Post by PG on Sept 11, 2020 17:24:37 GMT
Well, 15 months actually but I’ve been meaning to give a one year update since May. The car had 5,000 miles on when we got it and now has 14,500, so we’ve given it some decent use. It has been the go to first use car in the household. The Jag has been used on some of our longer trips and the Shogun (now 11 years old) has reverted to farm and general truck.
Yes, it’s a cliché but MINIs do feel a quality item. And driving one for over a year has only reinforced that feeling for me. The price premium you pay over and above other smaller cars feels worth it. And having driven a One, a Cooper S and our JCW, I think that holds across the range.
With 231hp it is plenty quick enough (0-62 in 6.1 secs per the spec sheet) and the 8 speed auto shifts seamlessly or can be paddled easily for a quicker punch. Like just about every other auto box I’ve used, the Sport setting is silly. It just seems to hold a gear three lower than D all the time and do little else of use. As it is a JCW, there is also the three mode Sport, Normal, Green switch. Sport makes the throttle much sharper – too sharp for normal pootling about. Normal is, well, normal. Green is OK if you just want to cruise on a motorway or A road, but slows acceleration so much that you can’t really use it in day to day driving. Frankly, D, Normal and the paddles when wanted are all you really need.
Fuel wise, I’ve not done a proper test, but the OBC shows 40mpg over the past 3000 miles. I suspect if you drive everywhere like you stole it, in Sport mode, it would be a fair bit lower.
The second cliché about MINIs (and Minis of course) is that they feel like go karts. This one is also true in so much that you feel low down, the suspension is on the firmer side, they corner brilliantly (with some torque feedback if pushing on), but I’ve never been in a go kart (or Mini as opposed to MINI...) that I feel so comfortable in. The lounge leather sports seats we have are excellent (subject to the adjustment issue below). I’d go so far as to say that they are as comfortable as the Jag ones. The steering wheel is lovely to hold, the right size and in just the right place, so I can’t fault the driving position. Since having it in the XFR, I really like black roof linings and so I’m glad the JCW has it as standard. It suits the sporty feel of the cabin. On the move, a small car, in theory, has no right to feel so well planted and mile-munching at “motorway speeds”, but this one does.
The money we spent on the LED spotlights was well spent. They look cool and with them on, main beam is daylight creating. And dip is pretty good. The lights are better than those in the Jag (2011 bi-xenons) and so if I’ve got to go somewhere in the dark, I’d always take the Mini just for the extra light on unlit roads.
This is the first car I’ve had with Apple car play. The standard satnav and interface is pretty good and has both an iDrive like controller or touch screen input. With Carplay I’ve used google maps and listened to music off my phone. This works well, but you do need the volume up quite a bit higher then say DAB radio as carplay is wireless connect. If you plug the phone into the USB, carplay still uses wireless to connect.
Overall, the car has met the expectations I had for it. It is fun and fast when wanted, yet luxurious enough and FG'd enough to feel special every time you drive it. Is it all just great then? Well, there are some things that could be improved.
The tacho is a small add on to the side of the speedo. It’s hard to read and I rarely look at it. The speedo has a nice big digital speed reading at the bottom. A pair of smaller round instruments would look better and still get all the information in. Instead it looks like the full range will adopt the same digital dash as the PHEV Countryman in the future.
Can Mini (and I think still BMW?) finally realise that the infinitely adjustable seat back was invented many years ago and is a way superior system to the “lift really hard to reach while sitting in the seat lever and try and move your back just enough to make the seat move either way one big-ratchet notch” system that persists in the Mini. Electric memory seats are not an option on a Mini. If they were, they’d be worth the expense. Luckily, I’ve found a decent seat back position and Mrs PG just moves the seat forward, so we’re OK and as said above, the seats are really comfortable in use. Just don’t be adjusting them!
It’s a perfectly adequate system, but the XFR hi-fi has spoiled me. When they specced the demo car we bought, I wish they’d not ticked the 18’s box but ticked the Harmon Kardon hi-fi box instead. Much better use of cash.
The car had its first service at two years old. At that service, they put a new cover on the driver's seat back. The bolster was wearing which I said was unacceptable on a two year old car. To give MINI Shrewsbury credit, they didn't argue and just changed it.
Finally, road noise. We’ve got the 18 inch option wheels and runflats running 205/40 tyres, giving very little sidewall. On super smooth roads, this is no problem, but on poor road surfaces there is too much tyre noise. I think both the wheel size and the runflats (which run at 45psi) compound each other in that. Having spoken to Mini parts department and some friends who have a Cooper S on 17’s with standard tyres, we’ve decided to go down to 17’s and eventually to non run flats. I say eventually, as to buy 4 wheels, plus the pressure sensors off Mini is £1,400. Then you’ve got to buy tyres and fit them. However, to buy a set of the same wheels with pressure sensors and winter run flats fitted from Mini is £1,200. BMW are up their usual price gouging if you buy the wheels on their own as they are paying you to have the tyres. Bonkers. Second hand sets on eBay are only about £100 less. So, I’ve ordered a new set direct off MINI, to arrive next week. Then, once the winters have done this season, we can think about a switch to non run flats.
Do I therefore recommend a MINI JCW to one and all? Undoubtedly so, with one caveat. I'd also drive a Cooper S and see if you wanted to pay the extra for the JCW. Having looked when were in buying mode, it seems to me that second hand it is really hard to find a Cooper S that has a full spec in a good colour combo. Second hand the S / JCW price difference has narrowed, which makes a JCW (on 17's) a good second hand buy. If I was buying new, I think seriously whether to get a JCW or spec a Cooper S exactly as I wanted it and take the small performance reduction. It's be a tough call.
