This experiential review is just that - an account of my experience driving the car over 2 days. Obviously the main focus will be on the JCW bits, but I will also comment on my overall impression of the R56 MINI Cooper S, from the point of view of an R53 driver.

MINI2.co.za had the privilege of driving MINI South Africa's R56 JCW demonstration car for a couple of days recently.

 

 

Not only is the car endowed with the JCW engine tuning kit, but extensive cosmetic enhancement was also made by the addition of original JCW accessories to the vehicle.

Exterior JCW Accessories

JCW Aero Kit

At first glance there is no mistaking that this is no ordinary MINI. The JCW Aero kit was applied to the Laser Blue and White MCS. The Aero Kit consists of a new rear bumper with mock diffusers accentuating the sporty nature of the car when viewed from the rear. Up front it has a black chrome grille surround and reshaped bumper, with bigger lower airdam, and large black foglight housings. The bottom lip of the front bumper extends forwards, giving the car a sporty profile when viewed side-on. Interestingly, the new front bumper did not get caught once of pesky speedbumps, where my R53 struggles, and where a standard R56 Cooper S scrapes.

 

18 Inch Wheels

The JCW 18" Double Spoke Composite R109 alloy wheels shod with 205/40 R18 82W RSC Tyres, not only looked fantastic, but also give a much better ride than expected (much more compliant than the 17" wheel / tyre combo on my R53). MINI recommends using Bridgestone tyres - the test car had another brand fitted. To accommodate the 18 inch wheels, a steering angle stop is needed to ensure that the turning circle is adapted for the wheel size, and to prevent the tyre from touching the arches when you turn the wheel lock to lock. The recommended maximum wheel size is 18 inch. I thought these wheels looked fantastic, and rate as my all-time favourite OEM wheel from MINI. 

Being 18's they filled the wheel arches nicely, and balanced out the over-emphasized wheel arches (in my opinion), a lot better than 17 inch wheels do. These wheels make the car feel like you're riding on rails, and give BMW-like feedback through the steering. Somehow the brought out the best in the standard suspension the test car was equipped with, leaving me much more comfortable at speed around corners, compared with a stock Cooper S riding on seventeens. The runflat tyres are matched superbly to the suspension of the car - I didn't wince once (like I do frequently in my R53) when traveling down less-than-optimal road surfaces.

 

JCW Rear Spoiler

The carbon fibre-look rear wing looked over-done, and felt cheap in my opinion. It's construction is extremely flimsy, and unlike the wing of the GP, this only looks like carbon fibre. Closer inspection of the underside revealed it to be plastic. Some folks will love the look of this. I did not.

 

 

JCW Carbon Fibre Hood Scoop and Mirror Caps

I grew to love these. No perfomance gain, but they looked good. My only gripe is that they looked slightly mismatched with the white roof of the car. I think with a black roof, they'd look great.

 

JCW Exhaust Tips

If you thought the bins on the standard Cooper S were large, just wait till you lay eyes on the JCW tips. They are huge! Sporting the JCW logo engraved on the top of each tailpipe tip, and featuring an angled finish, these look, in a word, mean!

 

Standard Exterior Accessories

Vinyl Decals

The car was fitted with MINI#37 style door decals, as well as unique bonnet stripes. Again, a bit much for me. I prefer the classic straight bonnet stipes. The definitely made people look, though - especially the door decals.

 

Sunroof

One of my favourite accessories. The new car's sunroof has a tilt function for both front and rear panes. A new wind deflector makes it much quieter when the roof is fully open at highway speed. A couple of minor gripes are that the shade mechanism is no longer spring-loaded, meaning you have to push it back manually. This does mean the position of the shade is variable and easily adjusted. The other gripe is that the shade itself is made of a different material - felt like vinyl. It is punched with gazillions of closely spaced holes. This often gives an irritating moiré effect which distracts when driving (I found myself wondering if something had just blown in via the sunroof multiple times - something catches the corner of your eye). I resolved this by leaving the shade open.

 

Chili Pack - Exterior

The car was fitted with a Chilli Pack. Exterior enhancements gained are Xenon headlights and Exterior Chrome. Only the chromed boot handle remained of the exterior chrome pack, since both the front and rear bumpers (which ordinary also get chrome inserts when exterior chrome is specified) were replaced. Personally, I felt the chrome boot handle was out of place with all the other exterior carbon fiber bits. Were this my car, I would skip the exterior chrome altogether and have a body coloured boot handle (or a carbon-fiber one). I would definitely specify the Xenon light. The are a revelation! I have not felt this confident driving at night before. The difference over Halogen is even apparent on low beam, with high-beams giving you mind-boggling reach in the dark.

