Mini JCW 2020 - PoV Review of the F56 John Cooper Works LCI

[@DanDiMaggio]

You learn something new every day. I had no idea that false floor popped up to flatten the entire space like that lol. That’s always annoyed me about mine and it wasn’t a problem all along lol

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Hah! Happy to have been of some assistance! These things should come with a ‘hidden features’ brochure!

[@DanDiMaggio]

@@NicktheGeekUK I agree totally lol

[@troytempest290]

I specked mine to death, best car I’ve ever owned.

[@kaljuhyypio]

This is the first vid where you can see the isofix points in the front with jcw seats. I had a 2016 S with sport seats, but that was not my concern at the time. If anyone can confirm wich minis (or all) have these? Clubman included - I've had my eye on one of them lately. In JCW guise..

[@andrewnicholls5082]

Was considering getting one myself but put off by the lack of kit as standard. Need to spend at least £5k on options to bring it to a decent level.

[@andrewnicholls5082]

I have actually recently purchased an F56 JCW as found a good deal on an ex demonstrator vehicle , love it ☺️

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Nicely done! Hope you're still having fun with it :)

[@NFKelv]

228 HP, the loud one build until 2018 has 231hp and ist alot louder 😍

[@NicktheGeekUK]

This one’s got 231hp. The brand new ones this year have dropped a few hp. You’re correct, this isn’t as loud as previous ones... but I still get my fair share of pops and bangs now I’ve got a few miles on it.

[@kaiserman6667]

Does the UK version come without the sunroof? Canadian spec ones with the Premier +2.0 all have the panoramic sunroof. P

[@NicktheGeekUK]

The sunroof was an optional extra that I didn’t want to get :)

[@kaiserman6667]

Thanks for the update.

[@Daniel-wq5sd]

How is the hk sound?

[@whosFluxyUK]

Lovely car mate, will you be selling this anytime soon?

[@Daniel-kn4zy]

how you get fullscreen carplay?

[@peterdurnell3325]

Great video!

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Thanks, Peter 👍🏻

[@NeelsCovers]

Hey, I got a F56 2015 and my bonnet also had damage but more worse. Had to machine it out. Mine was caused by bird poo. If you are looking to keep your vehicle for some time I would really suggest ceramic coating the vehicle to protect the paint. It will also look amazing!

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Ah, cheers. Mine’s actually in the garage right now having the bonnet resprayed. Took it to Sytner last week for inspection and their paint tech believed it was water that got in between the base and clearcoat. Took some photos and sent them off to BMW who authorised it under warranty straight away. With you on the ceramic coating - mine has that Autoglym Lifeshine (paid £400 for that and got £2.5k off the car...) but I do think it may be worth getting a pro detail and ceramic done. Cheers for the comment 👍🏻

[@Otaner142]

I was wondering why my center control wheel was leaning towards the right or more far right sided and its cause its a car for Europe to be driving in the right side thats been left sided lol

[@lightzumo5719]

How exactly can you get Pops and bags out of a JCW with the OPF? :D

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Stick the gearbox in sport, stick the car in sport and then listen very *very* carefully. They are there - you get the odd loudish one but most are quite muted.

[@shaunsimpson9902]

You can't, unless you take the dpf off. I've just swopped my wife's 19 plate Auto JCW for a 16 plate Manuel JCW with a pro exhaust and its black and white. The 19 plate will pop once every now and again and it was like saying sorry when it did it.

[@lightzumo5719]

@@shaunsimpson9902 Okai, I got lucky, I found an MINI JCW LCI without an OPF because when the bought it he could still ask without it so I kinda lucky xD

[@alexgea1]

Awesome mini, man that's a beautiful mini God dammit

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Haha! Thanks, I like it 😉

[@sirganjaknight5460]

How long did it take for your order to come through from the factory?

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Was just over two months. Ordered end June / early July (I think - was between lockdown 1 and 2) and picked up first week September.

[@nigelpstreet]

Very nice car + spec. I have a slightly less well specced JCW on order, due in November. Sorry to hear about the paint blemishes, would be interested to hear what they do about that because that's pretty bad on what is not at all a cheap car. Also, what's the running in period?

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Running in period is 1200 miles, not above 4500rpm and no auto gearbox kickdowns. As for the paint - it’s currently at Sytner having the bonnet resprayed under warranty. Paint technician thought it was possibly water contamination between the base coat and clearcoat at the factory. They took some photos, sent them off to BMW and BMW authorised the respray within 18 hours. Fair enough! Good luck with yours - great little car :)

[@nigelpstreet]

@@NicktheGeekUK Thanks for reply. 1200 miles is going to be tricky, but I do like to do things by the book 😇. At least we can get it run in ready for spring ;-) Glad BMW are sorting paint, and if it's only bonnet not as bad as it might have been. Enjoy your car, and I look forward to more vids.

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Cheers Nigel. Yup, got 300 miles left of driving like a saint... then I won’t be 😉 Took the wife’s Cooper SD out yesterday... that thing’s got some torque on it! Was nice to give it the beans... and I must admit I enjoyed the manual gearbox :( I hope the wait for yours goes quickly... mine was a *very* slow two months!

