2015 Mini John Cooper Works manual, car review: Even more fun when you’re changing gear for yourself

Faster doesn’t automatically mean better to drive – but that’s what this Mini is

John Calne,Autocar
Tuesday 27 October 2015 13:47 GMT
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When you’re on the attack you’re rewarded by a wonderful soundtrack
When you’re on the attack you’re rewarded by a wonderful soundtrack

This is the most powerful production car Mini has ever made. For 2015, the John Cooper Works model has been pushed to 228bhp and 236lb ft– slinging it to 62mph in 6.3 seconds.

That’s just part of the story, though. Faster doesn’t automatically mean better to drive – but that’s what this Mini is.

A new electronic front diff sees to that, sending torque where it will be most useful as the front wheels fight to resist those 228 horses’ every effort to break them away. The JCW’s suspension has been revised, too, as have its brakes, and the exhaust has been returned to make a funkier noise.

The manual version never feels slow - but it always feels engaging

This it does with some verve. In fact, when you’re on the attack you’re rewarded by a wonderful soundtrack in which a hairy-chested engine note is sprinkled with percussive pops and crackles from the tailpipe. In your mind’s eye, you’re Paddy Hopkirk spanking it over the passes of Monte Carlo.

That little ode to joy is one very good reason for choosing the six-speed manual box instead of the auto. Another is that there’s a saving of more than a grand in it for you, but overall we like the manual simply because it’s so much fun.

New features make the Mini’s cabin more of a self-propelled funfair than ever

This despite the fact that the auto is actually a little faster, at 6.1 seconds, as well as using less fuel and putting out less CO2.

Thing is, the manual version never feels slow. But it always feels engaging.

It also feels much more composed than the old JCW, which didn’t deal well with rough roads. This one has been revised in all the right places underneath, and it handles with impressive composure as you press on through corners.

The John Cooper Works model has been pushed to 228bhp

A lusty whack of torque helps here. And it means you don’t spend half your life shuffling between gears on a cruise, thus removing another common reason for going auto.

To drive the point home (or stretch it), the JCW model even has its own gearstick. This is part of a package which also includes things like sports seats, stainless pedals and a three-spoke steering wheel, all of which help make the Mini’s cabin more of a self-propelled funfair than ever.

The only problem is that so much of the kit on the JCW we drove was optional, it sent a £23,050 car vaulting past the thirty grand mark.

Of course, you don’t have to go crazy with the catalogue when buying a car. But if you find that that’s what it takes to get the JCW the way you really want it, you should stop and look at what else your money could buy you. If hot-hatch performance matters to you, the Golf R and forthcoming Focus RS do make pretty stratospheric rivals.

Mini John Cooper Works manual

On sale: Now

Price: £23,050

Engine: 4 cyls, 1998cc, turbo, petrol

Power: 228bhp at 5200-6000rpm

Torque: 236lb ft at 1250-4800rpm

Gearbox: 6-spd manual

Kerb weight: 1280kg

Top speed: 153mph

0-62mph: 6.3sec

Economy: 42.2mpg (combined)

CO2/tax band: 155g/km, 26%

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