When I was growing up in the North of England in the 90’s lots of people bought Minis for a couple of hundred quid, spent time tinkering with them in the garage, got them road worthy, then passed their driving test first time and took their girlfriend out on a date in said Mini and had a great old time.
Not me, I had a few problems with that scenario – firstly I didn’t have a couple of hundred quid to spare. I also didn’t have any room in my Dad’s garage, nor did I have the engineering knowledge to get the thing roadworthy. Finally, I didn’t pass my driving test first time – I did have a girlfriend, but I could catch a bus to her place.
Anyway, two paragraphs later, I realise the point I was making was that when I was growing up… Minis were really popular. Fast forward a few years (No, I’m not saying how many a few is) and Minis are a whole new standard. I’d seen them cruising around the streets, but never truly appreciated how good they were. That was until I took delivery of the Mini JCW Convertible.
Three words… WHAT A CAR! First impressions really count with cars, and that was genuinely my first impression. Everything about the car looked good, as well as having its own unique look. The interior for starters was really cool, the speakers for the audio system are top quality Harman Kardon gear. If you don’t know much about that brand, take a look at our review of some of their super cool speakers right here.
To give you some background on the John Cooper Works (or JCW as you’ll notice we’ve called it earlier). This is the premium upgrade for the Mini range, and in this model, the 170KW of power makes this the most powerful Mini soft top ever. How good is that!
The control panel for all the audio, sat nav and phone looks really cool too. It’s unlike anything you’ll find in any other cars. With its size and shape there is a worry that it would look tacky, but far from it, it’s cool and works really well in this car.
If you’ve read any other reviews here on Dads Stuff, you’ll know that the space for drivers is a key thing for me. I’m 6”2 and if the leg room isn’t satisfactory then you’ll read about it. Mini, in its name alone suggests that the legroom might not work for me. In correct, I fit. So that’s all I’m going to say about that! One thing I did have to mention was the head up display of the speed… which was tricky to see just because of my height in the seat. But you can switch that off, so problem solved.
Speaking of seat… child seats. I always test how easy it is to get one in and whether there’s enough space. In the Mini, despite it being a convertible, this was relatively easy and the space was good too. Granted there wasn’t as much room for our little man’s leg, but let’s not forget, this is a Mini, not a Rolls Royce. We did have to do a journey to a kid’s party so we thought we’d do the ultimate test and try another child seat in the back. Did it fit? It sure did, and here’s the photographic evidence!
Moving on to the car itself, and this thing is a beast. It’s zippy, it’s great around the corners, and it’s quick of the mark. This is all in just its basic drive mode too. Switch it into Sports mode and WOW. It describes it as ‘go kart’ like and it’s not wrong. You feel like the car is glued to the road, and its acceleration is a thing of beauty. I’m a sucker for a good sounding engine too, and this one is beautiful. Sport Mode really emphasises this engine noise to – with cracks, growls and spits all turning heads when you put your foot down.
This being the first convertible we’ve reviewed I thought it was important to mention how easy or difficult it is to bring the roof down and then back up. In the Mini JCW it was pretty straightforward… one button, hold it down or up and away you go.
One more thing, the key, it’s cool, it looks cool and it feels cool. It’s just cool.
Talking of cool, the ignition switch and those around it, they’re pretty cool too.
Actually, the maps on the sat nav are cool too. Don’t you think?
These little buttons are cool details on the seats as well. Have I said cool enough times?
How much is it going to cost me I hear you shout (metaphorically, not really, obviously) Just a fraction under $55,000 and that’s the same for both the manual and auto options. I’ll take one of each please!
