I have waited for the F56 since its unveiling last November and read all the road tests, followed the threads here, and drove one recently. But 2 months ago I drove an Eclipse Grey/Red JCW Coupe in Scottsdale. Interior black Recaro seats with all red colorline/accents inside. When we pulled up my wife said "Buy that car TODAY Newt". I drove it, and of course didn't buy it. Mini of Tempe found me a Volcanic Orange MCS enroute to CA with most of what I wanted, and I went there a week ago to put down a deposit but was beat to the punch. So yesterday I called my MA in Scottsdale and lo and behold the JCW was still there and I went down and bought it. God what a difference from my 2007 MCS. The ride is much smoother (and I had non RFs on it), it's way quieter on the highway (less wind and tire noise). And of course way faster with better brakes. I really believe in getting the latest model but some new features of the F56 didn't interest me (the 3 drive modes, the variable dampers, the auto shut off, the LED lights and the light ring). I did love the seats but mine has Recaros which are superb. Have the Mini Connected. I almost never need a Nav. Has HK sound with 2 midrange and 2 tweeters on the wall behind the seats. Sounds great. But what sold me was the look of the Coupe, and the red roof and stripes. Looks like no other car out there. I'm sure you F56 owners have excellent cars, but this thing is a freaking beast to drive. It won't let me upload pix because I uploaded them on the 2nd Gen Coupe thread.

Congrats! You didn't jump ship, you stayed true to go-kart handling!! That's one of the things I miss about my Coupe S. My F56 S in no way gets close to my Coupe in "go kart" handling.

TBN. I was at the dealer the other day speaking to the head mechanic who knows me really well. He said the F56 is all BMW in every way. I think he is right. It drives like a BMW in every way.
I really miss aspects of my R56. Now I have a bunch of crap I don't really need. Reversing camera, HUD, GPS. I would say the last R56 JCW's will be collectors cars. Fun and very fast!
You made a good choice in my opinion!

Congrats Pictures?

Greg, then why did you order those options?

Bob. Ordered the car based on those reviews online back in Feb. Thought a loaded car would be better....
Honestly I like the way the car drives...but the rest of it.
HUD - Used it once and it breaks the curve of the dashboard when down
GPS - Don't like the colors on the screen I prefer the way my TOMTOM screen looks - Good thing is in has the voice integration.
Reversing Camera - Says right there "you should not rely on this..".so if you have to look back anyway it would be better to have the screen in the back facing forward...Just don't use it! My buddy has a BMW and he was telling me that when he puts the car in reverse the curb mirror tilts down so you can judge the distance from the curb! That is a smart feature in my opinion, especially with low profile tires!
All that stuff cost just over $1500 and I had the car discounted that much....
ultimately I don't care about all that stuff - I'm a driver. I honestly think phones should be banned from cars.....and almost everything that is a distraction to the driver.

Greg K says.:
I honestly think phones should be banned from cars.....and almost everything that is a distraction to the driver. __________________

One of the Mini options definitely does this... when I did my test drive the MA pointed that out when I was backing out of the parking space.

Way to go Greg - yes phones should be blocked from receiving / sending data and calls in cars. Let's get back to driving.

Congrats to the original poster on your car choice. As for me, I like the BMWesque feel of the new Mini. The prior generations never quite trumped my prior car choices for value, quality or feel on the road. The day of my first F56 encounter I almost didn't notice the GP sitting in the corner of the showroom. I'm over the Hp/torque hunger (a meal ordered often but rarely tasted).

Hey Newt,

I tell you, I like that JCW coupe. When I went to test drive my R56 JCW, they were prepping it and the MA suggested I take out the JCW coupe, just to get a feel for the motor since they are the same. Heck, why not?

it takes a little getting used to, the "turret" view out of the car, but the "chopped" look from the outside is very menacing. I am 6'5", but fit in the car fine. It also had the Recaros-love that material on the seats. Really keeps you planted in the twisties.

Best handling Mini, no doubt. I assume it's lighter than the R56, it sure felt like it. I prefer my R56 as I do need a back seat and rear storage on occasion, but you got yourself a very sweet ride dude!

