Challenge 210?
Discussion
Has anyone got one of these? I have been reading up and they sound like they are a Cooper S on steroids but not quite the full JCW level of power but with a really high spec.
Can anyone clarify, is it JCW running costs or more like Cooper S? I am guessing the engine is the same as both the JCW and Cooper S?
Can anyone clarify, is it JCW running costs or more like Cooper S? I am guessing the engine is the same as both the JCW and Cooper S?
Sat in one at the dealers, it's definitely well specced and the engine is up on the S, though not quite JCW standards (probably about half-way between). It did come with a remote control to turn up the sports exhaust "for track use". Manual only I believe; I did ask about an auto (as it was on the configurator at the time) but by the time the dealer didn't get back to me they'd all gone.
It reminds me of the early MINIs where you bought the S and then the JCW kit was either dealer or factory fitted. The 210 was a very expensive way to achieve the same as "buy an F56 Cooper S and the JCW kit, then be less enthusiastic with the options" but a very nice car. It was eclipsed by the full JCW being released only a short while later.
It reminds me of the early MINIs where you bought the S and then the JCW kit was either dealer or factory fitted. The 210 was a very expensive way to achieve the same as "buy an F56 Cooper S and the JCW kit, then be less enthusiastic with the options" but a very nice car. It was eclipsed by the full JCW being released only a short while later.
It's basically an S with all the options ticked, JCW bodykit and a bespoke exhaust/tune.
We test drove one when I bought my wife's JCW. Many of the options we didn't want so personally I'd buy the real thing (and did), got the spec we wanted and it was cheaper than the 210 (although not by much).
We test drove one when I bought my wife's JCW. Many of the options we didn't want so personally I'd buy the real thing (and did), got the spec we wanted and it was cheaper than the 210 (although not by much).
Edited by Boogs on Monday 29th February 22:05
They just seem to be really well equipped and look to be good value as approved used with them being between £23k and £24k on really low miles. Is the JCW that much different compared to it to justify getting a low spec JCW over a challenge?
Bit of a random question but is there a list of the car numbers and which dealership they went to?
Bit of a random question but is there a list of the car numbers and which dealership they went to?
Dr Interceptor said:
They're tempting used... List was £29,990, they're now dropping into the £23-24k mark, some at just six months old.
The original purchaser had a VIP pass to at least one of the MINI Challenge race events, so that would have been factored into the price. And the bundled options that, whatever the salesman might imply, have little impact on resale value (although given two cars of similar price, the optioned one is the more likely to be chosen).I do think it will be a distinctive buy, but haven't found a specific owners' group/list as yet (unlike the GPUK Owners). It may happen if a few owners start to meet one another at shows or Challenge races.
Yip, I have one...
I sold my C63 coupe in January and bought a 15 plate 210 for £22k. So far the smiles per £ are right up there, the bluetooth exhaust is deemed track only but I use it all the time except for early morning / late nights in built up areas as it is a little anti social. The fun comes when the exhaust is on and you select sport mode as the bangs and cracks on the over run are epic! Many have been dyno'd stock at 230hp with the max at 245hp, a remap will get you close to 300. The car is a Cooper S plus John Cooper tuning kit which adds the pro exhaust and a mini remap to increase the cooper s hp from 189. The challenge is a cooper s plus the tuning kit and pretty much every option. The JCW are not cooper s with a remap. They have many different mechanical parts of which others will be able to give more accurate details than I can. The Challenge does not have the Brembo Big brake kit of the JCW and this is its biggest downfall, the brakes are only just up to the job. It is more an issue of feel and confidence rather than ultimate stopping and I hope that a pad upgrade (when one becomes avail as I cant find any yet) will change this. I have described it to others as feeling the same as braking just after you have washed your car, they work but you apply more pressure than you would expect and want which doesn't fill you with confidence. I am also still on the run flats that it came with which are not nearly as harsh riding as previous generations but the torque of the car over comes the grip instantly in first, pretty quickly in 2nd and in these wet and cold conditions still in 3rd! So, downsides are braking and grip/torque steer everything else is spot on.
