Mini Hatch Sport > Clubman / Countryman JCW?

sansnom

sansnom

sansnom

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My 19 plate Mini Hatch 5dr Cooper S Sport is going back in December and I'm in two minds about what to do. I can't renew the lease (it's a fixed term short rental with no renewal options).

I contemplated the following:
  • New 5dr hatch lease 24-36 months
  • Purchase new 5dr hatch (I love driving it but is it a car that one should own?)
Or look into a bigger, more future proof mini like the clubman or countryman. Tried the countryman S which I found boring as it is too heavy for its power. Not terrible, just nothing to write home about.

Then I thought about a clubman as I like the shape but as the new JCW models have just been released so i figured why not.

I test drove both the clubman and countryman for 4 hours yesterday and both are considerably more powerful than the S. But I dont know, they still just dont feel as "fun" as the hatch. The clubman felt like driving a fast saloon and the countryman felt like driving a fast truck. If I had to pick which is the better drive between the two, it would be the countryman as i think its weight gives it a more planted feel on the road whereas the clubman felt a bit wafty.

I also noticed that the JCW models come with driving modes as standard unlike my hatch. Bizarrely, without driving modes the car is actually perfect because the steering always feels tight and heavy but the exhaust note isn't a tiresome grumble until you put your foot down. To get a similar (but not the same) experience with a car that has driving modes you have to keep it in sport mode which means the exhaust tone does your head in after a while.

In terms of pricing, I have pretty good offers on both the clubman and countryman for leasing or purchase. Buying either, I can get them for 20% off list price. Leasing I can get either of them for 300 pcm.

I do want a mini going forward, I like the experience, the feel, the style etc I just dont know if im being daft by going for one of the above and not buying a used hatch or clubman instead. We don't *need* the additional space of the clubman or coutnryman right now but it would be nice to have it and who knows if we'll need it in future.

What would you do?


TLDR: have a hatch cooper s sport lease going back in december. Can replace it with another lease of the same or lease/buy a used 2018 hatch/clubman or lease/buy a brand new JCW 306bhp countryman or clubman. None so far compare to the driving experience of the hatch but we may need more space soon so clubman/countryman are probably the more sensible choice. What should I do?
 
The mode selection is an option I believe, not something that is exclusive to JCW.

300 per month is a bit much though? I paid 250 per month when I was young and naive and paid list price for one in 2014.

I do agree with you though the Mini driving experience is fantastic and I'll definitely get another at some point in the future.
 
AiiR said:
The mode selection is an option I believe, not something that is exclusive to JCW.
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Unfortunately, comes as standard on the JCW and can't be taken out.

300 per month is a bit much though? I paid 250 per month when I was young and naive and paid list price for one in 2014
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Is it? I don't think it's that bad for the price of the cars. Works out to about 37.5% of list price, 45% of discount price if i were to lease. I think that's quite good for a 3 year lease on a super premium vehicle. But that's why I'm also considering just outright purchase of a new one or save the cash and get a used S sport instead.
 
Have you tried the Clubman Cooper S? (Non JCW, and without All4).

Strangely when I test drove a few Clubmans I found the 2WD version felt a lot more like a regular Mini.

All comes down to what’s important to you really. Personally I got out of the PCP and lease game and went with a used Clubman SD with loads of decent spec. I wanted fun-ish, pokey, economical, low tax, HK sound system, wide touchscreen capable of Carplay. Cost me £14k.
 
Spleen Sauce said:
Have you tried the Clubman Cooper S? (Non JCW, and without All4).

Strangely when I test drove a few Clubmans I found the 2WD version felt a lot more like a regular Mini.

All comes down to what’s important to you really. Personally I got out of the PCP and lease game and went with a used Clubman SD with loads of decent spec. I wanted fun-ish, pokey, economical, low tax, HK sound system, wide touchscreen capable of Carplay. Cost me £14k.
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I actually just thought of that and wondered if the difference wasnt the All 4 vs the FWD but then from what I understand even in the All4 it is mainly FWD until the car loses traction. Interesting, so your FWD clubman feels like driving the hatch? same "corners on rails" feel?

All comes down to what’s important to you really.
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Honestly? I love my hatch. I love the way it drives, the way it feels. I love its front (sport bodykit). I hate its back. I love how agile and nippy it is. I hate that the boot has enough room for 3 shopping bags and that's about it.

I love the clubman's design especially its back and the pre-union jack tail lights. I just dont see the point in buying it if the experience is like any other 190bhp saloon if that makes any sense?
 
I've never understood the boot of a mini. Side by side it's about the same size as my dad's Peugeot 208 but the boot size in comparison is tiny! Where's the space gone. :rolleyes:
 
sansnom said:
I actually just thought of that and wondered if the difference wasnt the All 4 vs the FWD but then from what I understand even in the All4 it is mainly FWD until the car loses traction. Interesting, so your FWD clubman feels like driving the hatch? same "corners on rails" feel?
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I’d definitely recommend trying one, it’s a world apart in how it feels to drive in my opinion vs the 300hp JCW Clubman - the JCW is properly rapid but it does lose some of the ‘chuckability’ whereas the 2WD version has that same silly urgent turn-in and hold on feeling. Ironically I was originally looking at the Cooper S hatch and hadn’t considered the Clubman until I sat in one in the dealership. Coming from an S4, having a bit (lot) more space than the hatch just made more sense to me.
 
