The 2017 MINI JCW Countryman Is Now Officially Fast

The 2017 MINI JCW Countryman is on an entirely new chassis offering new engines and technology. But that would mean nothing if MINI didn’t improve the one thing that we always thought it needed – more speed. The new JCW Countryman is powered by the same 228 hp 2.0L JCQW four cylinder turbo that the F56 hatch is with one key difference. Like the Clubman, the Countryman’s version of the 2.0L comes with 258 ft lbs of torque which propels the 2017 JCW Countryman to 60 in 6.2 seconds. That’s a .4 second improvement over the previous car. Also interesting is the top speed improvement. The 2017 JCW Countryman has a top speed of 145, 18 mph faster than the previous R60 version.

How does it compare to the rest of the now mature F series JCW range? Here they are from fastest to slowest:

– F56 JCW Hatch – 236 ft-lbs torque, 0-60mph 5.9 sec
– F54 JCW Clubman – 258 ft-lbs torque, 0-60mph 6.0 sec
– F60 JCW Countryman – 258 ft-lbs torque, 0-60mph 6.2 sec
– F57 JCW Convertible – 236 ft-lbs torque, 0-60mph 6.3 sec

Previously we had wondered if the Countryman E Hybrid might be faster than the JCW Countryman. At least on paper we now have the answer – at least on paper. The Countryman E does 0-60 in 6.8 seconds a full .6 seconds slow than the JCW version. It’s interesting because we had heard from several sources that the hybrid feels as fast if not faster than the JCW which leads us to believe that it may be in smaller sprints. As with all electrified vehicles the Countryman E will likely be the fastest MINI off the line due to 100% of its electric torque being available from the touch of the throttle. But what these numbers indicate is that the hybrid’s electric power likely falls off quickly above 30 mph.