Latest news with #JCW
The Drive
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
2025 Mini Cooper JCW Pros and Cons Review: Fun To Drive, Annoying To Live With
The latest car news, reviews, and features. The 2025 Mini Cooper JCW is one of the more interesting new cars you can buy in the $40,000 range right now. Despite ditching the optional manual transmission for 2025, I have to admit I enjoyed driving this new model even more than the previous one. However, as is often the problem with Minis, I really hated some of its quirks and poor tech experience. The car still runs a 2.0-liter, turbo-four, but the new model makes considerably more torque, and the six-speed manual and eight-speed auto transmissions have been replaced by a new seven-speed dual-clutch unit. Andrew P. Collins JCW, or John Cooper Works, is the high-performance model in the Mini lineup. John Cooper did not invent the Mini, but he prepped them for racing and made them cool back in the '60s. John Cooper Works, founded by his son, Michael Cooper, was established as an in-house tuner around the turn of the millennium when Mini was relaunched as a BMW brand. JCW itself was officially acquired by BMW later in 2006. Since then, there's been a JCW trim of every new Mini generation. Comments around this Mini are largely dismissive—mostly along the lines of, 'too expensive,' 'too slow,' 'no manual no care.' The car may not be exceptionally exciting on paper, but it's a hell of a lot of fun in real life. It has the lightweight, tossable, boosted feeling of a dialed-in tuner car, which is exactly what a JCW should be. I love rowing my own gears, but the dual-clutch is very satisfying to snap through with the paddle shifters. And it's very deft in fully automatic mode. 'Street-legal go-kart' is Mini's schtick, and I think the people who made this car did a surprisingly good job of baking a feeling of rowdiness into it without making it feel cheap—with the exception of the sound effects, which I'll come back to later. Andrew P. Collins The supportive sport seats keep your butt and torso firmly held in place while cornering hard, allowing you to focus on what your hands are doing with the steering wheel. I experienced a little torque-steer under aggressive acceleration in some instances, but didn't find it particularly bothersome or prevalent. Understeer, another annoying trait you often find in sporty front-drive cars, is more of a pain point when it happens, though you have to be pushing the car pretty hard to induce it. More importantly, you can have loads of fun without stepping too far into police-attention territory. Likewise, the brakes are great, solid stopping power but not overly eager to spill your coffee. Even with its cloth materials and lack of a normal gauge cluster, the Mini feels more upscale than the FWD-hot hatch icon Honda Civic Type R, and much more upscale than a Toyota GR Corolla. So if you're cross-shopping other sport compacts, the premium you pay for this comes with tangible benefits some people will appreciate. The car gained a little weight this year, yes, but it is still about 3,000 pounds before anybody climbs in. The torque increase for 2025 from 236 lb-ft to 280 lb-ft is definitely palpable. The car digs out of a slow roll much harder than the previous model. Bramble the dog was color-matched to this Mini. Andrew P. Collins The 2025 model also feels a little firmer than the 2024 I spent a week roaming around Wales in last year. But unlike an actual go-kart, the ride quality's damn good. You'll still want to avoid potholes, but I found the new Mini JCW quite comfortable for longer drives on okay roads of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The design is pretty much perfect—Mini hasn't really messed with the look of its core two-door Cooper models since the brand was re-launched over 20 years ago, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing. A Mini coupe, like a Porsche 911 or Jeep Wrangler, has an iconic look that just feels right as-is. As for cargo and rear passenger space, well, it's limited but not terrible. I'm a scrawny six feet tall and could sit in the back no problem. I was able to take a weekend trip with my wife and dog and fit our two overnight bags behind the back seats. Much like the Mini's basic shape hasn't changed, neither has the luggage capacity. The exterior gets some cosmetic tweaks for 2025, but the cabin is where you'll really notice aesthetic changes. The circular infotainment screen, a Mini hallmark for some time, is now bigger than ever and loaded with more whimsy than Paddington Bear eating a marmalade sandwich in a hot air balloon. Besides ditching the manual transmission, however, Mini killed another feature I really liked: the steering column-mounted gauge cluster. Now you can only get vehicle information from the heads-up display (which is still projected on a small sub-screen, not the windshield), or the moon-sized circular infotainment screen, which is awful. When you first start the car, you're treated to an unbelievably long animation ceremony featuring a little cartoon bulldog who appears like Clippy in an old Microsoft Word document. Mercifully, you can deactivate this, but it sets the tone for what your experience with Mini's software is going to be like; lots of head-scratching at lights and colors that serve absolutely no purpose. The worst part is that the system's so busy dancing and singing that it kind of sucks at basic functionality. The interface has so much cheesy nonsense like transition animations, theme songs, and more. Aesthetically, it's quite customizable, except, for some reason, Mini puts arbitrary guardrails that really annoyed me. When you cycle through a bunch of different visual skins, which Mini calls 'Experiences,' you can set which one you want to be your default. I