EVERY so often a longterm test car arrives at our office that has all the staffers looking over it with envious eyes. That day arrived late in December, 2009 when a brand-spanking-new Mini Cooper John Cooper Works was collected from BMW. It was a beautiful thing, too, painted in fire-engine red with black highlights and model-specific alloys. YRN778GP certainly turned heads. Apart from the racy colour scheme there were added bits of carbonfibre detailing on the nose, mirror caps and inside on the handbrake lever and gear knob. A pair of snug Recaro seats completed the sporty look. Apart from the styling goodies the car came fitted with just about every extra that one could consider, except for navigation and a sunroof.
As I have always been a fan of the hot hatch formula – and it doesn’t get much hotter than this – and the lack of interior space would not be a hindrance to my lifestyle, the little car was handed to me. The timing was perfect, too. Not a week after its arrival I loaded the car to the hilt and headed East into the rising sun towards my hometown, Durban. On the national road the thrust provided by the turbocharged engine proved a real boon. All I needed was a whiff of an overtaking opportunity to blast past slow moving trucks and caravan-towing Camrys.
In Durban, with a few more kilometres on the odo, I reacquainted myself with all my favourite twisty roads. More than the straight-line speed, the JCW, which had now been christened “Jochen”, relished corners. A firm suspension, exceptional brakes and a flat cornering stance mean that I would attack any twisty stretch of tarmac with a fearlessness that I would not attempt in many other hatches. On the way back to the pointy part of SA, I cruised along and registered the best fuel consumption of the car’s tenure, just 7,11 litres/100 km, not bad for a car that produces 155 kW and 260 N.m of torque.
Back in Cape Town the JCW was drawn into duty as transport during the daily grind. But none of it was boring. I seemed to discover something new almost every day: in fact, it was months before I realised that there was a second “hidden” glovebox on the passenger side. The USB port and Bluetooth connectivity – which were optional items at the time but are now standard fitment – were used all the time.
During city commutes and once the initial period of excitement had worn off, which took some time, I became more aware of the ride quality. Even friends that drive VW GTIs riding on 18-inch alloys asked how I lived with the ride on a daily basis. The spring rates are firm but that pays dividends at the very first corner you dip into.
One of the car’s more colourful traits was its tendency to pop and burble when closing the throttle.
This brought countless smiles to my face, much to the annoyance of passengers that could not understand the need to suddenly lift off the loud pedal.
On various weekends away, usually for two, the lack of boot space was a slight issue. Loading anything larger than a kitbag required the rear seats to be folded down, and if I happened to take my golf bag along to hack up some poor unsuspecting course, then I had to pack carefully.
During the winter months the seat heaters were really appreciated by my regular passenger and it was turned on the moment her bottom touched the seat.
Since this car has the requisite power and handling traits, a crisp steering action and casts a diminutive shadow, it is ideally suited to tackling mountain passes. I had many special and memorable drives over Franschhoek, Sir Lowry’s, Hex River, Houw Hoek and many other similar ribbons of tarmac smeared around the Western Cape. However, one has to watch out for the torque steer on unfamiliar roads. The helm has a habit of trying to wriggle free from one’s palms when really trying to foot it out of a corner, or from standstill. But forewarned is forearmed and I adapted my driving style accordingly.
Surprisingly, even during spirited driving, the fuel consumption did not sky rocket – average consumption was a decent 9,31 litres/ 100 km. With a fat wedge of torque available through the middle of the rev range there is no real need to wring the motor to the limiter when pressing on.
Mountain passes may be fun but they leave little room for error. So when the opportunity presented itself to take Jochen to the racetrack I grabbed it with both hands. Conveniently I was able to support the good work carried out by Live to Race (www.livetorace1. blogspot.com/). This non-profi t outreach programme tries to bring light into the lives of under-privileged, handicapped and terminally ill children. By the good graces of BMW I was able to enlist the car’s service at the Live to Race event.
I have yet to meet a kid that does not like a Mini Cooper and I spent my Sunday afternoon taking many children for joy rides around Killarney racetrack, where the car’s dynamic abilities were highlighted even further. Not only did it hound faster cars through the tighter sections of the track – some Italian thoroughbreds to boot – but the braking system and relatively acceptable tyre wear indicate that the car was actually designed and built with this type of usage (read: punishment – Ed) in mind.
At the end of the JCW’s test we measured tyre wear and noted increased wear on the inside of the front tyres, indicating a large amount of negative camber, hence the phenomenal grip levels. But the car still managed to get through 20 000 km without needing new footwear. An impromptu chat with another JCW owner revealed that his car needed new front tyres at 9 000 km! We did not hear from any other JCW drivers despite numerous calls for feedback. During the final few months of the test period some of my fellow staffers used the car whenever I was out of town to help the mileage accumulation process. Unfortunately, on one of these occasions a cyclist saw fit to ride into the passenger door. The carbon-fibre mirror cap was knocked off and an unsightly ding was left in an awkward spot. Apart from that tiny mishap – and 500 ml of top-up oil – the Mini Cooper ran absolutely faultlessly.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed my 20 000 km in the JCW. I found any reason to spend more time behind the wheel. I learned to live with the torque steer, of which there is plenty, the less-than-ideal ride quality and lack of boot space, as these were small matters in a vehicle that brought so much enjoyment every time it turned a wheel.
Can I recommend one? Well that’s a tough question. Brand new you have to spend nearly R350 000 for a JCW. Add a few extras and that figure can easily nudge R400 000, which is a lot of cash. If you buy with your heart and not your head the JCW will provide countless hours of entertainment and miles of smiles – and sometimes you can’t put a price on that.