MINI COUNTRYMAN JOHN COOPER WORKS ALL4
Extra firepower for the cross-country ski set
Ticket to a fast-paced lifestyle
THE MINI Countryman JCW is an odd thing. It’s a small SUV from a brand that continues to cash in on the iconic imagery and racing history of the pint-sized ’60s ‘brick’. Yet despite the ham-fisted historical and visual cliches, this range-topping John Cooper Works version of the newgen Countryman is a neat package that treads the line between tuned performance and everyday useability with finesse.
The JCW handiwork brings with it a more powerful engine for the Countryman, with an improved cooling package and upgraded four-piston Brembo front brakes, along with reworked styling and a sportified cabin filled to its sweatband with equipment (as you’d hope for $ 57,900).
Powered by the same 170kw 2.0-litre turbo as the regular Mini JCW, but with an extra 30Nm thrown in (for 350Nm), the Countryman JCW disguises its additional 335kg in the sprint to 100km/h via an on-demand allwheel-drive system and standard eight-speed auto (a six-speed manual is a no-cost option). Mini claims the Countryman JCW is just 0.4sec adrift of its much smaller front-drive auto sibling.
The engine is a gutsy unit and delivers its power in a smooth, linear fashion, although it starts to run out of puff beyond 6000rpm. Acceleration is energetic without being anti-social, and the flourishes of turbo whistle and exhaust crackle convey a lighthearted character (even if it’s a bit too muffled in the cabin).
While Mini purists will opt for a manual, nine out of 10 Countryman JCW buyers will stick with the automatic. It’s an intuitive unit that neatly syncs with your driving demands. Ratios are swapped surreptitiously, and the two extra cogs over the manual means the JCW auto is a strong performer on a spirited strafe.
The adaptive dampers – standard on Countryman JCW – give drivers the best of both worlds. In ‘normal’ the damping ng is still firm, but capably handles es Aussie surfaces. In ‘sport’, ride is sacrificed for cornering ability as bumps and imperfections make their way through to the cabin. But there is little in the way of bodyroll and the Countryman JCW All4 hangs on well for a tall, tubby thing weighing 1555kg.
Its steering, however, lacks the necessary feel to truly round out the package. There is good weight to the wheel in both drive modes, but there is a disconnect at times. You sense the Countryman’s dynamic limit with the seat of your pants, not necessarily by what is transmitted through the wheel.
Yet this JCW version brings some much-needed edge to the new-gen Countryman. And until Audi introduces a hotter Q2, it has the market all to itself.