had a 08 EvoX silver, it got stolen, then I bought a 09 MCS, traded that for another 2010 EvoX Sunglow Orange!!!! beautiful color, got rid of that, now I own a fabulous 2013 JCW hard top loaded pepper white, red roof and mirrors!!!!! the only thing missing is the ecu flash for the rear fog light!!!!!!happier than a pig in ****!!! JCW ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!

 

I agree with most of the previous comments on this thread- I too have driven other higher end/powered cars... I am new JCW R55 owner and it replaced my fullsize L322 Range Rover HSE as my daily driver. I looked at AWD cars first- WRX STi, EVO, 996 911 C4S, 335xi, Countryman- then a few other SUV's older Defender D90, H1, G500, another Range Rover and eventually smaller, 2WD cars. I enjoy tuning my cars and when I saw pictures and videos of tuned Mini's, It was over.. I knew I wanted a Mini just not sure which model. I will not compare it to any other cars that I have owned/driven other than to say that it drives great- has a great owner community and really is a blast to drive. I recommend driving one at the very least. Mini dealerships are offering great incentives- you might want to see about keeping your AMG and picking up a Mini in addition to not in place of, your car. good luck and have fun.

 

This thread is a little old but I thought I'd let you guys know how it turned out. I test drove a Justa and Cooper S this week and was very pleasantly surprised with how much fun they are to drive. I also realized just how much I enjoyed driving with a manual transmission and I missed it after having the automatic AMG.

After both test drives I saw a little red JCW in the back of the dealership and asked about it. It turns out it was just traded in on a new GP and they had just gotten it through detail. They hadn't even put it out on the lot yet. I knew I needed to give it a test drive and I'm glad I did. It felt like a Cooper S turned up to 11.

I traded the AMG in for the JCW. It's a used 2013 factory JCW with about 26k miles on it. Previous owner was a medical sales rep who drives all over the state so he put quite a few miles on it in the 5 months he had it. The car came with extended warranty and extended maintenance through 6 years/100k miles. The price was great and it had the options I wanted so I couldn't say no. I will miss the big V8 and the convertible top of the AMG, but I'm having a lot of fun with the new toy. The cost to keep it on the road will be a whole lot cheaper too

Thanks again for everyone's input. I'm sure I will be on these forums more frequently now that I'm officially an owner. I'm going to enjoy the car as is for a while, but eventually the modding will begin. I don't have many pictures of the car yet but here is a quick snap of her for you guys.

 

Congrats on getting a very nice looking JCW!

 

Great looking ride you have taken into the stable, the one mod I strongly suggest if your a driver who enjoys having max fun is a rear sway bar, nearly all will impact the fun factor without any or little ride quality change yet huge gains in cornering allowing much more fun as well as predictability at the limits. Enjoy and your list of mods will slowly grow even if you don't plan to make the mods anytime soon, I believe you have the N-18 engine with the 2013 model which has little tuning so far, maybe none as of yet, but time will defeat all, one way or another. Great ride with economy and fun found nearly In no other cars, especially in a JCW!!!

Enjoy the ride and Tint those windows!!!

 

Mini___Me, very nice JCW. I lust for a GP, but not sure I could bring myself to drop $40K+ on one considering other preowned options by BMW, Porsche or even much less for a FR-S/BRZ.

As someone mentioned, a more aggressive RSB would be fun, but make no mistake, your new ride is still extremely predictable and capable at the limit. A RSB would be nice for more rotation and a little less understeer. A link to a video of one of my recent DEs is below. Reeling in and passing many variants of modern Porsche in my "pedestrian"/"cute", etc MINI was very satisfying and the drivers were very impressed at what it could do. Have fun!

 

Watching the video's is growing the urge to get back to the track soon!!

 

Just do it!

 

I'm anxious to hear what your thoughts are after you get some drive time under your belt. I've got a 2007 E550 Merc which isn't the most nimble car but has plenty of power. I miss having a smaller car and have wondered about the "get up and go" of the JCW. I've got a MCS on order for my wife but that won't be here for another month or so. I figure I'll know a bit more once hers finally arrives. That is of course, if she lets me drive it...

 

I traded a 444hp Mustang Boss 302 for my new JCW Hardtop automatic. I was diagnosed with MS in February and had to stop driving a manual transmission. The Ford was very fast but I do prefer commuting in my MINI. It's our 6th MINI purchase and I believe it's the best of the brand.

 

I went from a 2001 Porsche 911 twin turbo to a 2006 MINI GP. Good move

GP1257.

 

I have a 650rwhp Ford GT, 715rwhp GT500 and 450bhp Cobra and, honestly, I have just as much fun in the bone stock JCW we have. We had a 2009 JCW and sold it. I missed it and bought a 2013 JCW convertible. Remember that it is more fun to drive a slow(er) car fast than to drive a fast car slow. If someone is a true enthusiast and not of the "look at me I'm a pony" variety, they would have to try really hard not to be seriously entertained by the JCW.

