Let's talk Mini Coopers...

RedvGreen

RedvGreen

RedvGreen

Soldato
Joined
2 Dec 2009
Posts
4,018
Location
Midlands
Have to say that i've not seen too much discussion about Minis on the forum - no doubt due to their stigma with being a car preferred by our ladies, or simply that there are better man-cars around.

However, my local dealership (handily next door to my BMW dealership) have some pretty spectacular offers on at the moment, approximately £320 p/m for a JCW Paceman Manual with 0.9% APR.

Due to the inherent monthly saving alone on my current finance cost, and the fact that i've driven a fairly entry-level Mini at work (and it is actually pretty damned good for a 3cylinder twin-scroll turbo 1.5L petrol), i'm quite tempted to look into a souped up JCW, which will still get me monthly savings.

What are people's thoughts on the All4 (4WD) system, and also the day to drive drivability and ownership of a JCW Mini?

The cabin doesn't seem bad, but i'm concerned about if it will feel like a huge step down after owning several BMWs previously?
 
I had to google what the paceman is... and... what is it? It's hard to tell from the scale but how big is it? It looks really tall and kind of like a RR Evoque?
 
sovietspybob said:
I had to google what the paceman is... and... what is it? It's hard to tell from the scale but how big is it? It looks really tall and kind of like a RR Evoque?
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I think that is a fair comparison based on dimensions alone - it's like that huge Countryman, just sportier and tighter dimensions.

Terminal_Boy said:
Why would a new Mini be a step down from a BMW? They are BMWs.
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Most of them are I think - the 1.5L engine is used in the BMW i8; but (unsure if dealer specific or marque-wide) they are apparently looking to physically move away from BMW - the dealerships are moving miles apart trying to distance themselves.
 
My wife had a Mini Cooper S for a few years. It was an absolute hoot to drive, and the interior space was surprisingly decent (boot aside).

Really don't like the looks, or the interior quirks, though. And the giant models look even more goofy.
 
We have a Countryman Cooper S.

Next gen MINI will retain Countryman but drop the Paceman, roadster and Coupe and use the UKL1 platform with new engines. The Paceman takes the PSA/BMW Prince Petrols and 2.0 diesel on the Cooper SD only tops at 143bhp.

The Paceman is a 3dr Countryman however it only seems to offer the 'lounge' seats which is 2 seperate seats rail that a 3 seater bench. I dont know if they have change that at all with the recent facelift but I doubt it.

Its a much smaller car than the Evoque, not on the MINI range can be considered 'Massive'

I didnt bother with ALL4. Didnt justify the cost, weight and fuel hit. However it does add a fair bit to the dynamics as its a pretty decent system and anything with more power than the Cooper S would be suggested as the 1.6 turbo is a little dated and unruley in power delivery that can drive some interesting torque steer.... hence the JCW have it as standard.

With the high bonnet and Xenon lights the road lighting is nothing short of incredible aswell.

Wish MINI hadn't had Paceman...... As atleast it sound better than Jaguar F-Pace!
 
RedvGreen said:
...and.... like it?

Was it the Mini GP JCW? limited edition to 2000 ?
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Bloody love it. Its the Mk2 Mini GP. Yes 2000 worldwide.

Here is how I see it. I've sacrificed comfort, refinement and a decent level of power for all out fun/enjoyment.
 
I'm not surprised there are strong retail offers on the Paceman....I dont think it has sold anything like enough units. Hence the cull for the next gen.

It's the 5 GT of the Mini range... Probably not a bad car, but the looks will put most off!
 
This is not an ‘exceptional’ deal at all – surely after many enormously expensive finance deals that seemed like a good idea at the time (Who can forget the infamous ‘zero cost’ 135i you had) you’d have learnt to be a little more cynical by now! You are in a thread in GD expressing regret at the huge amount of money spent financing brand new cars – this seems like a reasonable opportunity to make a change? 0.9% APR on something that’s expensive is still expensive.

The Paceman is an old generation Mini – the new Mini has been out for almost 9 months now whereas the Paceman and Countryman continue on the old 2006 Mini platform. This is why you can get ‘deals’ on them, they presumably want rid before the all new Countryman launches at some point in the future. So, you’ll pay your £320 a month and be driving around in what feels like a much older car.