I sold my C63 coupe in January and bought a 15 plate 210 for £22k. So far the smiles per £ are right up there, the bluetooth exhaust is deemed track only but I use it all the time except for early morning / late nights in built up areas as it is a little anti social. The fun comes when the exhaust is on and you select sport mode as the bangs and cracks on the over run are epic! Many have been dyno'd stock at 230hp with the max at 245hp, a remap will get you close to 300. The car is a Cooper S plus John Cooper tuning kit which adds the pro exhaust and a mini remap to increase the cooper s hp from 189. The challenge is a cooper s plus the tuning kit and pretty much every option. The JCW are not cooper s with a remap. They have many different mechanical parts of which others will be able to give more accurate details than I can. The Challenge does not have the Brembo Big brake kit of the JCW and this is its biggest downfall, the brakes are only just up to the job. It is more an issue of feel and confidence rather than ultimate stopping and I hope that a pad upgrade (when one becomes avail as I cant find any yet) will change this. I have described it to others as feeling the same as braking just after you have washed your car, they work but you apply more pressure than you would expect and want which doesn't fill you with confidence. I am also still on the run flats that it came with which are not nearly as harsh riding as previous generations but the torque of the car over comes the grip instantly in first, pretty quickly in 2nd and in these wet and cold conditions still in 3rd! So, downsides are braking and grip/torque steer everything else is spot on.
Running costs dont seem to be to extravagent. I wouldn't believe the claimed mpg. I am averaging 34 mpg with a super unleaded fill up at £45ish getting me just over 300 miles at a guess. My drive to work is relatively short at 15 miles, first 5 cross country and 10 on the M23, and the noise makes you drive a little bit like a child so fuel economy drops quickly (but not like a c63!) Servicing tends to be covered by the TLC for 5 years so it will be just consumables. There are a few owners on minitorque and minif56. 100% mini on youtube is worth a view. Atb
Cheers for that info Flying Scotsman. I may or may not have placed a deposit on a 210 since my original post and the 100% MINI channel on youtube...
Interesting that there isn't an owners club or anything, even on Facebook there is not a group for it, however I might look into sorting something out once I pick mine up next weekend.
Interesting that there isn't an owners club or anything, even on Facebook there is not a group for it, however I might look into sorting something out once I pick mine up next weekend.
SlowStig said:
Interesting that there isn't an owners club or anything, even on Facebook there is not a group for it, however I might look into sorting something out once I pick mine up next weekend.
It's just a special edition Cooper S - like the Cooper S Checkmate, or a Cooper S Bayswater. Not really sure it warrants its own owners club, given pretty much the only unique feature is the exhaust. Probably better off just joining one of the larger MINI clubs, or your local regional one, and get involved with that.
Well I figured that with only 231 JCW Clubmans being registered and there being an owners club for them, the Challenge 210's would have something similar.
Bit annoyed that they were available with an auto box, would have preferred one of those over the manual. Saturday pickup for mine, this week is going to drag something chronic.
Bit annoyed that they were available with an auto box, would have preferred one of those over the manual. Saturday pickup for mine, this week is going to drag something chronic.
I hadn't realised that they came as an auto either. There can't be too many...if it's any consolation, if you intend to tweak your car then the auto box limits the tuning potential.
It wouldn't take much to start a separate owners club for the 210 as by their nature, the car will attract people who will be slightly more interested in their mini.
It may already be too late but if there was any wiggle room with your dealer and your car is on run flats then try to get them changed as there is a real lack of traction. I tried to do a deal with my supplying dealership but in the end took a slight discount, with hindsight if you can get a set of non run flats you would be better off. In saying that, the run flats should improve as we get out of the single digit temps and damp conditions.....I hope!
I am in Surrey, another 210 owner commutes between Cambridge and Horsham and obviously there is an owner in the North East!!
Come on over to minitorque where there are a lot of enthusiastic and knowledgeable owners who will be welcoming, the f56 owners are eagerly awaiting the release of manic mini's remap. I am still undecided if I should fit a decat pipe but from a noise point of view I will probably fit some sort of intake and then remap. Atb
It wouldn't take much to start a separate owners club for the 210 as by their nature, the car will attract people who will be slightly more interested in their mini.
It may already be too late but if there was any wiggle room with your dealer and your car is on run flats then try to get them changed as there is a real lack of traction. I tried to do a deal with my supplying dealership but in the end took a slight discount, with hindsight if you can get a set of non run flats you would be better off. In saying that, the run flats should improve as we get out of the single digit temps and damp conditions.....I hope!
I am in Surrey, another 210 owner commutes between Cambridge and Horsham and obviously there is an owner in the North East!!
Come on over to minitorque where there are a lot of enthusiastic and knowledgeable owners who will be welcoming, the f56 owners are eagerly awaiting the release of manic mini's remap. I am still undecided if I should fit a decat pipe but from a noise point of view I will probably fit some sort of intake and then remap. Atb
Edited by flying scotsman on Monday 7th March 19:58
Like flying scotsman I too came from a C63 to a Challenge 210 and have to say it's a testament to the 210 that it entertains as it does after a V8 muscle car twice its price - It is thoroughly good fun and very well equipped, and as for that exhaust, it adds quite a bit of theatre to the experience.
