The original Mini was a fashion statement. It was a car that transcended income and class divisions and its round little cherub face made it an icon. All four members of The Beatles had one. For decades, you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting one in Britain. There was a certain charm to its honesty, a practical car that never set out to be a trendy accessory but became one anyway. The 2022 Mini Cooper JCW (John Cooper Works) is also a fashion statement but in a very different way from the original.
The 2022 Mini Cooper JCW is certainly fashionable. Its round headlights hearken back to the 1959 original and its racy hood stripes and contrasting red roof give it a certain retro sporting flavour. The base Cooper starts at $31,090 in Canada and the JCW performance variant like our tester starts at $45,590. Our test car had a few options like the $1,000 Rebel green paint, $200 hood stripes, $200 piano black exterior trim, and $750 premium audio system which brought the as-tested price to $47,190. A high price for high style.
For that money, buyers get the sportiest Mini currently on sale with a turbocharged 2.0L, 228 hp, I4 engine making 236 lb-ft of torque. These aren’t gargantuan figures but the Mini JCW weighs just 1,339 kg (2,951 lbs) which makes it a featherweight compared to the competition. Without much mass to contend with, the JCW scoots to 100 km/h in just 6.1 seconds on its way to a top speed of over 240 km/h giving it the highest top speed of any Mini ever, even the racy GP variants.
The JCW is nominally available with an automatic transmission as a no-cost option but to do so would be folly. The six-speed manual is a joy to click through the gears and is the centrepiece of the driving experience. Not all manuals are worthwhile but this one very much is. The shifter is much longer than the stubby levers found in most other offerings. This makes the shifts feel satisfying and involving. The six ratios are closely spaced and pair well with the engine’s rev range and power band. It’s simply a joy to ride the turbo torque from one gear to the next over and over.
Driving the Mini, in general, is an absolute joy. It feels an order of magnitude smaller than cars like the Golf which outweigh it handily. A GTI weighs 74 kg more than this car and an AWD Golf R weighs a full 211 kg more. The Mini offers a lightweight driving experience which is rare today in a world of hefty hatchbacks. The Mini seems to just skim along the pavement, playful as a puppy.
There’s a lot to like inside, as well. The round, central tachometer of old is gone, replaced with a more modern rectangular digital display. The gauges move with the wheel which is clever but no matter how I adjusted it, the view of the top of the gauges was obstructed by the steering wheel for me. The chunky wheel is well-shaped and comfy to hold. The aluminum surboard-esque pedals are a classy touch and there are highlighted bits of chrome throughout the interior to add a touch of class. Fit and finish is excellent but the material quality isn’t quite there for a vehicle costing over $45,000.
My largest gripe with the interior is the cupholders. To be fair, there are three of them; two ahead of the shifter, and one behind the foldable centre armrest, but each one of them is a little flawed. Both forward cupholders are in the path of anyone’s right hand making a shift to either first or fifth gear. Knuckles will collide with whatever you happen to have there — hopefully, nothing will spill. The rear cupholder doesn’t interfere with shifting but if you raise the armrest to have better access to the shifter, you essentially wall off the cupholder back there. That said, the Mini has a pretty cozy interior and that designers have found space for three cupholders at all is impressive.
Otherwise, the Mini interior impresses. Like the exterior of the car, the interior is highly customizeable via the option sheet and this allows each Mini to meld to the tastes of the buyer. For example the JCW interior can be trimmed in cloth, leatherette, or one of five different leather combinations! Our test car had the optional $2,250 leather/cloth contrasting interior.
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The seats themselves are very comfortable but the ergonomics are a bit odd. It’s not bad per-se but the controls don’t fall to hand where you expect them to. I suspect this is because the fashionable retro silhouette of the Mini has forced the interior to be shaped in a rather odd way for a modern car. Make sure to get a good test-sit in one of these before buying.
Other concessions to size and style? Well, the back seats are useable for children or short trips but getting in and out of them is a bit of a trick. The cargo area is also pretty puny unless you put the rear seats down. With the rears down you have a pretty decent amount of cargo space, but it is a bit oddly shaped.
The original Mini was a fashion statement because it so clearly did not yield to the whims of fashion. Its fashion was its function. Today’s Mini is just as fabulously fashionable but it does give up some practicality to look the way it does. But being cool is rarely easy and if you can put up with the funky ergonomics, and compromised cupholders, the Mini rewards with a driving experience that few cars in the price segment can match. The Mini JCW is just plain fun.
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