2015 MINI Challenged 210
Discussion
So, following on from my previous ramblings about my old F20 125i, comes the latest installment of my car saga's...
Back in March, I had really had enough of my old 125i and after being told by one dealer to get it written off rather than trade it in for the best valuation I figured the depreciation curve wasn't quite due to bottom out on the thing for a while and best get rid asap. Plus I really hated the engine.
Spending a few months earlier this year looking at various options, no other manufacturers would even consider taking the car in as a p/x without me losing an eye watering amounts, leaving me with the option of a BMW or MINI again. Great. Taking into account the slightly less depressing trade in value of the car, anything interesting from BMW was out the question, leaving a MINI.
I found a dealer down in Worcester(I live in the North West) which had a lovely F55 JCW Clubman in BRG, so on the way back from dropping our classic Mini off at a restorers, I popped in and had a chat with them about the clubbie. After a test drive and some figures being thrown round, it was just a bit out of budget and I started to give up on the idea of changing. Roll on a week or so later and I get a call, offering the Challenge 210 they had at site, ex demo and in budget, including my trade in. Excellent.
Now, for a bit of info; The MINI Challenge 210 are a collection of 210 CooperS with all options ticked other than sun roof and the JCW "tuning" kit, consisting of a 20bhp remap and a fancy exhaust. The exhaust has a remote on it which enables one of the two pipes at the rear to be turned into a straight through pipe by opening a butterfly valve. By doing this and putting the car in sport mode, it will pop and bang like gunfire or fireworks are going off.
After watching some reviews and reading about the car, I managed to blag a day working from our office in Worcester and went to go look at the Challenge afterwards. Two things I noticed on the test drive, how much eager the engine is to pull from low down and the noise of the exhaust is muted inside the car.
Driving back to the glorious North gave me the chance to compare the cars back to back, and after parking the BMW back up at home, it was decided to go for the MINI.
Collection day rolled round, and after a nice jaunt down to Worcester, I arrived at Rybrook to be greeted by this;
Car looked great(even in grey) and I was excited to get driving back.
Driving home, first thing was to open the exhaust and have a bit of fun for the 2 minutes to the M5! Once on the M5, I noticed the active/variable dampers at work when switching between driving modes. Very impressive ride quality, considering the car was still a MINI and not anything particularly special in regards to ride comfort(unlike a 5 series).
So, since getting the car in March I have not really done much with the car, other than use it. I think after 6 months of ownership I have managed to get a decent pro/con list for it;
Pro;
-Running costs (seen 54mpg on long runs, cheap tax)
-Loads of tech, HUD, 9" screen, Sat nav, LED lights, reverse camera etc
-Looks pretty good imo, I dont like the F56 shape but it looks a lot better with spotlights
-Comfy, I can do a long drive and not feel like I have
-Stereo, HK is well suited
-That Exhaust
-Active dampers
Con;
-Reliability, I have had my power steering fail on me, idle issues, trim issues, brake issues
-Brakes
-Size
-Stock tyres.
Thats it really, overall not a bad package and its cheap to run and sit on a motorway in. The B48 engine is a lovely thing, typical modern turbo out of puff by 5k with a 6k redline but drive it like a diesel and its surprising how much adequate progress can be made. I was given a JCW courtesy car when I had it in the dealership last and was suitably impressed, I really would love to see how much more improved the JCW Challenge is over the CooperS version, considering the CooperS was more of a marketing exercise than anything else.
Couple of photos to reward those who managed to read it all(or got bored doing so);
That exhaust...
Back in March, I had really had enough of my old 125i and after being told by one dealer to get it written off rather than trade it in for the best valuation I figured the depreciation curve wasn't quite due to bottom out on the thing for a while and best get rid asap. Plus I really hated the engine.
Spending a few months earlier this year looking at various options, no other manufacturers would even consider taking the car in as a p/x without me losing an eye watering amounts, leaving me with the option of a BMW or MINI again. Great. Taking into account the slightly less depressing trade in value of the car, anything interesting from BMW was out the question, leaving a MINI.