Yes, it’s a cliché but MINIs do feel a quality item. And driving one for over a year has only reinforced that feeling for me. The price premium you pay over and above other smaller cars feels worth it. And having driven a One, a Cooper S and our JCW, I think that holds across the range.
With 231hp it is plenty quick enough (0-62 in 6.1 secs per the spec sheet) and the 8 speed auto shifts seamlessly or can be paddled easily for a quicker punch. Like just about every other auto box I’ve used, the Sport setting is silly. It just seems to hold a gear three lower than D all the time and do little else of use. As it is a JCW, there is also the three mode Sport, Normal, Green switch. Sport makes the throttle much sharper – too sharp for normal pootling about. Normal is, well, normal. Green is OK if you just want to cruise on a motorway or A road, but slows acceleration so much that you can’t really use it in day to day driving. Frankly, D, Normal and the paddles when wanted are all you really need.
Fuel wise, I’ve not done a proper test, but the OBC shows 40mpg over the past 3000 miles. I suspect if you drive everywhere like you stole it, in Sport mode, it would be a fair bit lower.
The second cliché about MINIs (and Minis of course) is that they feel like go karts. This one is also true in so much that you feel low down, the suspension is on the firmer side, they corner brilliantly (with some torque feedback if pushing on), but I’ve never been in a go kart (or Mini as opposed to MINI...) that I feel so comfortable in. The lounge leather sports seats we have are excellent (subject to the adjustment issue below). I’d go so far as to say that they are as comfortable as the Jag ones. The steering wheel is lovely to hold, the right size and in just the right place, so I can’t fault the driving position. Since having it in the XFR, I really like black roof linings and so I’m glad the JCW has it as standard. It suits the sporty feel of the cabin. On the move, a small car, in theory, has no right to feel so well planted and mile-munching at “motorway speeds”, but this one does.
The money we spent on the LED spotlights was well spent. They look cool and with them on, main beam is daylight creating. And dip is pretty good. The lights are better than those in the Jag (2011 bi-xenons) and so if I’ve got to go somewhere in the dark, I’d always take the Mini just for the extra light on unlit roads.
This is the first car I’ve had with Apple car play. The standard satnav and interface is pretty good and has both an iDrive like controller or touch screen input. With Carplay I’ve used google maps and listened to music off my phone. This works well, but you do need the volume up quite a bit higher then say DAB radio as carplay is wireless connect. If you plug the phone into the USB, carplay still uses wireless to connect.
Overall, the car has met the expectations I had for it. It is fun and fast when wanted, yet luxurious enough and FG'd enough to feel special every time you drive it. Is it all just great then? Well, there are some things that could be improved.
The tacho is a small add on to the side of the speedo. It’s hard to read and I rarely look at it. The speedo has a nice big digital speed reading at the bottom. A pair of smaller round instruments would look better and still get all the information in. Instead it looks like the full range will adopt the same digital dash as the PHEV Countryman in the future.
Can Mini (and I think still BMW?) finally realise that the infinitely adjustable seat back was invented many years ago and is a way superior system to the “lift really hard to reach while sitting in the seat lever and try and move your back just enough to make the seat move either way one big-ratchet notch” system that persists in the Mini. Electric memory seats are not an option on a Mini. If they were, they’d be worth the expense. Luckily, I’ve found a decent seat back position and Mrs PG just moves the seat forward, so we’re OK and as said above, the seats are really comfortable in use. Just don’t be adjusting them!
It’s a perfectly adequate system, but the XFR hi-fi has spoiled me. When they specced the demo car we bought, I wish they’d not ticked the 18’s box but ticked the Harmon Kardon hi-fi box instead. Much better use of cash.
The car had its first service at two years old. At that service, they put a new cover on the driver's seat back. The bolster was wearing which I said was unacceptable on a two year old car. To give MINI Shrewsbury credit, they didn't argue and just changed it.
Finally, road noise. We’ve got the 18 inch option wheels and runflats running 205/40 tyres, giving very little sidewall. On super smooth roads, this is no problem, but on poor road surfaces there is too much tyre noise. I think both the wheel size and the runflats (which run at 45psi) compound each other in that. Having spoken to Mini parts department and some friends who have a Cooper S on 17’s with standard tyres, we’ve decided to go down to 17’s and eventually to non run flats. I say eventually, as to buy 4 wheels, plus the pressure sensors off Mini is £1,400. Then you’ve got to buy tyres and fit them. However, to buy a set of the same wheels with pressure sensors and winter run flats fitted from Mini is £1,200. BMW are up their usual price gouging if you buy the wheels on their own as they are paying you to have the tyres. Bonkers. Second hand sets on eBay are only about £100 less. So, I’ve ordered a new set direct off MINI, to arrive next week. Then, once the winters have done this season, we can think about a switch to non run flats.
Do I therefore recommend a MINI JCW to one and all? Undoubtedly so, with one caveat. I'd also drive a Cooper S and see if you wanted to pay the extra for the JCW. Having looked when were in buying mode, it seems to me that second hand it is really hard to find a Cooper S that has a full spec in a good colour combo. Second hand the S / JCW price difference has narrowed, which makes a JCW (on 17's) a good second hand buy. If I was buying new, I think seriously whether to get a JCW or spec a Cooper S exactly as I wanted it and take the small performance reduction. It's be a tough call.
