MINI JCW CONVERTIBLE
John pulls on a new crop-top
MINI’S latest addition to its stove-hot John Cooper Works range is a classic case of two steps forward and one step back. Hugely improved interior with more standard equipment than ever: a profound step forward.
Grunty 2.0-litre with proper hot-hatch performance and respectable 170kw/320nm numbers: another forward stride.
More approachable handling: now we’re going backwards.
The JCW hallmark of agile, sometimes spiky handling set the previous-generation Convertible apart from most other fashionable drop-tops. Its go-kartish chassis would slap a broad smile on any driving enthusiast. A secretary’s car it was not.
But in the search for more sales, Mini has naturally endeavoured to make its topless range-topper a little more civilised. So it’s not bone-rattlingly firm anymore, and the steering is no longer as tactile and involving as it once was.
Don’t get me wrong, the JCW Convertible is still a pointy and precise little thing and it’s still got an entertaining and sometimes tail-happy chassis; it’s just that it might not satisfy the keener drivers out there in the same way its predecessor did.
Having said that, keen drivers are not expected to be this car’s core demographic. Those punters are better served by the cheaper, lighter and fiestier JCW hatch.
But if you want to be seen, the JCW Convertible makes for appealing topless transport. It may have slightly less zing to the steering, but there’s a more powerful and torque-laden 2.0 turbo up front that’s less stressed around town than the previousgen JCW drop-top, and more driveable as a result.
It’s also a joy to push the engine hard. It’s responsive at seemingly any point in its rev range, with peak torque occurring from 1250- 4800rpm before power apexes between 5200 and 6000rpm. It’ll happily rev right to its 6500rpm redline, all while emitting a rousing turbo four-pot soundtrack punctuated by plenty of pops and crackles from its twin tailpipes on the over-run.
And, thanks to the folding roof, that soundtrack is more audible – and thus more enjoyable – than it is in the hatch.
Like the hatch, the JCW Convertible also gains dual-mode adjustable dampers. They’re firm in either setting, but at their slackest they’re at least a lot more pliant than the rock-hard non-adjustable suspension of the previous R57 version.
And the interior not only boasts ts more equipment – Mini somehoww managed to jam a head-up display ay and 12-speaker sound system in there – it also has space for four and a bigger boot than before. A few more steps forward, then.