I found a dealer down in Worcester(I live in the North West) which had a lovely F55 JCW Clubman in BRG, so on the way back from dropping our classic Mini off at a restorers, I popped in and had a chat with them about the clubbie. After a test drive and some figures being thrown round, it was just a bit out of budget and I started to give up on the idea of changing. Roll on a week or so later and I get a call, offering the Challenge 210 they had at site, ex demo and in budget, including my trade in. Excellent.
Now, for a bit of info; The MINI Challenge 210 are a collection of 210 CooperS with all options ticked other than sun roof and the JCW "tuning" kit, consisting of a 20bhp remap and a fancy exhaust. The exhaust has a remote on it which enables one of the two pipes at the rear to be turned into a straight through pipe by opening a butterfly valve. By doing this and putting the car in sport mode, it will pop and bang like gunfire or fireworks are going off.
After watching some reviews and reading about the car, I managed to blag a day working from our office in Worcester and went to go look at the Challenge afterwards. Two things I noticed on the test drive, how much eager the engine is to pull from low down and the noise of the exhaust is muted inside the car.
Driving back to the glorious North gave me the chance to compare the cars back to back, and after parking the BMW back up at home, it was decided to go for the MINI.
Collection day rolled round, and after a nice jaunt down to Worcester, I arrived at Rybrook to be greeted by this;
Car looked great(even in grey) and I was excited to get driving back.
Driving home, first thing was to open the exhaust and have a bit of fun for the 2 minutes to the M5! Once on the M5, I noticed the active/variable dampers at work when switching between driving modes. Very impressive ride quality, considering the car was still a MINI and not anything particularly special in regards to ride comfort(unlike a 5 series).
So, since getting the car in March I have not really done much with the car, other than use it. I think after 6 months of ownership I have managed to get a decent pro/con list for it;
Pro;
-Running costs (seen 54mpg on long runs, cheap tax)
-Loads of tech, HUD, 9" screen, Sat nav, LED lights, reverse camera etc
-Looks pretty good imo, I dont like the F56 shape but it looks a lot better with spotlights
-Comfy, I can do a long drive and not feel like I have
-Stereo, HK is well suited
-That Exhaust
-Active dampers
Con;
-Reliability, I have had my power steering fail on me, idle issues, trim issues, brake issues
-Brakes
-Size
-Stock tyres.
Thats it really, overall not a bad package and its cheap to run and sit on a motorway in. The B48 engine is a lovely thing, typical modern turbo out of puff by 5k with a 6k redline but drive it like a diesel and its surprising how much adequate progress can be made. I was given a JCW courtesy car when I had it in the dealership last and was suitably impressed, I really would love to see how much more improved the JCW Challenge is over the CooperS version, considering the CooperS was more of a marketing exercise than anything else.
Couple of photos to reward those who managed to read it all(or got bored doing so);
That exhaust...
Edited by SlowStig on Thursday 24th November 14:42
Edited by SlowStig on Thursday 24th November 14:50
Mike1990 said:
Growing quite fond of these now, look good, it's a shame they put crap Tyres on.
It baffles me why they do it from standard, but I suspect its in a similar vein to the GT86, more fun at slower speeds. Sadly, I always found MINI's to be more fun when pressing on, with the handling making up for any power differences...Small update on this, car is closing on 15k miles and in for more warranty work(I seem to make a habit of this) in regards to the door shuts. There is a problem with early/mid F56 cars which means the door shuts on the B pillar wear away and rub through the laquer and paint. Whilst it is in, they are also looking at the various trim issues around the car on the plastic arch extensions and the misaligned drivers door.
Other than that, car is 3k from it's first service, MPG has dropped from 41mpg to 35mpg and idle has got really lumpy, causing the car to shudder like a cammed car does. It seems that when close to being serviced, these engines really start getting affected and the 20k service intervals are too long imo for them.
You can drive around the understeer issue by switching to DTC rather than using DSC or go crazy and turn it off all together
SlowStig said:
Other than that, car is 3k from it's first service, MPG has dropped from 41mpg to 35mpg and idle has got really lumpy, causing the car to shudder like a cammed car does. It seems that when close to being serviced, these engines really start getting affected and the 20k service intervals are too long imo for them.