liked the Go-Kart experience most, but it wouldn't let me set it as a default—I had to pick something else. Even deeper in the customization menu, I found a display I liked even more—a simple speedometer. Not only can that not be a default, but if you want to use it every time you drive, you have to dig through multiple menus to find it. Why? Even some of the conceptually cooler features are hampered by manufactured digital drama. There's a Boost mode that Mini claims will crank up boost pressure to increase power by 10 percent for 10 seconds, which is a neat idea, but when you activate it, the screen shifts to an insanely distracting animated countdown from 10—every second, the background changes and moves. What the heck were they thinking? Finally, the Mini's most egregious try-hard feature: fake exhaust burbles played inside the cabin. Hearing it recorded through my phone and then played on your headphones won't capture the effect—you'll have to take my word for it that it's decidedly artificial sounding and quite cringey. Mini might call it some kind of enhancement, but it's a song played purely for entertainment. Outside, the car simply sounds like it's minding its own business. As much as I hated fiddling with Mini's misguided attempt to make a unique digital interface, I really enjoyed driving the car. I love that it's taut but comfortable, both in terms of the interior appointments and the way it rides. It feels quick and fun without being terrifying or taking you to Ticket Town every time you step on it. Visibility is good, driving posture and position are great, and if you travel with only one more person, there's plenty of room for cargo. Andrew P. Collins The Mini JCW isn't superior to its more high-end rivals, the $45,000 and up VW Golf R, Toyota GR Corolla, Honda Civic Type R, and Acura Integra Type S. However, I can understand why somebody would pick this over those. It looks great, feels good, and has a little more Euro aura than the other cars I just mentioned. Not everyone's going to have the patience to live with Mini's current interface, it'll be a deal-breaker for some people. But even without three pedals, the Mini Cooper JCW is one of my favorite cars this year so far. Maybe next time I'll just pull the fuse for that dumb fake exhaust sound. 2025 Mini Cooper JCW Specs Base Price (As Tested) $38,900 ($45,475) Powertrain 2.0 I4 Turbo | FWD | 7-Speed DCT Horsepower 228 Torque 280 lb-ft Seating Capacity 4 Cargo Volume 8.9 cubic feet Curb Weight 3,047 pounds 0-60 5.9 seconds Top Speed 155 mph EPA Fuel Economy 27 city | 37 highway | 30 combined Score 8/10 Great to drive, annoying to use. Still a uniquely charming option in this niche category of sports cars.
Forbes
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Living With The 2025 Mini Countryman John Cooper Works
Mini Countryman John Cooper Works Mini Countryman John Cooper Works: John Cooper Works (JCW) variants have been the apotheosis of performance Minis for eons now, and any Mini boasting a JCW badge should have you and your passengers laughing like deranged hyenas as you carve through a picturesque backroad in what's essentially a road-legal go-kart. And once all is said and done, you should arrive home with a half-shattered spine, one ruptured eardrum, and a sore face from grinning too much. Therefore, I've never quite understood the lofty Countryman JCW, and I hoped living with one for a week would have me saying, 'Oh, there it is. There's the reason you'd buy one." But it just didn't. Let's be clear, this is one bodacious vehicle, especially from the rear, and it draws attention, but a JCW is more plaything than family hauler. Life With The 2025 Mini Countryman John Cooper Works My press cars are dropped on a Wednesday and collected the next Wednesday, giving me one week with each car. This is usually more than enough time for me to conjure a conclusion, but the Mini Countryman JCW left me swaying right up until the last minute it was due to be collected. Like the previous Countryman JCW, the new model lives up to Mini's zesty brand character, and it's a bit like that one uncle who attends parties in vibrant clothing and laughs at his jokes. It can get annoying, but it's wholesome, and the same applies here. The Mini Countryman JCW's interior quirks never failed to cheer me up on the gloomiest of days. There's just so much color, and the little virtual dog, named Spike, who tells awful jokes like 'What noise does a witch's Mini make? Broom broom' injects further personality. My wife loved it. 2025 Mini Countryman JCW interior However, throughout the week, my dog, wife, and I were bounced around the Mini's cabin while driving my regular test route of towns, motorways and backroads. Its stiff suspension is a bugbear. Of course, it's a JCW and firm suspension is expected, but you feel almost every stone and rut under its 20-inch alloy wheels when driving through town—I often wondered 'Why not have trick dampers that soften via one of the Mini's many drive modes'. Even in the Green setting, where everything calms, the car's suspension attempted to break my behind at points. Something that quickly became tedious for everyone on board. Likewise, the throttle felt lethargic when pulling out of junctions in anything but Go Kart mode, which forced me to sink the throttle a bit more, causing the car to jolt forward. 