Spleen Sauce said:
I’d definitely recommend trying one, it’s a world apart in how it feels to drive in my opinion vs the 300hp JCW Clubman - the JCW is properly rapid but it does lose some of the ‘chuckability’ whereas the 2WD version has that same silly urgent turn-in and hold on feeling. Ironically I was originally looking at the Cooper S hatch and hadn’t considered the Clubman until I sat in one in the dealership. Coming from an S4, having a bit (lot) more space than the hatch just made more sense to me.
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how interesting

do you have the mini driving modes in yours? If not, does the steering have that heavy tight feel to it like the hatch?
 
sansnom said:
how interesting

do you have the mini driving modes in yours? If not, does the steering have that heavy tight feel to it like the hatch?
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Mine has Sport, Mid and Green modes. The steering in all modes is heavy and tight, basically sport and green change the gearbox (mines Auto) and the throttle response. Mines a 2017 model though, not sure if that makes a difference as I know the auto gearbox changed on the new ones.
 
Spleen Sauce said:
Mine has Sport, Mid and Green modes. The steering in all modes is heavy and tight, basically sport and green change the gearbox (mines Auto) and the throttle response. Mines a 2017 model though, not sure if that makes a difference as I know the auto gearbox changed on the new ones.
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The steering is tightened in Sport mode. You probably haven't noticed it. Also the throttle is more responsive and the gear shifts are more aggressive. However, there is no difference in speed or acceleration in any mode.

not having the driving mode option means that the car is in Mid mode all the time but the steering is set to 'sport' steering by default so if you don't like having a rough exhaust note it is actually the best of both worlds and I don't know why Mini don't allow the Driver to independently choose which features they want on or off.

Spleen is right btw the Clubman S drives as close to the hatch as possible but in my experience still nothing like it so if you're hoping for the hatch experience with the benefits of the bigger cars you can forget about it. The clubman is a longer wheelbase and a wider car. For me it was actually a very dull drive, not as dull as the countryman but pretty dull. Having said that, the Countryman JCW looks pretty damn sick and with the added power could actually be a lot more fun now. Just remember, the countryman is getting mid life refresh in 2020 AND we're coming up on brexit so..... i dunno if this is the best time to be buying a car tbh. Just food for thought!
 
Ah haven't really noticed the steering tighten up in sport mode - it already feels like it doesn't have power steering in 'mid' :p

I really enjoyed the JCW, but the only thing I think is that you'd have to really, really want to stick with Mini to buy one at the prices they want. When you consider the competition, a well spec'd S3 or Golf R can be had, and the used market for those is rife.
 
Spleen Sauce said:
I really enjoyed the JCW, but the only thing I think is that you'd have to really, really want to stick with Mini to buy one at the prices they want. When you consider the competition, a well spec'd S3 or Golf R can be had, and the used market for those is rife.
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I actually think the JCW's will hold their value better than regular mini models (which also hold their value quite well). Comparing to the S3 or the golf R, I'd say Mini have by far the best interior. I honestly don't understand people that think Audi's have good interiors. They are VW interiors tarted up with more chrome but still cheap, hollow, plastic like. Anyway different discussion.

Pricing is also better new relative to the golf R and there's some hefty discounts on carwow by the look of it. You can get a near fully loaded JCW clubman for 28k on carwow when list price is like 36k. I think that's good value for that car particularly if you can enjoy the drive.
 
kaktus said:
I actually think the JCW's will hold their value better than regular mini models (which also hold their value quite well). Comparing to the S3 or the golf R, I'd say Mini have by far the best interior. I honestly don't understand people that think Audi's have good interiors. They are VW interiors tarted up with more chrome but still cheap, hollow, plastic like. Anyway different discussion.

Pricing is also better new relative to the golf R and there's some hefty discounts on carwow by the look of it. You can get a near fully loaded JCW clubman for 28k on carwow when list price is like 36k. I think that's good value for that car particularly if you can enjoy the drive.
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The interior is subjective I think. While I love the design on the interior in the Mini Clubman, my Audi S4 had a better 'quality' interior - better materials, softer touch plastics, better quality leather, etc. though I'll say I actually think the Mini is better put together (less creaks, less vibration when using the sound system with anger, etc). Overall they are both nice places to be. We also have a Tiguan which is essentially the same interior as a Golf, and at the higher trim levels (SEL in our case) I'd say the cabin quality is about on-par with the Mini Clubman, albeit not as fancy looking. So yeah, subjective :)

All I was getting at is that you can get a low mileage, very well spec'd Golf R for £23k (link) whereas the JCW Clubman is only just out so the used market isn't quite there for it yet. Personally, having driven both, I'd say the Golf is actually a bit better to drive - but again, that's entirely subjective. Horses of courses and all that, I just think its worth trying all the options :)
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I went with the countryman. Placed the order today for Rebel Green, Black Top, Black Wheels, HUD display, Harmon Speakers.

It was a really tough choice because both cars look awesome imho but hope I won't regret it!
 
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Nice! Congrats. Hope you enjoy it. It looks really chunky and badass.

Must say I am loving that new clubman JCW front and the rebel green is something else. Might have to take one for a test drive and see if it's better than the regular S.
 
Congrats. My Mrs took her Paceman in for service a while back and spied a JCW Mini (hatch) with 300 and odd horses, auto, HUD, Harmon Kardon sound etc. She traded her Paceman. Good to drive, ride a little hard (expected) on our rough country roads and enough road noise. But, fun to drive and goes like poo off a shoval! She's had it 2 years now and did enquire about the new JCW Countryman but was going to cost too much too swap. Personally I was relieved though did like the countryman in green. I'm sure you'll enjoy the Countryman.

My sister has a petrol/electric Mini Countryman and compared to the Mrs's Mini is very quiet. The battery doesn't get you far but for a town commute to work I imagine you could get away without using the petrol engine. Did I say it was quiet - I could not hear the petrol when it was running.
 
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