It really shouldn't! I'd ask them to check if there are any outstanding "quality enhancements" and look into it further, B48's generally are a pretty well behaved engine. chryslerben said:
You can drive around the understeer issue by switching to DTC rather than using DSC or go crazy and turn it off all together
I usually turn all the nannying features off, however irritatingly they turn back on again when Cruise is enabled! I suspect the cruise uses the ABS reluctor rings for the speedo readings and gets a bit confused. Needs a Sport+ mode ideally!SlowStig said:
Other than that, car is 3k from it's first service, MPG has dropped from 41mpg to 35mpg and idle has got really lumpy, causing the car to shudder like a cammed car does. It seems that when close to being serviced, these engines really start getting affected and the 20k service intervals are too long imo for them.
It really shouldn't! I'd ask them to check if there are any outstanding "quality enhancements" and look into it further, B48's generally are a pretty well behaved engine. Regarding the engine, not 100% sure but fairly certain all the recalls have been done on mine before I got it. One of the other members of the OC had similar symptoms just prior to their engine lunching itself so I will wait and see what the dealership says...
SlowStig said:
Small update on this, car is closing on 15k miles and in for more warranty work(I seem to make a habit of this) in regards to the door shuts. There is a problem with early/mid F56 cars which means the door shuts on the B pillar wear away and rub through the laquer and paint. Whilst it is in, they are also looking at the various trim issues around the car on the plastic arch extensions and the misaligned drivers door.
Other than that, car is 3k from it's first service, MPG has dropped from 41mpg to 35mpg and idle has got really lumpy, causing the car to shudder like a cammed car does. It seems that when close to being serviced, these engines really start getting affected and the 20k service intervals are too long imo for them.
This doesn't exactly paint a picture of a quality product. If this was a Vauxhall I'm sure this thread would be pages long with people going on about how poor the product is and you should buy a BMW/ Merc etc. But a BMW product nothing, no comments (Except for this one) Other than that, car is 3k from it's first service, MPG has dropped from 41mpg to 35mpg and idle has got really lumpy, causing the car to shudder like a cammed car does. It seems that when close to being serviced, these engines really start getting affected and the 20k service intervals are too long imo for them.
stumpage said:
This doesn't exactly paint a picture of a quality product. If this was a Vauxhall I'm sure this thread would be pages long with people going on about how poor the product is and you should buy a BMW/ Merc etc. But a BMW product nothing, no comments (Except for this one)
I agree, my previous R55 and R56 MINI's both felt better built but the new ones made of better quality parts. The new cars are very much "baby BMW" with a lot of switchgear from BMW and higher quality materials, however the saying "you can put a goat in a tuxedo, but it's still a goat" comes to mind in regards to build quality.I can post up pictures for those interested in the paint wear but its being a nightmare to solve thanks to none of my local dealerships being willing to take the car into their own bodyshops and wanting to sub-contract it out to an indy.
So a small update, finally after over 6 weeks of waiting my car is booked in to have the paintwork sorted on the B pillars. I only have to wait another 2 weeks for it to go into the bodyshop but at least it is finally being sorted!
Car has had some more trim issues, the plastic arches started coming away from the body and it also had the rough idle investigated also whilst it was in the dealership.
The idle issue was an interesting one, when monitoring my idle RPM and other sensors I noted that pre-visit, the idle was 600-700rpm. Since the visit, the idle is 700-800 rpm and the rough idle vibrations have reduced significantly. The other thing I noticed is my levels of boost, pre visit I was peaking at ~19-20psi, now I am peaking at ~27psi and the car defiantly feels quicker, but worse on fuel. When I spoke to the dealer, apparently nothing was done to the car.
Very weird.
Car has had some more trim issues, the plastic arches started coming away from the body and it also had the rough idle investigated also whilst it was in the dealership.
The idle issue was an interesting one, when monitoring my idle RPM and other sensors I noted that pre-visit, the idle was 600-700rpm. Since the visit, the idle is 700-800 rpm and the rough idle vibrations have reduced significantly. The other thing I noticed is my levels of boost, pre visit I was peaking at ~19-20psi, now I am peaking at ~27psi and the car defiantly feels quicker, but worse on fuel. When I spoke to the dealer, apparently nothing was done to the car.