I test drove a 210 and JCW back to back and found the 210 more responsive and eager in Sport mode with the exhaust valve open... Decision instantly made.
Great little hot hatch and a rare sight on the road (another appealing factor).
I test drove a 210 and JCW back to back and found the 210 more responsive and eager in Sport mode with the exhaust valve open... Decision instantly made.
Great little hot hatch and a rare sight on the road (another appealing factor).
A small world! I also test drove both the JCW and 210 and found the latter to be more of an experience and as the dyno seems to suggest the 210 is more putting out more than advertised.
I loved the c63, the engine was astounding and the noise unbeatable but everytime I had fun I was well into license losing territory. I have described the difference to others as the C63 makes you go "whoa, whoa, this is something else" and by the time you say that 3 digit speeds are achieved. The mini, on the other hand, is "whee hee, this is fun" 50-60mph, then just as much excitement, if not more, comes from lifting off and the artillery fire begins!
Dont regret selling the AMG.
I loved the c63, the engine was astounding and the noise unbeatable but everytime I had fun I was well into license losing territory. I have described the difference to others as the C63 makes you go "whoa, whoa, this is something else" and by the time you say that 3 digit speeds are achieved. The mini, on the other hand, is "whee hee, this is fun" 50-60mph, then just as much excitement, if not more, comes from lifting off and the artillery fire begins!
Dont regret selling the AMG.
flying scotsman said:
I hadn't realised that they came as an auto either. There can't be too many...if it's any consolation, if you intend to tweak your car then the auto box limits the tuning potential.
It wouldn't take much to start a separate owners club for the 210 as by their nature, the car will attract people who will be slightly more interested in their mini.
It may already be too late but if there was any wiggle room with your dealer and your car is on run flats then try to get them changed as there is a real lack of traction. I tried to do a deal with my supplying dealership but in the end took a slight discount, with hindsight if you can get a set of non run flats you would be better off. In saying that, the run flats should improve as we get out of the single digit temps and damp conditions.....I hope!
I am in Surrey, another 210 owner commutes between Cambridge and Horsham and obviously there is an owner in the North East!!
Come on over to minitorque where there are a lot of enthusiastic and knowledgeable owners who will be welcoming, the f56 owners are eagerly awaiting the release of manic mini's remap. I am still undecided if I should fit a decat pipe but from a noise point of view I will probably fit some sort of intake and then remap. Atb
Sadly the deal the dealership did for me was so tight on numbers that its gone slightly over budget to work. I suspect the tyres will stay on the car until they need replacement, just because of the mileage I do, throwing away a perfectly good set of tyres which can be used to sit on the motorway seems a bit of a waste.It wouldn't take much to start a separate owners club for the 210 as by their nature, the car will attract people who will be slightly more interested in their mini.
It may already be too late but if there was any wiggle room with your dealer and your car is on run flats then try to get them changed as there is a real lack of traction. I tried to do a deal with my supplying dealership but in the end took a slight discount, with hindsight if you can get a set of non run flats you would be better off. In saying that, the run flats should improve as we get out of the single digit temps and damp conditions.....I hope!
I am in Surrey, another 210 owner commutes between Cambridge and Horsham and obviously there is an owner in the North East!!
Come on over to minitorque where there are a lot of enthusiastic and knowledgeable owners who will be welcoming, the f56 owners are eagerly awaiting the release of manic mini's remap. I am still undecided if I should fit a decat pipe but from a noise point of view I will probably fit some sort of intake and then remap. Atb
Edited by flying scotsman on Monday 7th March 19:58
I am in the lovely sunny North West so lots of rain and, recently, snow. I am on minitorque and have been keeping tabs on your thread over there, I was on it with my old JCW clubby a couple of years ago when I picked it up.
I am going to have an investigation into creating the 210 owners club or something similar, will be useful at big events like MITP etc.
Just a heads up to anyone thinking of buying a 210 or has one there is a local guy up here in Newcastle that has bought one and has started a YouTube channel about the car and the upgrades he is doing to it (running just shy of 300bhp at the mo!):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAHFh-1bFUcUbCd1r...
and a thread he started on the car on a awesome local mini forum:
http://fullonminis.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=214...
Ali
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAHFh-1bFUcUbCd1r...
and a thread he started on the car on a awesome local mini forum:
http://fullonminis.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=214...
Ali
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