MINI is revamping its entire John Cooper Works (JCW) line-up, with two new fully electric (EV) models in addition to their usual petrol-powered icons. But with their new electric beating heart (and significantly added weight), are they still deserving of their JCW badge?
To find out, MINI Malaysia brought us to the UK to for a test drive of the JCW MINI Electric and JCW Aceman, experiencing them right where they were always meant to be tested – along the iconic British backroads around Oxford.
Despite the switch to electric power, the MINI JCW Electric has still stuck on to a similar “hot hatch” formula as its forefathers have for decades. It’s still front-wheel drive only, with a single motor making 258 hp and 350 Nm. In performance terms, that’s 0-100 km/h completed in 5.9 seconds, onward to a top speed of 200 km/h.
But a MINI JCW has never been about its powertrain – it’s the driving that gives it the name. For that, MINI has completely revamped almost every single part of the chassis on the JCW Electric, with new suspensions, reworked dampers, brakes, steering, and even the electronics – all to give it the iconic go-kart driving feel.
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But perhaps, the MINI JCW Aceman might actually just be the better car to drive between the electric duo. The lack of the frequency selective damping (FSD) mechanical adaptive dampers – available on the petrol-powered MINI JCW – might have something to do with that.
The firm damping on the MINI JCW Electric makes it a little nervy around the subpar road conditions, which ends up discounting driver confidence. The JCW Aceman on the other hand, just feels a little more rounded off – at the expense of a worse seating position and a little more body roll.
The good news is MINI is giving you the power of choice, with four different flavours of JCW models to choose from. So which would you pick? They’re priced as such in Malaysia, all inclusive of the optional extended warranty package:
- MINI JCW three-door: RM330,988
- All-Electric MINI JCW three-door: RM225,188
- MINI JCW Aceman: RM241,288
- MINI JCW Countryman: RM401,988
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