 

Standard Interior Accessories

Chili Pack

Interior additions gained with the Chili Pack over standard items on a Coopers S include Cloth/Leather Seats, or greatly reduced pricing on either of the two full leather options. Our car was specced with Punch leather seats. They were supremely comfortable, with the added benefit of a ventilation effect gained by tiny holes punched into the leather. This keeps you cooler and reduces sweating. The seats are a vast improvement in comfort over long journeys, compared to the previous generation sport seats. Included in the Chili Pack is front passenger seat hight adjustment. Also included is the interior lights package, giving you infinite combinations of interior highlight lighting, as well as footwell lights and door lights - making entering and exiting the car at night a cinch.

 

Interior JCW Accessories

JCW Shift Knob

Fashioned in Carbon Fiber and sporting a JCW logo, the shift knob falls easily in your hand. You grab it around the shaft and rest your thumb on top. Feels great. A must have in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

JCW Handbrake Grip

Similar to the Shift Knob in looks and styling. Looks awesome, but adds no value to the driving experience. Pure cosmetics - better to skip this option in my opinion.

 

 

 

JCW Carbon Fiber Dash Trim

If you want "in your face", this is for you. Looks great. Worth the money? Not so much.

 

 

 

JCW Steering Wheel

Another "Wow!" experience. The JCW fatty is a pleasure to hold. The car was fitted with the all-leather wheel. An Alcantara version is also available. The wheel is fatter, with more sponginess to it. Along with the shift knob, this is a must-have interior accessory. Anything else feels like a Beetle steering wheel after driving with this wheel.

 

JCW Floor Mats

In a large black and white chequered design, with a metal JCW logo pinned to each mat, these look great when new. Unfortunately white does not go well with floormat and they looked a bit tired after 4000 kilometers. Available for both front and rear.

 

 

 

JCW Engine Strut Brace

Open the bonnet and a chromed strut brace is the first thing you notice. Looks mean, but I'm not sure it does much else.

 

Missing JCW Accessories

Unbelievable as it may sound, the car did not have all available JCW accessories fitted to it, but MINI SA is working on that. Here are the few that are amiss:

 

JCW Gear Shift Indicator

The car was not fitted with the JCW Gear Shift Indicator. This goodie tells you when it is optimal to shift gears, to get the best performance out of the car. It happens via a set of coloured LED's progressing from green through yellow to red. A little console containing the indicator is mounted on the dash. I'm sure this is not an exact science, and open to interpretation, and might not suit everyone's driving style. But, it sounds like a fun accessory!

 

JCW Sports Seats

The test car is due to have the sports seats fitted, but brackets from Germany were still on order when we took delivery.

 

JCW Carbon Fiber Steering Wheel Inserts

There replace the silver bits on the standard wheel. For those wanting to go the whole carbon fibre hog. Will set your wheel apart, especially if paired with the JCW fatty.

 

JCW Carbon Fiber Boot Lid Handle

Rounds off the exterior look when paired with the CF mirror caps and hood scoop. Makes the boot open real quick.

 

 

Performance

Comparison

There is no real comparison between the R56 JCW and the R53. They are totally different entities, in my opinion. My 2005 Cooper S feels zippy and light, raw and raucous. The 2007 Cooper S with JCW kit feels ultra refined, smooth, but eager. The amount of torque produced is unbelievable. There is some turbo lag, but it is so much fun to play with - waiting for the whoosh to kick in, pushing your eyeballs back into your skull. Keep an eye on the rev range and you can manage the lag well.

I was curious how the JCW would stack up against the standard Cooper S. I took the car to Lyndhurst Auto and asked Derick to use his car as a means of comparison. Derick drives a 2007 Cooper S with 17 inch wheels and a standard suspension. We drove the JCW car first, concentrating only on performance - "nippyness", acceleration, and thrill factor. Derick came away impressed with the torque available, and said he thought the car breathed easier. Then I drove Derick's car. I got that same feeling! The standard car felt equally brilliant - same rush, same nippyness. I began to wonder whether the JCW tuning kit was worth it.

As I drove the JCW home, the differences became more apparent. There was a shed load more torque. Acceleration was improved markedly. The car was much more eager and the revs climbed a lot faster. If the volume on a "standard" 2007 Cooper S was at 10, the JCW tuning kit turned that knob right into the red. This car was on steroids. It made me feel invincible.

