Autoblog editor Seyth Miersma gives a quick review of the 2015 Mini JCW Hardtop.
Transcript[ENGINE ROARING]
SEYTH MIERSMA: Hi, guys. This is Seyth with Autoblog. And I am coming to you from the friendly confines of the 2015 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop, otherwise known to [? hatch ?] enthusiast as the JCW, the new one.
Now, one of the headlining changes for the car is that it's got a 2-liter turbo engine that now is more powerful than ever. It's now making an impressive 228 horsepower, 236-pound feet of torque. And you feel every ounce of it when you throttle down. The power band is fat and wide and accessible.
I'm really quite fond of this 6 feet manual transmission. It doesn't have the shortest throw in the world. But the clutch take up is really short. It's easy to get a handle on. You can make quick gear changes up and down. And though the third to second downshift can be slightly big on occasion, for the most part, it's really, really well put together.
Obviously, you can see from the outside of the car that there's a different body kit, the different tires. And the interior of the car is really, really differentiated. You've got available things like a heads up display. You've got an actually super trick, easy to use, and very deep infotainment system with the rotary knob.
It's also going to touch a pad on top of it too. We've got importantly for the GCW fans, you have a new setup with multi-drive moments, right? So there is a green mode that, frankly, you can use when you're commuting, but it's not all that much fun. There's kind of a mid-level node, and there's the sport mode.
And the things that are adjusted there in are the dampers-- makes a really big difference going from the regular motorsport mode really stiffens things up a lot. The steering weight increases. You get a sharper throttle input. And it really does makes the car feel like it's kind of on its toes and ready to pounce when you're in support mode.
Now, if I had to use just one word to describe this JCW verses the last JCW, the last Gen car, it would be mature. The car has definitely grown up. And the right quality is better. The engine's more powerful. The gearbox is slicker. But on the other hand, a lot of the things that it sort of dialed out I liked about the old car.
Super, super fast steering, incredibly quick to rotate. The suspension would beat you up, but it would also allow you to corner like around rails. In a lot of ways, it was so hardcore and so hard edged that that really made it stand out, I think, in the marketplace.
Now, this JCW, on the other hand, is faster than ever. But you just don't feel it as much. It's not nearly so visceral as the old car. To me that means if you want it as a daily driver, it's a better vehicle, hands down. But if you're really in it for kind of a thrill ride, you might feel like the car has lost its step.
The car starts around 30, which to be fair is where it started before in the last generation. So they've added more content, a lot more power, and, as I said, a more refined vehicle overall for not very much money. On the downside, the cars that I've been in, which are pretty [? specked ?] out, you know, have ranged from $38,000 to $41,000 on its destination and all the options are factored in.
That's a lot of cash for a front drive hot hatch. So take it as a whole. If you're simply a former GCW owner that's looking to move up to the new one, if you've decided that you're sick of replacing your fillings and you like something that's feels a little bit more grown up, then this is definitely the car for you. It's improved dynamically in every measurable way. Like I said, it's just lost a little bit of that hard edge that it had before.
On the other hand, if you're car shopping at just based on power and performance, you're not getting the most bang for your buck with this car. You're paying for a lot of brand image, and you're paying for a lot of things that happen inside the cabin and not when you're going around a corner, so bear that in mind. Thanks for tuning in you, guys. Thanks for touring the Northeast with me. And we will see you on the next drive.
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