A Mini Adventure | PH Footnote

So the JCW isn't thrill-a-minute fun based on first impressions - how about after a 600-mile round trip?

By Matt Bird / Sunday, 27 April 2025 / Loading comments

It would be reasonable to say that reaction in the comments to the new Mini JCW was mixed. An average star rating of 3.4 sort of summed it up, really - the enthusiasm was very middling. Which, historically speaking, shouldn’t really be the case for a petrol Mini hatch with a John Cooper Works badge on it. If not quite the pinnacle of hot hatch hedonism, the model ought to be high on the north face, flag firmly planted in the ground. The reaction from the driver’s seat was similarly puzzled; as a former Cooper S owner it would have been great to see a return to form. But it is also not hard to see why a more mature approach might have won out. The JCW, as pretty much the last compact petrol-powered hot hatch remaining, is significant in a way that its predecessors were not - nevertheless, our brief Goodwood drive left many questions unanswered. More time was needed behind the chubby steering wheel.

Happily, an opportunity presented itself in the shape of the trip to M-Sport for a drive of the Alan Mann Escort. Which is 294 miles from Chez Bird - plenty of time to get to know the JCW a little better. And with a few days’ loan rather than taking it for an hour, a bit longer to get used to having a Mini outside again. While some details are cool - at the rear in particular, with the lights and central exhaust - the new version still seems a tad goofy. Nicer to look at than the last generation, but that isn’t saying much. Maybe we’ve just got used to so many modified Minis (or the previous GP), though some elbows-out attitude here wouldn’t go amiss - something lower, wider, meaner, to make the most of being a JCW. Perhaps the aftermarket can help on that front, as per so many old Minis.

Still, when having to get into a car at half four in the morning (Cumbria is a fair old slog for me) such concerns are immaterial. Rather it's a chance for the Mini to play its trump card - the interior is genuinely top drawer. Of course, attention is inevitably drawn to the fabric dash (with backlit inserts) and the huge infotainment plate of a screen, but there are some really useful features inside to wile away the motorway miles. There’s a physical shortcut button for lane keep and speed limit warning (but also impressive assisted driving when required), good storage for drinks and snacks, plus a great seat that still drops the driver low enough to convince them they’re in a Mini. Hours at the wheel are very pleasant, particularly given the clarity of that central display, decent refinement and typically excellent Mini visibility.

It sometimes feels like driving a JCW from the future, but the Mini trademarks are there - the almost vertical screen and pillars being the most obvious. If not a perfect interior, with a few cheaper plastics around and some icons that are too small on the screen, it’s one bristling with an obvious impulse to surprise and delight while also being a driving environment that works well. We all like to pretend a cabin is secondary to other attributes, right up to the point where you recall how often we’re just trundling along in our cars - then it becomes a priority again. A Mini is a nicer place to sit than many more expensive cars; sometimes being a bit too much like a shrunken BMW isn’t a terrible thing.

It’s a busy, bustling small car, too. The JCW's damping is sufficiently well sorted though its springs seem like they’re very short on travel. So by modern standards, it’ll hop, skip and jump around town, while never fully settling at motorway speeds - although it stops short of feeling truly restless. And don’t we want Minis, particularly a JCW-badged one, to fizz around with some excitement anyway? This time around it felt like a smart compromise, subdued enough to cover hundreds of miles in a morning yet sufficiently taut to seem alive and responsive.

And heck is it fast. That significant uptick in torque to 280lb ft (in a Mini!) means any overtake is dispatched with ease, and actually you can find yourself romping along a bit too briskly, such is the mid-range of the 2.0-litre turbo and the slickness of the DCT. The boost button is a fun novelty to have, though rarely will you need to go faster than a slightly extended right foot can take you. In mighty Mini tradition, this is a seriously quick little car. That 155mph top speed claim doesn’t feel far-fetched.

Away from the motorway, you’d probably call this an entertaining Mini rather than an exhilarating one. In a very similar fashion to any hot hatch that’s still on sale but can trace some lineage back to the '00s, it’s probably not quite as raw or as edgy as some might like - but it’s not half bad. The famously fast Mini steering tips the nose in, a lift of the throttle brings the back around, and it’s all happening in a reasonably compact footprint that won’t offend everyone else. Perhaps the grin on your face isn’t quite as daft as it might have been once upon a time; which is probably what was said about R53s and R56s 20 years ago against classic Minis. It’s more than engaging enough for the opportunities to push on that everyday driving tends to present, particularly with strong brakes and good response to the paddles. Again, there will probably be aftermarket options for those who need more edge.

Regardless, even as is, there remains a lot to like about this JCW. It averaged almost 50mpg on my journey, CarPlay never faltered, and the stereo seemed nice. It remains a capable, covetable and highly assured sort of hatchback, which is actually what the 21st-century version has always been all about. Others have delved deeper into what a truly thrilling hot supermini ought to be, leaving Mini to offer up generous forced induction, a smart interior and game handling. Clearly, this one still does all those things. For not that much money, either - a JCW started at £21,000 in 2008, or almost £34k today. This one is from £33,265.

So when there are miles to cover, audiobooks to listen to and trucks to overtake, the latest JCW makes for great company. Not least because it's so pleasant to sit in. And actually, given the constraints faced by any manufacturer keen on building profitable small cars - not to mention the thought that Mini could simply have gone all-in on the electric version - it feels like a faithful continuation of a hot hatch that has always sold in substantial numbers. Which means that while it doesn't do everything we'd like it to, it will likely continue satisfying the same customers right up to the point when production is finally wound up. Probably by then we'll have realised how much we're going to miss it.

SPECIFICATION | 2025 MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS

Engine: 1,998cc four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 231@5,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 280@1,500rpm
0-62mph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Weight: 1,405kg
MPG: 41.5-43.5 (WLTP combined)
CO2: 147-154g/km
Price: £33,265