Mighty Mini

By Ewan Kennedy
A COALITION of wowsers and bureaucrats seem intent in taking all enjoyment out of motoring in Australia so it’s good to be able to drive a car like the new Mini.
This car lets you have pleasure when driving at low speeds and thrives on roundabouts aimed at slowing progress at every opportunity.
That’s because even at 40 km/h the Mini’s sharp steering and willing engine are likely to put a smile on the face of those rebels who have the cheek to want to enjoy life.
The best Mini of them all, the John Cooper Works machine, has been worked over in every important direction and while it’s not cheap – $50,000 plus – on the road it provides a huge number of smiles per mile.
JCW is to Mini what HSV is to Holden and FPV to Ford Australia, producing performance-enhanced versions of the original cars.
John Cooper was a clever racing car designer and builder in the UK and provided racing machines for our own Jack Brabham among many others. These days JCW is run by John’s son Mike.
The BMW Mini at 3.7 metres long is considerably larger than the 3.0-metre original introduced in the 1950s, partly to allow safety to be engineered into the body but also to provide more interior space, even though it’s still really a two-plus-two not a four-seater.
But if you’re thinking of using a Mini as a small family car make sure you take the kids along on your test drive because there’s not a lot of room back there.
Also lacking in room is the boot. One medium-sized suitcase is going to fill it up. Folding one or both of the 50/50 split rear seat does open a lot of extra luggage space.
The engine in the JCW is identical to that in these Mini Challenge racing cars that are delighting race fans at various tracks throughout Australia.
The original Mini of the 1960s ‘invented’ torque steer and this latest machine has the sudden change of steering direction under hard acceleration that reminds you that it’s a car for serious drivers.
Sloppy, cruisy drivers are protected from the torque-steer effect by electronics in the ESP system – although we would prefer them to mend their ways rather than depend on the car to look after them.
Although there’s the inevitable turbo lag from the engine, once that’s passed the little four-cylinder unit is delightfully responsive with the sort of urge that makes for plenty of smiles and safety.
The Mini JCW Hardtop can jump from zero to 100km/h in just 6.5 seconds, the sort of acceleration that required a gas-guzzling V8 only a generation back.
Efficiency is a feature of modern turbocharged engines and Mini keeps fuel consumption and engine emissions well under control.
Expect to use about eight to nine litres per 100km if you are stuck in commuting situations but this will rise to much higher numbers if you take if for a racetrack play of a weekend.
Fuel consumption can drop to as low as six to seven litres per 100km when you’re out having a quiet country cruise on your favourite Sunday-morning roads.
The JCW’s brakes, slick-shifting six-speed manual gearbox (thankfully, there’s no automatic option), wheels and tyres have also been modified to cope with the extra engine and chassis performance.
Mini has steering that’s virtually instantly responsive, indeed it’s almost too quick until you dial its fast characteristics into your sub-conscious when you will really start to enjoy the way the car reacts to your every wish.
Road grip is immense and you can control the JCW’s line through bends just as much by using the throttle pedal as the steering wheel.
The big disc brakes feel like they could stop the car on a postage stamp and feel happy to keep on doing so all day long.
Adding to the enjoyment is the delightful interior which looks like nothing else on the market.