2025 Mini Countryman JCW Smooth tarmac is where I expected the Countryman JCW to buck up, and it did to some degree, but it felt out of sorts. Sure, engaging Go Kart mode and nailing the throttle is a hoot; you're met with all sorts of synthesised exhaust and engine sounds, and the car feels like it's ready to jet off because of the enhanced throttle response, but this is ruined by tramlining as it claws its way down the road. Then there's the sharp but hyperactive steering, which makes the car difficult to place, forcing mid-corner corrections. And finally, there's its weight—all 1,735kg of it. Any JCW product should dance effortlessly around corners, but this felt like more of a wrestle. That's not to say you can't have fun with it. The more you drive it enthusiastically, the more its niggles become tolerable. Author's dog in car But there were positives, too. Being a lofty crossover SUV, we never once struggled for legroom or headroom, and the dual-height 460-liter trunk never had me wanting more. Similarly, the Countryman JCW returned a 36mpg average at week's end. And here's my verdict. The Mini Countryman JCW, priced from £42,520 ($46,900), is too firm to be enjoyable, and isn't as fast as its predecessor. That said, it has excellent mid-range pull (30-70mph in 4.7 seconds), is packed with quirk and is good fun on the right road. But we'd save cash and buy the entry-level Mini Countryman instead. You might not get the same performance, but it's sweeter to drive than the JCW, and your family and behind will thank you for it.
Mid East Info
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- Mid East Info
BMW GROUP MIDDLE EAST REPORTS STRONG DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2025 - Middle East Business News and Information
BMW Group Middle East posts a 15.3% year-on-year increase in BMW overall sales BMW M models soar with 31.6% growth MINI records impressive 20% growth, driven by strong demand for the MINI Countryman and JCW models BMW Motorrad posts nearly 20% growth year-on-year Customer support services grow by 7%, reflecting customer loyalty and trust Dubai, UAE -July 2025 – BMW Group Middle East has reported an exceptional performance in the first half of 2025, achieving a 15.3% increase in BMW sales compared to the same period in 2024. This growth underscores the continued strength of the brand in the region, driven by unwavering customer demand, importer excellence, and strategic investments across key markets. The UAE remains the leading market in the Middle East, with strong contributions also coming from MINI, BMW M, and BMW Motorrad. The premium automotive brand witnessed remarkable momentum across its product portfolio particularly in high-performance models. While BMW 7 Series remains the flagship in the BMW premium segment, the BMW X7 experienced a strong 18.6% increase in the first six months of the year. BMW M models gained significant traction, growing by 31.6% in the same period – in addition, and notably, M High-Performance models experienced exceptional growth of 46%, underscoring the region's strong appetite for high-performance driving experiences. The BMW 5 Series also delivered a strong performance, recording a total 23.8% year-to-date increase as of June 2025 – solidifying its position as a key pillar in BMW's premium sedan portfolio. BMW Middle East achieved outstanding growth in corporate and special sales with an increase of 38.5% in the first half of the year compared to the same period from the previous year. The Corporate Sales Conference held in Oman in the 2nd quarter this year marked a significant milestone for the region, laying the groundwork and setting the foundation for continuous business growth. MINI continued its upward trajectory, with 20% growth over the same period in 2024. The MINI Countryman emerged as the top-selling model with a 40% share, while the John Cooper Works (JCW) variant saw a surge in sales, rising by 63% and accounting for 14% of overall MINI sales. BMW Motorrad experienced impressive retail sales, posting nearly 20% growth in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This remarkable increase reflects the brand's strong appeal, the growing enthusiasm for motorcycle riding in the region, and a commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences. The results are also a reflection of the BMW Group Middle East Retail Network development. The ongoing transformation to the new Corporate Identity ' introduces a customer-centric concept with an open, flexible environment designed to deliver personalized experiences across sales and service – all in one space surrounded by BMW and MINI products. This concept enables a seamless 'phygital' journey, leveraging the best aspects of both the physical and digital worlds to exceed each customer's individual needs. Customer Support remains a cornerstone of BMW's success in the region. BMW Group Middle East recorded a 7% increase in Customer Support Services in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Moreover, 76% of BMW customers with vehicles aged up to 10 years are serviced within the authorized service network, which is a true testament to sustained customer loyalty and trust. Through the ConnectedDrive platform, the BMW and MINI Proactive Care initiative, and the 'Relax. We Care' program, BMW Group Middle East has strengthened the customer ownership experience. Additionally, with various digital customer touchpoints, BMW remains an industry leader in providing a convenient service journey and an excellent execution of aftersales services in the region. Karim-Christian Haririan, Managing Director of BMW Group Middle East, commented: 'Despite regional uncertainties, we have continued to deliver excellence to our valued BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad customers. I'm especially proud of the surge in M sales in general and M High-Performance in particular, which confirms the strong emotional connection our customers have with the brand and especially with models like the M5 and the new M5 Touring. I extend my sincere appreciation to our importer network and partners for their dedication and to our customers for their trust. Together, we look forward to building on this success in the second half of 2025.'
