Well this has been a long time coming.
I have wait since April for this car and I am really happy with it. I'm so glad I did not buy a VW Golf R....because this car rocks!
As most of you know I have a problematic 2014 MCS. It was nice and refined but never quite did it for me.
The new JCW is a better car in every way. Firstly they have made some improvements since 2014. Better NAV, better HK stereo (not sure what they did but I'm not feeling that I have to rip it out and install my own!), better screen resolution (you know when you get a new pair of glasses and for the first time you can actually see...like that).
Now the obvious: better brakes (owe hell yeah!), more power and torque, great sound with the ASD bypassed (and coded out just incase), looks better - well people check it our for sure, better seats - I love these and so does my wife.
I have done a few things. the big work will start soon...but so far spacers and NM rear sway bar and car is not even run in yet!
Thanks to all of you who have supported me through this often depressing and confusing last 6 months. MINI Canada did drop the ball but it all worked out because I ended up with a better car because of it!
These are phone photos - will post better ones tomorrow.

 

Really happy that you finally got your car!

 

Whoo hoo! All the waiting paid off!

 

Awesome! Smart move buying a JCW Manual! I waited a long time for mine & like you "it was worth it!" I keep looking for reasons to go somewhere! LOL! The rest of the time I enjoy looking at it in the garage! Makes me smile either way.

Enjoy,

John

 

Congratulations on everything finally coming to fruition!

 

Nice car and congratulations. I am curious if you could expand on your comment about not buying the Golf R?
I am in a unique situation and the new JCW has me questioning my current plan.
My biggest question is related to what you think of the front wheel drive versus the all wheel drive of the R? I assume the new JCW is FWD.
I have liked MINI's for a long time but my job always required a larger vehicle, well I have a new job now and it's not as important.
For the past two years I drove a Ford Focus ST and really liked it, I liked it so much I have a new 2016 Ford Focus RS on order. 350hp/350tq and all wheel drive. I sold my ST privately much quicker than I thought it would sell, due to losing too much on trade in. So until my RS arrives in the "Spring" I have taken over a MINI lease for the next 6 months. It's not a model I would have bought for myself, but it's still a fun car. It's a 2013 hardtop S with an automatic, this is my first auto in over 5 years.

I am not trying to hijack your thread but really curious on the thoughts compared to the R, since that is one of the RS's biggest rivals. And my local MINI dealer has a new JCW with an automatic in stock and i am going to take that for a test drive this weekend.

Thanks

 

JCW
Do you want a great all around car that is fun? do you want to smile every time you drive it? better than average resale? can handle having quirks.Mini dealers can be great or not so great and are not on every corner like ford. I am lucky Mini of Orlando is great for warranty and service.


Focus RS
Do you want biggest bang for the buck in performance ? if production is limited resale will be strong, if production is not limited depreciation will have similar % drop as the st. ford dealers for service so no expresso or sandwich bars.


Golf R
Do you want to deal with Vw service and warranty? Dealers are not on every corner and some are very unprofitable because of the current situation with the epa issue, many stop sales are in effect that have caused a lack of inventory of models that can be legally sold and since vw-na is such a small % of sales for vw all production has been targeted for high volume markets where vw dominates. Things will not get better for any of the us vw dealerbody for at least 1 year so many dealers will fail and dealer count will go down. resale should fall between Focus and Cooper. Great aftermarket support for tuning.

 

nice!

 

Here's the thing.

Back in '98 I bought a to of the line Audi A4 2.8 quatro. It was a great car but when I was visiting Australia and drove in my mates 1.8 4 cylinder I realised I had made a mistake. The smaller engine was more fun and way more "boy racer". In my car you had to be driving really fast to have any sensation of speed....it was too refined for me!
VW Golf R, Audi S4 fast and slick. More practical than a Mini? Yes! Faster than a Mini? Oh yes. Better on a trip? Yes. Are these cars for Boy racers? No....to adult. Do they put a smile on your face every time you drive them. No....They are more like 120mph with classical music playing lightly in the background kinda cars. Great for trips on the European Motorways.
As far as fwd vs awd of course the awd can put the power down better. ...but that's not what the JCW is about.....

 

dulicate