Very weird.
ian_c_uk said:
Lovely thing - was behind one on a recent Blackpool run (actually, you?) and it sounded lovely.
I've had F56 as courtesy cars (albeit ONE spec) and they do feel much more grown up than the R56 (on my second), shame they can't quite put them together right!
Haha, yes that was me making all the noise. I am in two minds about a decat after standing behind it and the car being revved!I've had F56 as courtesy cars (albeit ONE spec) and they do feel much more grown up than the R56 (on my second), shame they can't quite put them together right!
SlowStig said:
Haha, yes that was me making all the noise. I am in two minds about a decat after standing behind it and the car being revved!
It's not quiet as it is! That said, it wasn't farty either - even my wife liked it!I was in the Orange Coupe S, which I *thought* made some nice pops in Sport, but rapidly gave up sat behind you!
Am in two minds whether to go M140i or Cooper S Works / JCW next - quite a few like yourself have gone 1series then back to Mini.
So new year and updates, car is about 10 miles short of 20k miles and averaged just shy of 40mpg over those miles which isn't too bad considering the car has just over 200bhp and is the size of a small moon compared to the original!
I had the car serviced just before Christmas at Lloyds in Carlisle, excellent service and fitted me in on a Saturday when I was on my way to Glasgow. Had a look at the JCW Clubman they had in the showroom, was interested until I heard the price, £37k! For a MINI?!
Other than that, nothing has broken or fallen off and the build quality is actually surprising me compared to the previous models, loses a bit of the charm of MINI ownership and more into premium supermini territory but makes it a nicer place to spend time in. The adaptive suspension is an option I would recommend to anyone, and the HK speakers.
Challenge 210 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr
I had the car serviced just before Christmas at Lloyds in Carlisle, excellent service and fitted me in on a Saturday when I was on my way to Glasgow. Had a look at the JCW Clubman they had in the showroom, was interested until I heard the price, £37k! For a MINI?!
Other than that, nothing has broken or fallen off and the build quality is actually surprising me compared to the previous models, loses a bit of the charm of MINI ownership and more into premium supermini territory but makes it a nicer place to spend time in. The adaptive suspension is an option I would recommend to anyone, and the HK speakers.
Challenge 210 by Paul Taylor, on Flickr
Edited by SlowStig on Wednesday 4th January 13:14
Great little cars Slowstig - my early R56 Cooper S is by no means as plush and adult as your Challenge 210 although with some useful bolt on tweaks & a remap is pushing 250 ponies. Yours with a decent remap could be circa 270 if you're interested once the warranty expires?
Here's mine in its usual weekend habit on a cold bank holiday Monday out with much more expensive toys showing them the way around the Peak District - I'm sure I always have more fun than they do!!
Here's mine in its usual weekend habit on a cold bank holiday Monday out with much more expensive toys showing them the way around the Peak District - I'm sure I always have more fun than they do!!
MrC986 said:
Great little cars Slowstig - my early R56 Cooper S is by no means as plush and adult as your Challenge 210 although with some useful bolt on tweaks & a remap is pushing 250 ponies. Yours with a decent remap could be circa 270 if you're interested once the warranty expires?
Funny you should say that, a remap is on the cards and a stage one map takes these to 260-270bhp and 280lb/ft so I will be interested in numbers from other cars which get done, as stage 2 is only around 300bhp...Sadly, car broke down tonight on my way home and full of chippy tea. Managed to limp it back home but it was showing drivetrain issues and BMW assist don't want me driving the car so are sending a low loader in the morning.
SlowStig said:
Funny you should say that, a remap is on the cards and a stage one map takes these to 260-270bhp and 280lb/ft so I will be interested in numbers from other cars which get done, as stage 2 is only around 300bhp...
Sadly, car broke down tonight on my way home and full of chippy tea. Managed to limp it back home but it was showing drivetrain issues and BMW assist don't want me driving the car so are sending a low loader in the morning.
I'm sure they'll fix it pronto & give you a courtesy car. It'll hopefully be a sensor failure that's put it into limp mode & easily fixed but just inconvenient.Sadly, car broke down tonight on my way home and full of chippy tea. Managed to limp it back home but it was showing drivetrain issues and BMW assist don't want me driving the car so are sending a low loader in the morning.