Auto Car
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Car
How to get a Mini on your drive for £2000
Overall the Mini is a reliable, well built small car that shouldn't cause you any major problems. Indeed, it is not totally free from mechanical gremlins, but by now any recalls will have been addressed and dealers, as well as independent specialists, are familar with the issues that might afflict them. For more peace of mind, the Mini Hatch ranked fifth out of 19 cars in the small car class in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, with an impressive overall rating of 97.9%. Engine: Be wary of Cooper S Minis built between 2014 and 2015: a recall was issued to repair a defective crankshaft bearing and engines were either rebuilt or replaced. Check that the whole engine has been replaced because other parts may have been damaged by the faulty crankshaft. High oil consumption is common on hotter models so check oil levels and make sure the car is serviced every year. Exhaust: Ensure the Pro exhaust on the JCW cars is fitted properly. You'll know it isn't if the heat shield is rattling underneath the car. Suspension: Listen out for a knocking noise from the front suspension as the control arm bushings like to make a racket when they're worn. A new bushing is around £30. Body: Door seal rubber can rub away the paint on the inside so check for any damage. You can buy door-shut paint protection film to stop the issue from recurring. Check for clouding in the wing mirrors. New glass is around £20. Interior: Don't be surprised if the dashboard rattles, especially on higher-mileage cars. A creaky sunroof isn't uncommon either and some lubricant around the seal can assuage the issue. Check that the heated seats work and that the light doesn't go out on the dashboard when they're switched on. If they're faulty, then it could be either the heat element or control module that's to blame. An owner's view Rachel Lowe: 'I was looking for a step up from my 2013 'R56' Cooper and the F56 model was what I was hoping for in terms of reliability and performance. In the end, I bought a 2016 JCW from Scotland and the seven-hour drive home proved that this was the right car for me. It's very responsive, handles superbly and is surprisingly economical on longer journeys. I've added a few modifications, including a wrap, JCW Pro exhaust, front splitter/side skirts and the JCW Pro suspension kit. It's been very reliable and easily the most fun car I've ever owned.' Also worth knowing If you want the fastest version of the F56-gen Mini, your best bet is the John Cooper Works GP, launched in 2020. This track-focused hot hatch is an absolute riot to drive thanks to its lowered suspension, larger brakes and 302bhp turbocharged motor. There are plenty of special editions to choose from, such as the 1499GT, a play on the 1275GT of the original car. There's also the 1to6 Edition, a limited-run version of the JCW that was the last Mini to feature a manual gearbox.
Associated Press
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Mini Trader Expands with New MINI Parts Marketplace, Creating a One-Stop Platform for Owners and Enthusiasts
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, June 18, 2025 / / -- Mini Trader, the UK's specialist marketplace for MINI vehicles, has expanded its platform to include a full MINI parts and accessories section, making it easier for owners, restorers, and independent sellers to source and sell everything MINI in one place. Originally built for people searching to sell their MINI car or find a MINI for sale, the platform now supports parts listings across every MINI model and generation. From classic Cooper body panels to modern JCW performance upgrades, the new parts section allows sellers to list inventory with photos, pricing, and direct buyer messaging. 'We've seen growing demand from owners who don't just want to buy or sell a car, but also maintain, restore, or modify their MINI,' said Ikram Nagdawala, founder of Mini Trader. 'Adding a dedicated mini parts section brings everything together, so MINI enthusiasts no longer need to rely on scattered forums or general classifieds.' The expansion strengthens Mini Trader's position as a purpose-built destination for MINI buyers and sellers, offering: Unified search – Buyers can now browse both vehicles and parts in one seamless search. Focused audience – Listings target MINI owners specifically, increasing visibility for sellers. Simplified selling – Private sellers and parts businesses can list individual items or upload bulk inventory files. With MINI models spanning decades of production, access to parts is often critical for restorations, performance upgrades, or repairs. The new parts marketplace gives owners a central resource to find the exact components they need. The expanded platform is now live at About Mini Trader Mini Trader is the UK's dedicated online marketplace for MINI vehicles, parts, and accessories. The platform connects private sellers, specialist dealers, and parts suppliers across all MINI generations, offering listings, secure messaging, and a growing community of MINI enthusiasts. For more information, visit Ikram Nagdawala Mini Trader email us here Visit us on social media: Instagram Facebook YouTube Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
