferraris. No company will ever build a car that some part of the buying public is going to 100% satisfied. I like the JCW, I like the massive options list, I like its MPG (compared to the M7…let’s compare apples and oranges while we’re at it too) and I love the resale value of Minis. It’s simple, just like the Mini dealer told me: There is a market for Minis. If people like it they buy, if they don’t they go elsewhere. As you can tell by how fast the inventory is moving here, there must be a market.</p>
<p>It also strikes me as funny that during this economic downturn, Mini is still up. Do explain.</p>