I had ago in an R53 JCW a few years back
Great pointy chassis & charger-whine. Engine wasn't really a gem however- not really revvy...
Biggest disappointment for me was inside. Grotty chrome effect bezels & seats you sat on rather than 'in'
Good to see they have moved on somewhat now with dynamics & power. Must be a blast!
I'm still a little unconvinced by the blocky Tonka car styling & cabin personally
Great pointy chassis & charger-whine. Engine wasn't really a gem however- not really revvy...
Biggest disappointment for me was inside. Grotty chrome effect bezels & seats you sat on rather than 'in'
Good to see they have moved on somewhat now with dynamics & power. Must be a blast!
I'm still a little unconvinced by the blocky Tonka car styling & cabin personally
MrC986 said:
I'm sure they'll fix it pronto & give you a courtesy car. It'll hopefully be a sensor failure that's put it into limp mode & easily fixed but just inconvenient.
In tank fuel pump failed, BMW assist was great until the farce of getting a courtesy car, took them till 3pm the next day to get me into something after spending most of the morning on the phone trying to organize it. Picked the car up yesterday and found the recovery guys have wrecked my two front wheels, so I have no idea how or if the wheels can be refurbished. SlowStig said:
In tank fuel pump failed, BMW assist was great until the farce of getting a courtesy car, took them till 3pm the next day to get me into something after spending most of the morning on the phone trying to organize it. Picked the car up yesterday and found the recovery guys have wrecked my two front wheels, so I have no idea how or if the wheels can be refurbished.
I'm gutted for you that BMW haven't given you the service you should get without having to chase them unnecessarily. As for the damage to the wheels.....if you haven't done so already, raise it directly with BMW customer relations in an email & get the name of the U.K. MD of BMW & cc him on your complaint as it's their third party contractor whose given cr*p service & not the dealer hopefully. Make sure you get photos of the damage in the morning if you haven't done do already. The wheels can be refinished although that's not the point as you'll be able to tell if you put the other 2 next to those that have been refinished, that they're slightly different as the width of the polished edges will be slightly wider as they'll have to take the diamond polisher to the face of the rim to remove the marks on them.Good luck with getting your wheels sorted & I hope it doesn't put you off the ownership of the little car.
First modification bought for the car, ever since buying it I always thought the brakes were a bit lacking for the performance and after them fading after a small amount of driving I decided to upgrade them once the situation arose. After a bit of research, I decided to stick with factory options and got a set of JCW brakes for the car. I know there is other options for the money but I want to keep the car OEM+ rather than obviously modified.
Cue, lots of boxes;
Shiny Red Calipers(key for perspective);
And some rather large disks...
Now I just need to save for some spacers so they will fit behind the stock wheels, and then get them fitted!
Cue, lots of boxes;
Shiny Red Calipers(key for perspective);
And some rather large disks...
Now I just need to save for some spacers so they will fit behind the stock wheels, and then get them fitted!
Afternoon all,
Small update, I have finally got around to getting my brakes fitted and bedded in after a bit of a hectic couple of months.
Only had them on the car a few days but already the braking performance is amazing in comparison to the previous set of bottle tops. I am still wanting to try them for a more prolonged period to see if they fade but overall I am thoroughly impressed with them and well worth the upgrade. Interestingly enough, the rear brakes are exactly the same on a JCW and a Cooper S, just the JCW has them in red.
Future plans are probably going to be surrounding a decat and lowering the car slightly(I enjoy adaptive suspension too much to give it up for coilovers).
Small update, I have finally got around to getting my brakes fitted and bedded in after a bit of a hectic couple of months.
Only had them on the car a few days but already the braking performance is amazing in comparison to the previous set of bottle tops. I am still wanting to try them for a more prolonged period to see if they fade but overall I am thoroughly impressed with them and well worth the upgrade. Interestingly enough, the rear brakes are exactly the same on a JCW and a Cooper S, just the JCW has them in red.
Future plans are probably going to be surrounding a decat and lowering the car slightly(I enjoy adaptive suspension too much to give it up for coilovers).
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