What to buy? Advice needed!
Discussion
Hello all,
I’m after my next car, and feel the need to go back to mini. Many years ago I had a 2002 Mini Cooper S, absolutely adored that car, never had a car like it since, so now I’m after that same feeling again!
I would love a JCW, probably looking at 2017/2018 plate, auto 3 door.
My only question is, what are these like to live with on a day-day basis? I’m not talking commuter miles as I work from home, BUT I do live in a rural village, so plenty of roads are more potholes than road. We do have a 4x4 SUV for the bad weather so that doesn’t concern me. My old cooper S was abysmal on bad roads (think crashing over them and causing pain) so I’d rather not have a repeat of that, but I’ve heard they are better now?
Any advice from those that drive these would be appreciated! Thanks
I’m after my next car, and feel the need to go back to mini. Many years ago I had a 2002 Mini Cooper S, absolutely adored that car, never had a car like it since, so now I’m after that same feeling again!
I would love a JCW, probably looking at 2017/2018 plate, auto 3 door.
My only question is, what are these like to live with on a day-day basis? I’m not talking commuter miles as I work from home, BUT I do live in a rural village, so plenty of roads are more potholes than road. We do have a 4x4 SUV for the bad weather so that doesn’t concern me. My old cooper S was abysmal on bad roads (think crashing over them and causing pain) so I’d rather not have a repeat of that, but I’ve heard they are better now?
Any advice from those that drive these would be appreciated! Thanks
JCWs specifically are still set up with sportier, stiffer suspension than standard Coopers. However, it won't be as harsh or "crashy" as your old Cooper S, but it's still a sporty small car with relatively short travel suspension and low-profile tires.
A few things that might help if you decide to go for one:
- Look for examples with the smaller 17" wheels rather than 18" if possible, as they allow for slightly more tire sidewall
- Check if the car has adaptive suspension (optional on JCWs), which can soften things up in normal driving modes
- Consider swapping to slightly higher profile tires if the ride proves too harsh
A few things that might help if you decide to go for one:
- Look for examples with the smaller 17" wheels rather than 18" if possible, as they allow for slightly more tire sidewall
- Check if the car has adaptive suspension (optional on JCWs), which can soften things up in normal driving modes
- Consider swapping to slightly higher profile tires if the ride proves too harsh
We've just bought a 2020 F56 JCW around 6 weeks ago, had a couple of minis 10 years ago or so, many cars in between but ended up in a 20plate Evoque R dynamic HSE, after 4 years traded it in for another mini. We knew it wouldn't compare to the Evoque in terms of comfort but we accepted the trade off, we have the 18s which was a must for me, yes it's stiff, yes it's darty, yes you feel everything, yes the seats are solid but it doesn't pretend to be comfortable it's a mini cooper JCW, it has 230hp, what else do you need, yes I miss the Evoque for the comfort and the electric seats but we knew this before buying the mini, at least you still have another SUV for the longer trips
Barney2002 said:
Hello all,
I’m after my next car, and feel the need to go back to mini......
Any advice from those that drive these would be appreciated! Thanks
My wife has a Mini Cooper automatic, with 17" wheels, we bought the car new in 2017. We like the car, the auto gearbox feels very responsive with less lag than I've experienced with Audi DSG gearboxes. We've happily done journeys up to 300 miles in it. On shorter journeys we get high 30s mpg. If I have any criticism of it I'd say that compared to other cars I drive the steering can feel very direct and twitchy but I think Mini designed it that way to be more like the original Minis, and anyway with regular use I don't often notice it, in fact I quite enjoy the directness and nimble handling of it.I’m after my next car, and feel the need to go back to mini......
Any advice from those that drive these would be appreciated! Thanks
I'd spend the money and get an LCI2 (post-2021) with the facelift, ideally one with the Alcantara seats. Best-looking MINI, hands down.
I might hold the record for the shortest JCW ownership ever (don’t ask). Bought it new in 21, skipped the sunroof, and instantly regretted it. I'm tall so found it really claustrophobic without. It was seriously fast, but honestly, I always felt the Cooper S was a bit more eager off the line. Maybe it’s geared for more torque at lower revs. That said, the JCW is an absolute missile at higher speeds, no question, but I had an X3 M40i for that itch.
If it were my money, I’d go for an LCI2 Cooper S with a sunroof and the latest tech. The 18s ride hard, but hey, that’s the nature of the car.
I might hold the record for the shortest JCW ownership ever (don’t ask). Bought it new in 21, skipped the sunroof, and instantly regretted it. I'm tall so found it really claustrophobic without. It was seriously fast, but honestly, I always felt the Cooper S was a bit more eager off the line. Maybe it’s geared for more torque at lower revs. That said, the JCW is an absolute missile at higher speeds, no question, but I had an X3 M40i for that itch.
If it were my money, I’d go for an LCI2 Cooper S with a sunroof and the latest tech. The 18s ride hard, but hey, that’s the nature of the car.
I have a 2018 pre lci Cooper S auto on 17" alloys, no runflats. A few years ago I had a 2012 JCW and the ride in my CS is so much better than the JCW.
I had the option when I bought this one, of a JCW but tbh, my old JCW was 210bhp and this CS is 192bhp so I think it goes just as well. Far more refined car to drive than I expected it to be, it doesn't particularly like potholes though.
And being a pre lci, if I wanted more performance, with a good remap it'll sit comfortably at 250bhp.
I had the option when I bought this one, of a JCW but tbh, my old JCW was 210bhp and this CS is 192bhp so I think it goes just as well. Far more refined car to drive than I expected it to be, it doesn't particularly like potholes though.
And being a pre lci, if I wanted more performance, with a good remap it'll sit comfortably at 250bhp.
I'm on the hunt now for an F56 JCW manual, wanting 17 inch wheels with non-runflats for ride quality. Would like the HK stereo unless anyone who has tried with and without can comment on how worthwhile it is? Seems to be relatively few cars with it, given manuals are a smaller pool anyway vs autos, it seems for 2018-on cars in particular.
Flexible on exact year, I know the earlier pre-GPF ones sound better but likely to keep for a few years so may go up to a 2021 LCI2 rather than buying something older.
I may or may not remap it, LCI2 seems a bit more restricted in peak bhp gains (seen 277bhp quoted for a stage 1) but torque figure even higher.
Flexible on exact year, I know the earlier pre-GPF ones sound better but likely to keep for a few years so may go up to a 2021 LCI2 rather than buying something older.
I may or may not remap it, LCI2 seems a bit more restricted in peak bhp gains (seen 277bhp quoted for a stage 1) but torque figure even higher.
I’m looking at 2.0 Cooper S convertible autos around 16-20 plate.
We have been trying to find a decent 2006-ish MCS convertible auto - we had one years ago - but it’s really hard to find anything that’s been looked after so going all-out with something newer seems to almost make sense.
Anyone know if the standard non-works cars had fruitier exhausts pre 2018 GPF changes? Looks like the auto boxes changed at the 2018 LCI crossover too - any reliability differences?
We have been trying to find a decent 2006-ish MCS convertible auto - we had one years ago - but it’s really hard to find anything that’s been looked after so going all-out with something newer seems to almost make sense.
Anyone know if the standard non-works cars had fruitier exhausts pre 2018 GPF changes? Looks like the auto boxes changed at the 2018 LCI crossover too - any reliability differences?
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