Funny thing is, when I got back into my R53, I welcomed it back like a long lost brother. I had missed the supercharger whine. The gearshift felt ultra notchy after the smoothess of the R56. My car was not the beast that the JCW is, but I did not resent it, as I thought I would. It is very different, but each car is pure joy.

 

Exhaust

At high speed the exhaust sounds like a million bucks, though I would have liked a louder sound. The burble as you let off the throttle was not ever present as on my car, or on Derick's car. This is the second R56 I have driven without noticeable burble (the other being Michelle at Auto Bavaria's car). Yet, Derick's R56 burbles more than my R53. It might be that there is different ECU programs running on the two quieter vehicles - the same programming found in cars destined for the US market, maybe?

 

Sport button

The test car was not equipped with a sport button. This is a real pity as I have not had the opportunity to test this out yet. Pushing the Sport Button on an equipped car quickens the throttle response, and sensitizes the steering. I did not feel the JCW needed it in terms of throttle response.

Handling

As mentioned before, the car was equipped with the standard suspension. I felt the car handled well, paired with the 18 inch wheels. I am unable to comment fully as I have no means of comparison between the standard, sports and JCW suspension at this time. The standard suspension give a superb ride over unenven surfaces, and the car felt composed while cornering hard.

 

Torque Steer

As with the standard Cooper S, torque steer is evident under hard acceleration. At first this is a bit disturbing, but you soon get the hang of it, so to speak. You instinctively grip the wheel tighter and concentrate on where you're going. The car remains controllable, with the torque steer serving as a not-so-subtle reminder of the power under the hood. I rather enjoyed the feeling of the car having too much power. I wondered if bigger rubber would solve the problem, as I thought there is not enough traction for the power output. I wondered if upping the tyre size from 205 to 235 would alleviate the torque steer. I was informed that more traction would, in fact, exacerbate the problem, as more traction would yield more torque steer. In any case, it is fun to live with, in my opinion, and easily corrected by laying off the throttle slightly.

 

Duelling

I was constantly looking for challengers during my time with the car, but found none until I was returning the car to MINI SA. I was hoping to be challenged by another R56, or a GTI V or A3 2.T or Type R. On my way back, I spotted an A3 driving rather enthusiastically. It had no badge on the back. This usually means either it's a normally aspirated 2 liter, or a chipped 2.0T. Turns out it was the latter. I dropped him at the robot but he caught on real quick when he realized I was challenging him. I'm not sure what he had under the bonnet, but I don't think it was a standard 147kW motor. The JCW inched away slowly through the first 4 gears, but by 5^th the A3 was catching up. The next light was red and we went our separate ways. I came away totally satisfied.

 

Likes and Dislikes

These have nothing to do with the JCW tuning kit, but are criticisms of some aspects of the R56 as a whole.

 

Interior Space

From a driver's perspective, there is a lot more legroom, thanks to the narrower centre console. This was clearly evident after getting back in my R53 - my left knee kept on knocking the downpipe. Boot-space is slightly improved, with the back seats folded the loading bay is still not flat. Not that it causes much of an issue for day-to-day lugging.

 

Airconditioning

Unlike the previous units, the aircon in the R56 does not drain all the power from the car. No more stalling on takeoff. Sure I would be amiss to say the aircon does not sap power, but it is a vast improvement over the previous system. The pollen and dust filter in the new car is also vastly improved. No unpleasant smells or exhaust fumes ever entered the cabin through the vents. This impressed me greatly, as it has always been a big gripe of mine on my own car.

 

Audio System

Here, we have taken a giant leap backward. No amount of fiddling with the settings could make the R56's sound system compare with that in my R53. It is just never loud enough, with overblown treble and bass reproduction, and almost no midtones. A variety of music was played - classic guitar by John Williams, rock by the Stereophonics, hip-hop by Fort Minor, and house courtesy of  Deckalicious. The dance music sounded OK, but overall I was sorely disappointed with the audio system. I will opt for the optional MINI HiFi system made by Harman Becker when I order my next MINI.

 

Conclusion

The John Cooper Works Tuning Kit is the ultimate accessory for the R56. Reconsider your options list when you order your next car. The JCW tuning kit has to be at the top of your list. Drop the leather. Forget the satnav. Feel invincible. Also available in automatic!

