Expensive, But Worth It
by David Finlay (14 Jul 08)

Having bought the rights to the John Cooper Works name in late 2006, MINI is now using it as a signal to indicate that any car which wears the badge is something really special. JCW (if you'll excuse the abbreviation) is to be thought of in the same way relative to MINI as M is to BMW, AMG is to Mercedes-Benz, RS is to Ford and Subaru, Cloverleaf is to Alfa Romeo, Abarth is to Fiat, STi is to Subaru and Evo is to Mitsubishi. You get the idea.

The new MINI John Cooper Works, which goes on sale in the UK on July 22, certainly lives up to the billing. Among other delights, which we'll get to shortly, it's the fastest production MINI ever, with a top speed of 148mph and a 0-62mph time of 6.5 seconds. (Trivia note: the Cooper S sold with the JCW GP Kit in 2006 had the same 0-62mph time, but strictly speaking those weren't production cars since the Kit was a dealer-fit add-on, and only 454 examples were sold in the UK.)

The John Cooper Works derives its performance, handling ability, stopping power and to some extent its visual drama from the MINI Challenge race car. The familiar 1.6-litre turbo engine has been uprated to 211bhp, largely thanks to the use of a larger turbocharger, and its straightline prowess puts it in league with the best of the many other 200bhp-plus hot hatches on the market.

As an overall package, it's probably the best of the lot. I say this because MINI has been able to achieve an extraordinary ride/handling balance which has so far proved to be beyond the wit of any rival manufacturer. Within the class, other cars are either very sharp but with a kidney-jangling ride to match, or reasonably comfortable but with a feeling that you're driving on cotton wool rather than tarmac.

The MINI JCW offers the best of both worlds. You wouldn't mistake it for a luxury saloon, of course, but it rides the bumps very well, particularly in Clubman form, when the longer wheelbase adds an extra level of comfort (the Clubman won't be sold here until early 2009 because the extra body styling parts aren't ready for it, and MINI's customer research made it very clear that UK customers won't be interested until they are), yet it also has phenomenal cornering ability, as long as you drive it properly.

More . . .

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