2014 MINI Cooper Coupe John Cooper Works John Cooper Works 2dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
Review
This is a fantastic fun car. You can enjoy it in the city, on the open road and on the track. The car is small, quick and most importantly to me, unique. I get people talking to me all the time about it. They think it is a hard top convertible. The good points first: It is uniquely styled, quick at 208hp and fun to drive anywhere. The space is absolutely brilliant. The Coupe is the same body as the 4-seat standard Mini but the back seats are gone and the roof is chopped. What you get is a trunk as big as a small SUV. I know, I have two SUV's. This is great for extended road trips and there is a hatch you can reach through to the trunk. I have put a cooler there at times, lol. On the track the car is amazing, especially for FWD and short wheelbase. It can get jumpy on hard breaking into a turn but you can roar out. Just keep it straight and steady. On autocross it totally sucks. There is too much pedal lag and I have the automatic. Autocross is hard off and on acceleration and breaking. You need the stick and will probably be all right. Also, the suspension is firm. Because I know Mini's I got standard suspension. You don't need sport. I do track with standard and it's fine. Sport will break your teeth. The minuses are the automatic pedal lag and very limited vision. I expect that in a chop top coupe but you may not. Small convertibles and hard tops like this always have limited vision. It is big fun in a small car. I believe this car will be one of the most collectible Mini's as they ran it only three years in the hard top. I also put winter tires on it (Pirelli Sotozeroes) and it does great in the snow. Perhaps the most cheerful fun car I've owned and I have had a bunch.
2014 MINI Cooper Coupe John Cooper Works John Cooper Works 2dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
Review
I got my JCW Coupe for track work. So far I have done only one autocross and no track days. I got the automatic because I wanted the paddle shifters for great up and downshifts. It takes some practice but the shifts are amazing. Let me do the negatives first. First, with the automatic there is a bad peddle lag. Even if you put it in sport mode it is an automatic. It was terrible at autocross. With more practice, I could handle it but for autocross the manual is the way to go. I think the peddle settings are no different than a standard Mini. Also, the JCW does not come with a sport suspension standard even if you thought you were buying the "M" or "AMG" of Mini's. You need to add that and it can cost a good bit. So, it is not 100% sport.
The rest is all great. Acceleration once you start is excellent, handling is excellent and the standard suspension is great for comfort if you want a daily driver. If you put a sport suspension and oversized wheels it is very very hard. You can buy the JCW suspension for $4k more and it might be the best all purpose suspension. Vision is limited but frankly I expect that is a sportscar or convertible. The styling is so unique many people will point and ask you about it. It is perhaps my favorite thing about the car. It looks aggressive, yet friendly. The trunk is to die for in a two-seater. The reason is that the back seats of a regular Mini have been removed and even though the roof is lowered you have a ton of trunk for a little car. It has a reach through that is handy for longer stuff or reaching back to say a small cooler. It is a great road trip car and can handle decent luggage for two people. The car will fly and corner well and to me your big decisions are three if you are looking at one. 1. Automatic or manual. 2. Tech or minimal tech (adds cost). 3. Suspension, stiffer or softer or premium sport. If you max everything out this car will be in the mid $40s, new. Mini stopped making this model so you will have to be on the used car market. I actually like that as it keeps the car an uncommon model amongst and uncommon car. I like unique. Just drive one and see what you think. All of the coupe and roadsters are great but I think the base model sort of misses out with the low power. It is the sportiest of the lineup and also the smallest of the Mini's.
2014 MINI Cooper Coupe John Cooper Works John Cooper Works 2dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
Review
2014 JCW Coupe with auto transmission. I got this car with track days in mind. I have had about five other Mini's and I wanted the sport, JCW model with paddle shifters for the track and road trips. So, I figured good sporty road trip car and competent track car, kind of like a BMW M.
Best Features
The best things about the car are the styling inside and out. I do not drive boring cars. You will not look like anything else on the road. One of the best things is the trunk. With the rear seats of a regular MINI removed you get an amazing amount of room. Two people with modest to light duffle bag type luggage will have no problem. Compare to any car of similar size like a Miata. The gas mileage is amazing for a peppy sporty car. I got over 40mpg at times in the mountains and pretty much mid to high 30's going to Vegas. Next, the sound system rocks and they finally got much better at sound proofing the Mini, too, although it is not lux sedan quiet.
Worst Features
My biggest disappointment is that the suspension is the same as a standard MINI. You get Brembo's which look cool and stop on a dime but unless you order upgraded and sport suspension items it is the same as a standard hardtop. The pedal is standard, too with near soccer mom delays. I did an autocross with quick accelerations and decelerations and it was always a hair behind. You can get a chip to put behind the pedal but why isn't a JCW retuned for that to start? On a track at speed probably not a problem but I have not done it, yet.