I understand your points about those three options. I was just curious. I didn't order the HUD because I didn't like the pop-up deal. I didn't get the backup camera because with a car this small and with such great rear/side visibility I didn't feel it was something I needed. I like the function of the GPS, but the graphics (like on the TomTom) could be better.

Enjoy your JCW. It sounds really nice and I'm sure you're going to love it going forward. I would just miss the overall higher quality of the F56. But we're all different, with differing priorities and needs. It's all good.

that remains to be seen....yes, the car is more BMW then before, but BMW is in the bottom half of the JD Power quality ratings for 2013, right there with Mini. I'm not slamming the F56, I just think there are a lot of rose colored glasses when it comes to this car because it has a "genuine" BMW motor and interior, somehow that will make it a higher quality product.

I'm going to hold my opinion on quality until a much larger sample of them are out there with some miles.

I hear what you're saying and I get it.

Having put 1,200 miles on my F56 S, I'm feeling the opposite. Unfortunately, you cant take a 48 hour test drive before you find out that there is no more go-kart in the F56, they just neglected to tell the marketing folks. Now, I'm looking at the 2nd Gen R56 and Coupes and thinking, wow, I miss that.

Well that scares the crap out of me with my car getting here in about a week. I love my R56 and was scared to trade it anyway.

Not sure we're driving the same car then, I have the sport suspension and it's a huge difference from the variable. This car carves and has instant power (in sport mode).

As a previous R56 early adopter I've been through the troubles/unknowns of a new model, I feel like I rolled the dice on the F56 but so far have been more than pleased with the outcome.

I loved my R56 to death, but I don't think it'd stack up to how the F56 feels out of the box.

Congrats!

I am always a believer in if you love it you better by it. I have had my F56 for two weeks now and I am in love. The additional space has been amazing driving my 86 year old grandpa and parents around to dinner and stuff. Honestly, we can always find things that we do not "like" on our cars but overall in sport mod this baby can keep up with my husband in our BMW Z4 M and that is all I really care about.

Happy motoring in your new ride!

That is what my F56 needs - sport suspension. If it had that, then it would totally transform the car and close the handling gap between my Coupe and the F56. My Coupe did not have the sport suspension yet handled so much better than the F56. If/when JCW suspension parts can be added to the F56 to stiffen up the handling, I will be the first in line.

No need to cancel the order. We're talking small, yet noticeable, degrees of performance. Others are correct in stating the car is a much nicer build over the R56, but when you put it through the paces comparing R56 regular suspension to the F56 regular suspension, you will notice a difference. I'm finding that the scale of difference is based on perspective of the owner. In my case, I'm feeling BMW left some handling on the table but I got some really cool gadgets and nicer seats.

What changed my mind was the look of the Coupe, and the JCW package. I left the rear seat in my R56 folded down 100% of the time, so in a way the car looks better with the bigger boot. There's less glass in the Coupe, the view is definitely different because the windscreen and the rear window are much more raked. I think that affects the wind noise which is much less. I pumped up the tires to 38psi and the handling of this thing rocks (it has the Sport Suspension). It has Dunlap SP1 tires, whatever those are. Off the line the thing is a freaking rocket. I was growning tired of shifting my R56 so the AT is great. Here's a link to a similar threat in the 2nd G forum if you want to see the pix....
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...talk-2012-379/

Now THIS is a true driver's attitude...love it

Different strolks for different fokes.

Never had Nav in a car and really like how the HUD shows the miles to go to the next turn and whether I'd be veering left or right at the next fork in the road. Seeing my MPH, of course is on the HUD -- the main place I check my speed..

Back-up cameras, that's the reason behind our getting an MCS and a new Mazda CX-5. Without the B/U camera, there is NO way to see what's immediately behind your car. Mandated for 2018, trade-ins without will take a big hit -- IMO.

Nice! Thought I'd choose an F56, but after testing both I simply couldn't let go of the coupe feel I've had for almost three years. On Fri. I ordered a white silver/ black S Coupe & today an Injen short ram air intake for a bit of extra kick and sound that I don't have now. Happy motoring, Big Newt!

I like a lot of things about the F56, and who knows what I'll do when/if the JCW version rolls out (MotoringFile guessed in about a year, Mini showed of a prototype version at some auto show last year I believe). Again what sold me was the body style/look not primarily the performance.