 

Official Information and Pricing Tuning Kit:  Power to the limit: A difference you can hear and feel.  The components of the JCW tuning kit drive the twin-scroll-turbo motor to 192 PS (141kW) and push the top speed up to 232km/h.   It is available in both manual and automatic transmission  It has the following key benefits: higher top speed of 232km/h as opposed to 225km/h twin scroll-turbo motor to 192 PS (141kW) acceleration from 0 to 100 in 6.8sec as opposed to 7.1 sec available in manual or automatic transmission Aerodynamic Kit:  It is all about looks and more.  In body colour, it gives a lasting impression. Wheels:  The 18" Double Spoke Composite R109 alloy wheel uses the latest racetrack technology and feature titanium bolts to hold together the wheel centre and rim. Braking System:  Thrilling performance: the first-class braking system works with massively dimensioned callipers at the front axle and 16" perforated brake discs providing an instant response and plenty of bite.  Strut Brace:  Contributing to the agility of the vehicle.   Pricing And Package   JCW Component Package   1 2 3 R56 Cooper S tuning kit X X X Strut Brace   X X Drilled rotors (brake discs)   X X 18" Double Spoke Composite R109     X Aerodynamic kit     X Centre Caps     X Steering angle stop     X Tyres (not included in price of package)     Description RRP Excl. VAT Package 1 R12,255.18 Package 2 R15,922.85 Package 3 R36,083.08 Tyres Please note that the packages above do not include tyres.  It is recommended to use the following tyre size: Bridgestone 205/40 R18 82W RSC Individual Items The contents of the packages can also be sold individually.  Please consult your dealer.

 

Fantasy Garage

What would my JCW look like? I would spec the car as follows:

Non-negotiables:

1. Chili Red with Black Roof. I like the contrast between the red and the black trim on the wheel arches and accents, especially with the JCW Aero Kit
2. JCW Aero Kit. Sets the car apart nicely from "ordinary" R56's. The black accents work for me.
3. JCW 18 inch multispoke wheels. The sexiest OEM wheels ever, in my opinion.
4. JCW Tuning Kit, obviously
5. Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps, Scoop and boot handle. This contrasts very nicely against the red and adds to the other black accents
6. Cloth Seats: Chequered in Carbon Black
7. Colour Line Rooster Red: to break the black interior and tie up with the red exterior
8. DSC, Sport Suspension and Diff Lock: better cornering
9. Black Bonnet Stripes: further black contrast
10. Chromeline Interior: the interior does need a little brightening
11. White indicator lenses 

Options I might consider:

1. Xenon lights: really worth the extra bucks, but quite expensive when you don't take the Chili Pack
2. Sunroof: this really should be in the non-negotiables - I love my sunroof. But, it might blow the budget
3. MINI HiFi: to fix the not-so-hot standard audio system
4. Black Headliner: must get this with the MINI HiFi - additional speakers are fitted in the A-pillar, which stand out unless you camouflage them with the black headliner
5. JCW Drilled rotors and JCW Suspension - maybe at a later stage, as this will definitely be over-capitalising
6. JCW shift knob
7. JCW steering wheel
8. Storage Package and iPod adapter: these go together - an additional cubby hole on top of the dash accommodates your iPod interface
9. Sport Button

 
Options I won't be taking:

1. Chili Pack: while it offers great value, the exterior chrome portion will be wasted as the Aero Kit deletes it. I'd rather put the bucks towards the Aero Kit itself
2. Leather: Very costly without the Chili Pack.
3. JCW Wing
   

 

 

Thanks & Acknowlegdements

MINI South Africa

Thanks to Allan Nissenbaum, Michael O'Shea and Diederik Durand for letting us drive their demonstration vehicle. Thanks to Allan for all the information and arranging the evaluation. Mike, thank you for organizing handover of the car. Thank you, Diederik, for your technical input.

Our best wishes also go to the shopping centre management of the parking lot where our photoshoot was taking place. We were removed from the premises, even though the floor we were on was vacant, and we were paying for the privilege of parking there. Why are photographers not free to shoot what they want, where they want?

 

Test Data:

Vehicle supplied by MINI South Africa

Odometer of test car: 4665km

Total distance traveled during test: 400km

Fuel: 95 Unleaded

Altitude: Reef

Average fuel consumption during test: 9.9l/100km

 

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this experiential review, are solely those of the author - Tim van Rooyen. This article was not paid for by MINI South Africa or BMW South Africa.

 

Photoset

---

Posted 27 Sep 2007 12:29 by Timmee