[@nigelpstreet]

@@NicktheGeekUK I'm going for manual. I did like the auto I tried, and it wasn't an easy decision - though saving £1600 helped 😉. Silver White with Chilli Red roof, 18" JCW wheels, adaptive suspension, Harman Kardon upgrade, Comfort Pack Plus, but 'standard' Navigation Pack as I didn't want a lot of things that came with Navigation Plus - though that digital cluster would have been nice, I'll make do with retro dials. Did get CarPlay though. Oh and darkened rear glass, I think that's it?! Hopefully here around mid-November. I might swap run-flats for Pilot Sport 4s once run in.

[@andrewdelvard]

is the automatic gearbox quicker than a manual?

[@NicktheGeekUK]

According to the Mini site, yeah. 6.1s 0-62 as compared 6.3s for the manual. Bit better on mpg and emissions too, apparently. And you get launch control on the auto.

[@narellekitten2735]

Hi Nick - great video - I got my new JCW a few weeks ago I love it but it has similar paint issues on the bonnet so I was very interested to hear your comments - mine is Metallic Midnight black also - the dealer will be looking at mine in a few weeks - can I ask you how the respray went - are you happy with the result? Cheers Narelle

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Hi Narelle, Sorry to hear yours has got the same paint issues as mine did. Mine actually ended up going back to the dealer twice... I found those blemishes on the bonnet, the dealer inspected them, sent the photos off to BMW and it was immediately approved for a respray on the bonnet. This was done (took a week and a half before I got it back) and the bonnet looked great after the respray. Then I spotted three more blemishes exactly the same on the roof literally the next time I took the car out 🤦🏼‍♂️ Took me a while to get a response out of the dealer but then got the name and direct number of the bodyshop manager who was great and got the roof authorised for a respray. Another week and a half in the dealer but it all looks good now. One thing he did say is that BMW don’t let them inspect the car for other areas that might have the same problem as they say the dealer is ‘looking for work’. So they will literally only respray what it goes in for. Which is a bit daft but whatever. So make sure you really give the car a thorough check over before it goes in and flag up anything you think is a problem because they won’t fix it otherwise! Not sure if yours is the same as mine, but the blemishes on mine were impossible to see indoors - you could only see them in daylight. Make sure you get them to check it outside! Shouldn’t have to, given the cost of these things, but that’s the way it is! Great car though - just got mine out of the run-in period and having a bit of fun with it (before lockdown!). Even got a few pops and bangs from it! Best of luck with the dealer and the respray - hope it all goes well :)

[@narellekitten2735]

@@NicktheGeekUK Thanks for the quick reply - my car is exactly the same as yours with the new digital display and I read your review whilst I was waiting for my car to arrive. Good point on making sure all spots are noted before I take it in - I have only found ones on the bonnet but I will check the car in sunlight as you suggested - it's always good to know how a company behaves if there is an issue and so far so good, they are keen to make sure I am happy so thats great and hopefully all goes well. I will let you know how it plays out - it's going in mid Feb and I should have it back by end of Feb, Cheers and thanks, Narelle

[@Cainos693]

How much did this set you back if you don’t mind me asking?

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Probably about £36k or thereabouts

[@MrOmbra666]

How about pops and bangs in sport mode?

[@NicktheGeekUK]

I think I *might* have had one or two pops. I’ll try properly once I’ve got another 500 miles on it. But certainly nothing like the pre-OPF JCWs where you hear them popping and banging all the time.

[@garyvowles23]

My 2020 JCW has now done 1900 miles and no pops or bangs even in sport mode sadly.

[@MrOmbra666]

@@garyvowles23 bad news...

[@Silver-oh6ry]

I’ve got 20 plate on it pops a bit on cold start but not when am driving how do I remedy that .

[@ClarityConcept]

@@garyvowles23 I’ve got a Cooper S 2019 no exhaust mods. Abs I get pop and bangs all the time in sport mode

[@kennethlinton4432]

Automatic? Why?!

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Because I've had enough manual cars now and just can't be bothered any more! My Porsche Cayman S was the 6 speed manual and it was fun enough. If I want to drive manual now I can either use my campervan or the wife's Cooper SD... But I've got flappy paddles on the JCW, so if I want to take control of the gears I can... if I'm crawling in motorway traffic on the commute (if we ever go back to that again) then the auto works a charm.

[@Mert-pd2ht]

Sunroof missing!!!!! Makes the car 2x as big

[@pipolebnene]

Way too overpriced

[@leeandjancruise]

I bought a 10 month old 3k mile JCW with all the toys from Sytner MINI , listed at nearly £38k, got it for £27k, that's the way to do it.

[@NicktheGeekUK]

Fair play! My car before the JCW was a 6 month old 330e - bought from Sytner with about 7.5k on the clock and the original price / sale price was remarkably similar to what you got on the JCW. Can't beat a bargain! Hope you're enjoying the car.