My sister has a Paceman and we picked up a 2012 Cooper for my girlfriend a couple of years ago so hopefully I don’t come across as being anti Mini. At the right price a Mini of any generation is a great buy but 320 quid a month on a finance deal is absolutely not a great price. Decent Mini’s do not shed much value at all, so if you were to pick up a 2011/12 Cooper S JCW as an AUC you’d likely lose far less than £320 a month on it and you’d be driving pretty much the same car. Other than the higher driving position and the bigger rear interior space with the sliding rail thing the interior of my sisters Paceman is the same as that in the GF’s hatch. The hatch is only a Cooper 2012 but I got it for under £13k at 9 months old with 3k miles on it and today the cheapest similar example on the AUC site is still £12.5k. These cars are very low depreciation. Do not pay £320 a month to drive one.

The other option if you are desperate for brand new is to buy the hatch – it’s an all new car with all new electronics an all new platform and all new engines. It’s very good and very fresh and a far better place to be paying hundreds of pounds a month to sit.

As for the Mini not being a step down from a BMW because ‘it’s a BMW’ this is of course rubbish. Of course it’s a step down, as a brand Mini sits below the main BMW product range and makes a range of cars that sit below the 1 Series. They are great cars but obviously moving from a 3 Series to a Mini is a step down in the same way that moving from an S Class to a C Class or something is a step down despite the fact both cars are from the same manufacturer. I love the MINI, it’s fun to drive and fun inside, but it’s a step down from a 3 Series without question – especially from an F30 to an old gen Mini. You’ll notice even the little things – your proper TFT display in the instrument panel is replaced by a tiny little monochrome thing, for example. It’s just older.

Personally in your position – wanting to reduce the cost of finance whilst still driving a half decent car – I’d find it hard to look past funding a 2011/12 AUC Mini Cooper S with warranty and service inclusive (They’ve pretty much *all* got the TLC pack!) with a low rate personal loan. That would seem like the sensible option and the driving experience is likely almost no different to that of a brand new Paceman.
 
[TW]Fox;27489669 said:
The Paceman is an old generation Mini – the new Mini has been out for almost 9 months now whereas the Paceman and Countryman continue on the old 2006 Mini platform.
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Not quite true, The R60 and R61 introduced in 2010 also brought new rear suspension to deal with the All4 system which is based around the X1 AWD Suspension and the front end the upgraded 2008 Clubman front end.

Inside though, yes not great on based on the R56 2006 MINI, but the Visual Boost (wish I had got for) is a nice enough lift to the HMI.
 
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My wife has a JCW Countryman, she loves it but I think they are over priced for what you get and would much rather have a A3/Golf/1 or 3 Series. I bought it second hand but it had a rather staggering 35k list price when new. I was really looking for a Cooper S model but the JCW came up at a good price with the right options (bar 19" wheels which offered a comical ride, it is now on the standard 18" wheels)

They are heavy cars which results in all the diesels being pretty slow, only the Cooper S and JCW offering reasonable performance. You ideally want one with the Chilli & Media pack, leather seats aren't standard which is a joke considering the base price.

It seems fairly well put together with no rattles, seats are comfortable and is quiet when cruising, ours has the media pack which I assume is very similar to the business navigation option on a BMW. This is a must option for me as it adds the full colour screen to the dash (you can also get this with the radio boost option) The navigation system is fairly basic but at least offers lane guidance and full postcode searches although Mini have dropped the Google send to car option, the HK sound system is good and the media pack also adds full Bluetooth prep with audio streaming, I particularly like being able to sync two phones at the same time. My pet hate is the USB socket is in view in front of the gear stick yet one is also present in the glove box but is only used to update the navigation system with no option to play music from it.

Handling is good, very direct steering and copes with rough roads well allowing you to keep a high pace cross country for me it needs another 50-70hp as performance is brisk rather than fast as it is pulling 1.5 tons around although the engine does offer a very flat power band with no noticeable turbo lag happily pulling from under 2k all the way to the rev limiter with very little drop off higher up the revs. With the car in sports mode it dumps fuel down the exhaust on the overrun which results in very nice sounding pops and bangs from the exhaust. The 4WD system means 100% traction at all times in the wet/dry with no torque steer.

Fuel consumption is OK I had to travel 350 miles to buy it and on the return journey it managed 42mpg sitting at 75 on cruise, my wife mainly does short trips and it is averaging 31-32mpg.

The 4WD seems fine I just got back from Aviemore which is under a lot of snow and without winter tyres it seems to cope with a few inches of snow well, I am not sure what kind of system it runs but you can get a lot of power to the rear without the fronts spinning up which resulted in some pretty extreme angles when playing in the snow.
 
Have one from my insurance at the minute (64 plate Cooper S) as someone drove into the side of me last week, really fun car, although I'm not caring about running costs or that you could only fit amputees in the back, having a lot of fun though, not the car I would probably choose to go for, but brilliant for short term no worries fun! :D
 
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