MINI Cooper S JCW: First Drive Review

The John Cooper Works (JCW) edition of the Mini Cooper S is the most powerful Cooper currently on sale in India and it brings with it a few design tweaks and a whole lot more power to help it stand out from the regular car.

At first glance, this hatch is likely to be mistaken for the Cooper S variant, but the small John Cooper Works badge at the back puts this hatch in a different league altogether.

Exteriors

On the outside, the Cooper's design is now much more refined on an evolutionary basis along with the hallmark styling. Some of the main characteristic design features are the -hexagonal radiator grille which has the 'S' badging embedded on it, which, clearly distinguishes it from the standard Cooper.

Moreover, at the front, the car's bonnet is pretty wide and features air ducts and two black stripes, which enhances its sporty look. It also gets an all LED headlight cluster which is surrounded by chrome garnishing. The car also features LED fog lamps along with cornering LED lights which are very effective.

Moving on to the side, the car also features the same 'S' badging on the side indicators which is found on the front grill. At the rear, the car gets an all LED tail light which is again surrounded by chrome highlights.

In fact, the chrome lines run all along the car from the front until the end and give the car an extraordinary look along with its dual tone body color.

Since this Mini Cooper S features the John Cooper Works (JCW) Kit, the car gets the JCW badging on the boot and on the dual exhaust pipes. It also gets 16-inch alloy wheels which provide good grip at high speeds.

The car lacks a rear parking camera but gets the parking sensors which are pretty accurate especially when you want to squeeze into tight places.

The vehicle's length has been increased by 98 millimeters, width by 44 millimeters, height by 7 millimeters. Also, the wheelbase is 28 millimeters longer and larger track width (front + 42 millimeters, rear + 34 millimeters) as compared to the predecessor.

Interiors

Step inside the car and the first thing you will notice is the two sports seats covered in black leather upholstery. Unfortunately, one of the main drawbacks of the seats is that they are not electrically adjustable (completely manual).

At first, the seats feel quite comfortable, but, on long journeys, you might have to take frequent breaks. But, that depends from driver to driver and the duration of the journey.

Now, since the car has only two doors, getting into the rear seats is a bit of a task. For that to happen, the front seats have to be folded which allows for enough space for passengers to clamber in.

Once you are in and the front seats are folded back, tall passengers will not be able to sit comfortably as it lacks legroom. Both the rear seats feature ISOFIX anchors for child seats.

The car also features an 8.8 inch TFT display which helps you operate the - navigation, entertainment, telephone and vehicle functions using the Mini Controller. The controller is located under the center armrest.

The Minic Cooper S JCW also gets dual climate control and the start/stop button at the centre of the toggle switch bar on the center console. It also gets seat heating for the driver and front passenger seat, panoramic sunroof, rain sensors and automatic light control.

Just in front of the steering wheel, the driver gets a heads-up display which pops in and out with the help of a toggle switch near the start button. The Cooper S is equipped with a 9 speaker Harman/Kardon infotainment system that sounds really mesmerising.

The rear seats have a 60:40 split ratio which is not only foldable but, it's tilt angle can be adjusted too. You also get numerous cup holders and storage facilities such as - an additional storage compartment behind the decorative strip on the passenger side, a storage pack, 5 cup holders, nets for the luggage compartment and much more.

Power and handling

Under the bonnet of the Cooper S is a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder, twin power turbo petrol engine. The engine produces 212bhp of power and 320Nm of peak torque.

The hike in the power compared to regular Cooper S is due to a remapped ECU, an upgraded air filter, and an exhaust kit which has a butterfly valve that opens up one of the exhaust pipes which is kept shut otherwise.

The exhaust setup is controlled by a remote. By pressing the button twice on the remote, the butterfly valve in one of the exhausts opens and the beast becomes even beastlier.

This power is transmitted to the front wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission. The JCW Cooper S will catapult itself from 0 – 100 km/h in just 5.8 seconds, which, is around a second faster than the standard Cooper S.

The car offers three driving modes - Green, MID, and Sport. You get the maximum fuel efficiency while you drive in Green and once you shift to the sport you will experience the maximum go-kart feel as the throttle response becomes super crisp.

The Mini Cooper S JCW can go all the way up to the 235 km/h mark. At that high speed, the big 16-inch alloy wheels provide enough grip and traction to the car to keep it stable. Safety features onboard include ABS, traction control, ESP, and airbags.

Promeet Ghosh Thinks!

The Mini Cooper S JCW carries a price tag of INR. 34,10,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). You end up paying a couple of lakhs more on the JCW variant than the standard Cooper S, but, in return what you get, will leave a smile on your face at the end of the day.

If someone has the money to spare and wants to buy a performance hatchback with comfort and along with all the latest technologies, the Mini Cooper S JCW will have a perfect place in their garage.