MINI CLUBMAN JOHN COOPER WORKS
MINI CLUBMAN JOHN COOPER WORKS
MINI SA RECENTLY LAUNCHED A SLIGHTLY REVITALISED VERSION OF ITS COOPER CLUBMAN RANGE THAT IS ALSO HEADLINED BY THE JCW (JOHN COOPER WORKS) VERSION OF THE CLUBMAN. LERATO MATEBESE TRAVELLED TO MPUMALANGA TO ASSESS THE LATEST MODEL RANGE.
The ever-cheerful brand that is Mini continues to pander to the young. Or rather the young-at-heart, because to be frank, the brand has grown in stature not only as a brand, but the vehicles themselves and their respective sticker price. That said, the brand still offers a decidedly rewarding driving experience and a quirky cabin design that you either love or loathe. Personally, I lean more towards the former.
Now the Clubman range, my favourite body style of the lot, has been given the mildest of updates that includes new headlight innards, grille, lower valance and re-sculptured bonnet.The rear now boasts the Union Jack-inspired LED tail lamps. Though subtle, these updates are effective enough to elevate the model’s contemporary disposition.
THE JCW VERSION
The headlining performance models of both the Clubman and Countryman JCW variants that we drove at the models’ launch in Mpumalanga are the most powerful yet.They boast
a 2-litre turbocharged engine that musters 225 kW and 450 Nm – a significant 55 kW hike in power compared to the outgoing model.
For a vehicle that wasn’t lacking in performance to begin with, this is a considerable uptick in power, giving the latest JCW models enough clout to punch well above their weight. In fact, judging by those numbers, the British marque seems to have the Volkswagen Golf R and the imminent T-Roc R in its crosshairs.
BITE TO MATCH THE BARK
At the models’ launch in Mpumalanga, it was the Clubman model of the JCW variant that I sampled extensively and put through its respective paces. The new powerplant certainly delivers on the performance front – so much so, that the steering wheel almost buckles in your hands as you boot the throttle. Thanks to the ALL4 all-wheel drive, power is distributed to the rear axle as soon as the front wheels dictate any purchase issues, lending the vehicle prodigious grip out of bends.
This was particularly prudent while scything through the ribbon of road that is the Panorama Route.You can take liberties with this vehicle – point it towards an apex and it happily plays tugging corners. Push to the fringes of the grip envelope, and there’s a slight tyre squeal before the front of the vehicle goes into a gentle understeer. That said, the adhesion levels remain lofty and the JCW remains a forgiving vehicle, particularly now with the standard all-wheel-drive system.There’s also a quaint exhaust bark to go with its sharper teeth, which adds another layer of enjoyment to the performance cocktail.
FINAL SAY
The Mini Clubman JCW offers a relatively more practical package than, say, the Audi S3 Sportback or theVW Golf R, yet still delivers that driver quotient that matters most in this segment. At R642,000, the Mini Clubman JCW manages to slightly undercut its aforementioned rivals by R39,641 and R42,400 respectively, which in the grand scheme of things is neither here nor there.Thus, only the dyed-in-the-wool Mini fanatic will be more than happy to snap up the Clubman JCW. For me, however, it is the Golf R that remains the most compelling package in this segment.