 

I let go of a 2006 Subaru WRX STI for my JCW. Don't miss it a bit. For a usable quick car, the JCW is so much better IMO.

 

Yeah well I have a 2007 Nismo #0140 and a 2009 R56 JCW and let me tell you that for a stock car it is quick... Love the JCW, but nothing compares to RWD car I just wish mini could make an AWD Hardtop JCW. Then it would be a complete all around racer.

 

I had an 06 EVO 9 MR That had around 425 hp and when she got totaled I thought I downgraded to the cooper; but in reality I have just as much if not more fun with this car. It really is more enjoyable to drive a "slower" car fast.

 

I had a BMW M3 witch I love but I decided that was time for a change
when I bought my BMW Z8 , I have to say that it was a great car and I felt
sorry to let it go .
I used the car daily and I did not have major problems but one day when I had some work done on my car I got a Mini Cooper S as a car loaner and I
have to say that was love at first site.
I never had so much fun with a car that with my Mini.

 

Pretty much my story, went from 2012 E92 M3 to 2013 MCS hardtop. Damn these cars a are fun! Im also at high altitude and the M3 was anemic on the street in comparison.

How do you like the tuning kit, worth it? I'm considering it as well and thinking it would be a good match for my fJCW appearance kit.

 

I went from Nismo 350z turbo to JCW Coup. The fun factor of the JCW far out weighs the raw power of the Nismo. absolutely no regrets here.

 

Yup. I have. Just sold my 2011 E92 M3 three weeks ago and got a new jcw coupe this week. And I'm enjoying it so much. I notice its not about how much power but how much fun your having in my opinion. I've own 3 M3s, two camaros SS and a lotus exige. I also had a Mini Cooper s. In all honesty I had more fun with my hatch at the track and street. Easy to drive and fun at the track. Not the fastest but more enjoyable. So I had to get the jcw coupe, love it since the first time the concept came out and now that I own one, I'm really enjoying mine.

 

Yeah, I have a 2005 Lotus Elise for weekends and I bought a 2010 JCW for the rest. Turns out the JCW is every bit as fun as the Lotus and alot more comfortable. As far as speed goes, I can see out of the JCW better than the Lotus so I can drive faster and safer on city streets.

In L.A., I can keep up with any high powered car on a twisty road in the JCW. You can only go about 60 miles an hour tops around L.A. most of the time, so it's a blast to get from one place to another really, really quickly.

BMW went all out on the 2010 JCW. The interior in the JCW is really nice, first rate, and almost all of the BMW touches are there.

And there is alot of room in the car to carry things.

Gas mileage is good, the car is a blast.

By the way, most Mini's have black rubber around the outside of the wheel wells. I ordered mine painted the same Chili Red as the rest of the car.

THAT looks fantastic.

 

Pics please.

 

Yeah, pics ! And I'm guessing the factory didn't paint the wheel trim, the dealership had them sent off for painting (??).

 

Get yourself a JCW of your desire and drive it a bit or I dare you to go for a ride in ones that are no stock and tuned a bit, they will blow your mind at how fun yet still efficient these little coopers can be, few cars handle and stop as well as our little Works Coopers, the fun factor never goes away as higher powered RWD cars have few places to enjoy them, a Mini JCW can be enjoyed going to the corner store for milk!!! Seriously it's fun like No other car.

Waiting for the Pics of the painted wheel arches.....

 

I have a 2005 Maserati GT Coupe in the carage and have owned many high performance cars and the MINI is simply amazing. People ask why I do not track my Maserati. My standard answer is "I don't want her getting passed my a MINI. It like telling a super modle she is fat. They will never be the same again". Interesting about the Lotus as I had been looking at an Exige. The only car I see as an option would be a new Cayman S. Then you give up the ability to carry gear or people. I can get everything needed for a race weekend in the MINI. Tools, gear, 4 racing tires and rims, etc. Every other car requires a truck and trailer to get you there. I have both but when I go racing I do not want to tow.

Just did a 19 hour run from PHX to Seattle all on 2 lane roads. Shaved an hour and 20 minutes of my previous best. Remote 2 lanes helped as did the new Escort Redline Detector used this trip. MapQuest and GPS both say 24 to 25 hours. My time included 4 stops fuel, pee and I had sandwhiches and cooler up front. I thought about what would be needed to make even better time. More speed and top end was all I could think of. Really. never going to happen. If I where in the Maserati at those speeds she would be on the pipe and loud. Ripping by people would only make them mad and they would be on the cell phone calling you in. No one is eager to call in a MINI just blew my doors off. My street set up is my wet day track set up so it is just way to much fun to drive. Wife is not crazy to drive it set up this agressive which is perfect. She has her Turbo Bug.

 

Here's my daily driver (my weekend driver is my 2005 Lotus Elise). It's a Chili Red 2010 John Cooper Works Mini with factory paint instead of the black rubber around the wheel wells.