Autocar JCW GP Review: Muddled and frustrating
One of the JCW GP reviews we’ve been waiting for is here and it’s raising some eyebrows. Unfortunately the new JCW GP received a very disappointing three star score in Autocar’s well respected star rating. What happened? It’s hard to say given that the April press launch in Spain was cancelled due to COVID and we have yet to get behind the wheel. However, we could guess that the aggressive tuning we noticed in our first ride review last year might be a bit much for UK roads and/or Autocar’s Matt Prior. But let’s give Mr, Prior the floor to explain:
There’s quite the brap when the JCW GP starts, followed, more often than not, by a few pops as it settles to its idle.
It’s enough to tell you quite a lot about the Mini’s character, anyway: this is an exuberant and unrefined car, which would all be dandy if – like a Porsche 911 GT3 or even the old Renault Clio Trophy, for example – this was accompanied by driver-focused dynamics. But on this showing – or on UK roads – I’m afraid it isn’t.
…the Mini’s ride is hard, but there’s a lumpenness and woodenness alongside it, which is odd. It seems to add kilos and heft to what’s actually a quite respectable kerb weight. Rather than feeling poised and agile, the Mini feels clonky.
We’re not sure what clonky means, but we’d guess it’s a distant cousin to clunky which can’t be a good thing. More from Autocar:
It tramlines too, badly. Across cats-eyes and cambers, it does it. On no throttle, it does it. Use the throttle and it torque steers. At the wheel, on a difficult road, you’re kept as busy at the wheel as you are in an Alfa Romeo 4C. On some cars, a level of interaction gives you something to do, making you part of the process. In the Mini, it’s just wearyingly tedious.
Then there’s the critique of the automatic. As we wrote about previously on MF, the automatic wasn’t really a choice given to MINI. BMW only engineered the 306 hp version of the B48 for the Aisin 8 speed auto and thus if MINI wanted that engine, it had to do it with that transmission. Nevertheless Autocar is less than impressed:
The 2.0-litre unit is big on power and torque but, some lag at low revs aside, responsive and smooth – and sometimes it makes gigglesome pops when you lift off. So quite why it has been mated exclusively to an eight-speed auto that fails to push gears through with the ferocity of a dual-clutch unit, and jolts weirdly into second on downshifts, is anyone’s guess. This is a muddled, frustrating car.
Muddled and frustrating is not what comes to mind having ridden shotgun in the GP at the track, but we won’t have a full picture until we drive it later this fall.
Read the entire review at Autocar.
Mark Ewing, Car & Bikes, was also impressed with the JCW GP 3:
<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/markewing/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.forbes.com/sites/markewing/</a>
Interestingly when Greg Kable, Autocar’s European Editor, drove the JCW GP 3 in Germany he awarded it 4 out of 5 stars stars. He wrote:
“It doesn’t take too long to discover that the GP operates on an altogether higher performance plane than any previous production Mini. At all points, it feels faster, more urgent and generally a good deal more fervent than even the JCW.
Happily, these traits also apply to the handling, which if anything is even more impressive than the sheer speed generated by the new engine. There’s a terrifically agile feel to the GP, and it’s never less than incisive across a winding back road”.
<a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mini/jcw-gp" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mini/jcw-gp</a>
Check out the MINI JCW GP lapping the ‘Ring in 8:03:86
<a href="https://www.bmwblog.com/2020/07/14/mini-jcw-gp-lapping-the-ring/" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.bmwblog.com/2020/07/14/mini-jcw-gp-lapping-the-ring/</a>
The writing was on the wall with the last GP. It was admittedly a parts car, but it was almost forgivable because it felt like the quirks were part of the “good fight “waged by the enthusiasts at Mini to deliver the ultimate Cooper for like-minded buyers. Almost. The dealerships had no idea what to do with “the parts car.” The brakes blew their mind. There was no proper training or support from corporate. The quirks were poo-poo’d by dealers and corporate alike. Corporate’s attitude seemed to be: if you were dumb enough to buy it, then you deserve everything you get and fuck off. I rid myself of the car after a year and a half of frustration.
The early pictures of the GP3 showed a much sexier body kit (front-fascia especially, a wildly different interior, and certainly we all expected a double clutch system if not the manual we all wanted. But was understandable that a double clutch would increase sales. After seeing the release pictures and specs it was clear that BMW knows mini is headed in the same direction as Scion and the Dodo Bird, and put as much effort into making this a special car as Stu in marketing puts into his job whilst daydreaming about seeing his mistress next weekend, and about as much care as Deborah in HR puts into her one email a week announcing happy hour so that she can keep her job.
Good-bye Mini and thanks for the memories. The R54 and the R56 were fantastic vehicles. You remember, everyone wanted them. They were niche, and cute. For $20-25k I could either get a budget car, or a Mini with premium features. You didn’t try to be anything else. Then.. you changed. Someone convinced you that growth and market-share were the most indicators of success. You weren’t happy with what you had or your loyal fan-base. You weren’t happy being mini. You needed more. You became a gargantuan cluster in an already large, generic bowl of oatmeal instead of being the blueberry on top. I’ll remember you fondly back when you were still you. While you’re blaming the economy, and changing tastes, and everyone else, look at what changed in the product you delivered and you’ll find the truth in what happened.