The modified Mini has been on the market for 20 years. With its impossibly small proportions, front-drive configuration, and impish driving qualities, the original, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, revolutionized the small vehicle industry. It went on to win not just the famous Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, but also the fashion scene in 1968 with Twiggy.
As part of Mini’s 40th-anniversary celebration, David Bowie created an all-chrome unit. It’s a Mini that “doesn’t stand out from its surroundings; it reproduces them,” according to the rock star. The Mini is still a popular vehicle to drive today, and it all comes down to how smoothly it gets around a turn.
Front-drive cars aren’t intended to burrow down and defy the laws of understeer. The good news is that the Cooper S 5-Door’s additional room and better access to the back seat don’t detract from its ability to make the driver happy. It has the same agile feel as the 3-Door, which is helpful for driver confidence.
With a body-colour piece separating a front grille rimmed with piano black accents, the 2022 Mini Cooper has more visual confidence. LED headlights flank it on both sides. The Union Jack taillights, as well as an optional roof that changes colour as it goes from front to back, add up to minor modifications, yet they work.
The thing which makes it even more reliable is the availability of reconditioned Mini Cooper engines for sale across the country. Now you don’t need to wander around garages and breaker yards in search of replacement engine. You can have them from any reliable engine dealer all over the country.
The classic design of Mini will continue in the line-up for 2022, albeit with a few tweaks. New black inserts in the roundel headlights give them a googly-eyed aspect, and the grille has a glossy black surround. A horizontal red accent line runs across the fascia on all JCW versions, huge black vents (for cooling) sit low on the grille, and distinctive 18-inch Circuit Spoke rims decorate the wheel wells, giving the sportiest vehicle appropriately aggressive shoes.
The taillights have a traditional Union Jack pattern, which is always entertaining, and the two exhaust tips are joined in the middle by a big, glossy black diffuser. Because our test vehicle is a convertible, it comes standard with a black fabric top. However, the coupe comes with a variety of roof designs and colours, including a brand-new tri-tone fading treatment for 2022.
The JCW offers plenty of power thanks to a four-cylinder turbocharged Mini 1.6-litre engine. The engine makes 228 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, and it’s mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which is the only transmission offered on the convertible variant. Buyers of the hardtop can choose from a six-speed manual transmission.
In all situations, however, power is sent solely to the front wheels. The Mini JCW convertible is a hoot right off the bat, reaching 60 mph in 6.3 seconds with plenty of low-end torque, excellent pull, and a throaty burble from the exhaust. The electronic limited-slip differential stops the front tyres from scraping against the ground, and the four-piston brakes provide plenty of stopping power when the road comes to an end.
All JCW models have the same Sport suspension with MacPherson front struts and a multi-link rear. Even in town and at slower speeds, flinging the JCW around bends is a pleasurable experience with the optional adaptive dampers. The convertible is accurate and fast, with a heavy steering feel and excellent input to the driver’s fingertips. However, as previously said, the convertible variant exhibits more evident body flex than we expected. As a result, the ragtop Mini feels less grounded than the fixed-roof Mini.
The JCW Convertible gets 24 mpg in the city, 33 mpg on the interstate, and 28 mpg overall. The JCW Convertible averaged approximately 25 mpg in our test, which included a lot of time in the city. Fuel efficiency improves by one mpg combined if you choose the hardtop variant.
Given that the JCW Convertible is the most powerful in its class, it comes close to matching the Mazda Miata’s 29 combined mpg rating. The 2022 Volkswagen GTI earns 28 combined miles per gallon, the outgoing Honda Civic Type R achieves 25 combined miles per gallon, and the Hyundai Veloster N is the least efficient of the lot, producing only 22 combined miles per gallon.
All Cooper versions now come standard with an 8.8-inch touchscreen, which is an improvement over last year’s 6.5-inch screen. However, while the system’s size increases, its aesthetics and overall usefulness do not. The visuals are outdated, the home screen is disorganised, and the touch response is subpar. At the very least, if you start diving into the settings, this re-skinned version of iDrive is reasonably straightforward to operate.
Satellite radio, navigation, a head-up display, wireless charging, a Harmon Kardon premium audio system, a heated steering wheel, and Apple CarPlay are all standard on this model, which additionally includes Touchscreen Navigation Plus for free (a $1,800 option). However, Android Auto remains regrettably absent from the line-up. It’s also unfortunate that the little 5.0-inch display cluster isn’t customizable at all.
The Active Driving Assistant, which features forward-collision warning with pedestrian recognition, lane-departure warning, and high-beam assist, is standard on the Mini JCW convertible. The Driver Assistance package, which includes active cruise control and parking assist, costs an additional $750. Even though our tester lacked more modern equipment, the rather basic safety features were performed as expected.
