First Drive: 2009 Mini John Cooper Works

Mini Gets the Works: The JCW returns
By Todd Lassa
Article file under http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/hatchbacks/
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Nothing Mini offers cuts through the cuteness like John Cooper Works. The JCW version returns in coupe or Clubman form, with two fewer ponies from the new, twin-scroll turbocharged aluminum 1.6L engine versus the old supercharged iron block.

Now integrated within Mini, like BMW's M, JCW builds the cars at the factory, eliminating dealer-installation fees. For just under $30K, you get a JCW Challenge car for the road, featuring more robust engine parts, including new pistons. Compression ratio is 10.0:1, down from to 10.5:1 to reduce knock. New turbo housing is made of a stronger material. This allows JCW to turn up boost from the Cooper S' 0.9 bar to 1.3 bar. BMW's Dynamic Traction Control and Dynamic Stability Control are adapted for FWD, but the smoothest way around a twisty road is to turn them off and rely on the new electronic locking rear differential.









It's less edgy than the old JCW without that car's full-chat supercharger whine. Big dual exhaust pipes make the new engine's sound its best feature, though, a burbly drone with occasional little backfire-pops between shifts. The sport suspension is stiff, but equal-length half-shafts can't stave off torque steer when the turbo momentarily blips torque up to 207 lb-ft. Power out of a second-gear right-hander, for example, and you get a quickly corrected wheel-jerk to the left. Defenders of the Dodge Caliber SRT-4, to name one, will claim import bias, but somehow, front-drive performance aficionados will accept the torque steer as part of the JCW's rascally personality. Guess there's still a lot of cute left, after all.