Hey NAM FAM whats up guys, I have just recently placed an order for a new MCS with a few options that have reached a total of $27,300. Now my MA told me that the car should be here in the first week of July. After reading the JCW hardtop thread, I am now having doubts of "ordering a JCW MCS" I am not sure what the BLACK AND WHITE diffrences are between the JCW and the MCS.....?

What would you guys do ....? would you order the JCW for the price point and the time i have to wait anyway or would you just wait for my custom made MCS...? thanks guys really don't want to have buyer REMORSE

MY MCS: xenon,ab/ab, LSD, Loung leather,rear fog lights, white lights, upgraded ac, piano black finish, 6spd, chrome interior, and cold package..

Any and all imputs are welcomed

 

I just went through this decision. I think it depends on a minimum of two variables:
1. Your overall budget
2. Tradeoffs between JCW performance and the comfort/convenience options that you can add to the MCS to reach the same price.

The JCW will cost you at least $30K. If you spec it with the options you have on your MCS - lounge leather, auto AC, xenons, cold weather, etc. - then you are probably looking at more like $34K.

The JCW comes with upgraded/modified engine (pistons, ECU, etc.), transmission, clutch, brakes, lightweight alloy wheels; these are things you either can't get in an MCS or which you can approxmiate with JCW accessories (e.g. JCW Stage I dealer kit vs. the JCW Stage II factory). The JCW also includes piano black and the anthracite headliner and it comes with DTC standard (which replaces DSC and the mechanical LSD); so there are $1500 of 'options' from an MCS that will be in a JCW automatically.

I chose to drop the leather and a couple of other things from the MCS I was planning to order, and instead go for a relatively minimal spec JCW. I don't plan to track my car, but performance is very important to me. I've previously owned 911's and BMW M cars, so I'm very excited about the factory JCW.

If you are more excited about the lounge leather in your MCS than the new clutch in the JCW, then get the MCS - or vice versa. If you've got an extra $7K to spend then just have it all! I think a lot of it depends on how you drive and what you've driven before. If you're coming from a Honda Civic, the MCS is plenty of car. If you're coming from a Z4 Coupe, then you might want the JCW.

 

the upgraded internal parts in the engine are the only things that I was thinking about when I decided not to go with the jcw.

I really don't like the DTC, because it uses the breaks to manage wheel slip and things of that nature, in my opinion, that's not a replacement for LSD. Cutting back power to gain traction, vs. mechanically managing power distribution to gain traction are completely different and not interchangeable.

I chose to go with the MCS so that I could get the LSD and DSC. There's tuners getting MCS's up over the JCW hp too. I do plan on modding the car. That being said, if I weren't planning on aftermarket mods, I might want the JCW. The DTC makes me leery though.

 

I agree. I wanted to keep things stock and not worry in the least about warranty issues. But if I had planned to mod the car, then I think starting with an MCS and LSD, adding suspension and aftermarket HP upgrades would have been the way to go.

One big advantage of the JCW is that it has the upgraded clutch and transmission to deal with the extra power - not that there's any indication that the stock clutch/tranny can't handle extra power.

The other issue for me was resale: if you spend $5K on aftermarket mods, you'll get less of that money back on resale than the $5K spent on the JCW. Obviously you won't get all of the JCW money back either, but I expect a higher percentage - especially if you sell while the car is still under warranty.

 

This is exactly what I did.

I had an MCS spec'd out and it was in the system (it was actually delivered to the dealer and now sits on their lot). I found out about the JCW and switched to that car. I think I kept most options though as I keep cars for a long time so I treated myself although I didn't have a lot of options to begin with.

The JCW is just a stronger platform to begin modding from, if you're into that. You can easily spend alot of money on the S but hit a wall with the tranny and brakes (cha ching$$), etc.

With the JCW, now I don't have to get bigger brakes, turbo, wheels or get an intake, etc... it comes from the factory like that. You'll pay either way. But this way, I don't have to get my hands dirty so early in the game

In my mind, aside from the cost, the only downside of the JCW is the gas mileage. I believe it is in the low 30mpg.

For me, I do intend on taking my Mini to the track one day so that was a driving factor for the JCW.

If you're not tracking it or xcrossing it, save your $$, go with the S. If you're not into performance, go with the JustACooper and save wads of money on gas.

 

Low 30s MPG is a downside on a car with over 200hp?!

 

Still can't believe that the JCW aero kit is an optional accessory...Especially for the JCW works car

 

I know you are looking at an R56, and I own a R53 but the comparibles are the same...... I used to own an 02 MCS with the usual performance mods making the power close to my 06 JCW but and as road testers such as Top Gear etc have found, bolt on aftermarket add ons are just that, they work well but the factory stuff makes the whole car work well, it's hard to explain, but every aspect is just better as the factory JCW spec all works in conjunction. I realize there is a difference between my years of the cars, but the JCW jump is worth it if you can afford it or if you could sacrifice a couple of accessories to get into the JCW I think in the end you'll be glad you did, speaking from experience, good luck and let us know what you end up with.

 

Not sure about the expected gas mileage of the factory JCW, but I am only getting 22-23 mpg in my Stage 1 JCW!

 

HAHA I know, I expect everything, high horse power with high MPG

 

Me thinks your results are not typical. I avg 32 in my 07 S. See sig.

 

mnimule, I'm going through the same thing as you this very moment. Rather than start another thread, I'll jump in here. As I've held off ordering my car, I'm now leaning towards the JCW as it's now available to order. My thinking is exactly what SmokeM said + others here, + my angle on things.

a) I do like to keep a car pretty 'stock' while under warranty. [When my C43's warranty ended, the 4.3L engine came out and 5.4L engine went in, and suspension change to hardly any rubber bushings front & back, adjustable link arms, adjustable spring perches, Penske 8100 racing shocks.. etc. ] Getting the JCW is like getting an 'AMG' or 'M' or 'RS'; it's getting the most perf into the stock vehicle, while having the dealership covering me 100% [ok, no thread hi-jacking for those w/warranty horror-stories... I know they happen and I'm sorry to hear; I had major probs w/my car too but MB warranty service was fantastic and cost me little]

b) I thought the JCW price was way outta line. But I just did this... I was going to get a R56S loaded coming in @ $31.9K. The JCW edition adds more to the mix of interior options that I didn't select before. So on the website I started w/the car I was going to buy, then added all the JCW Dealer Installed parts and other interior 'upgrades' that the JCW edition comes with from the factory.

I found the price difference b'twn the R56S + Dealer-installed "JCW Stage I" Upgrade + accessories that gets the car as close to the R56S JCW edition that I could, was only about a $2,000 difference. Here's the kicker tho. The website doesn't include dealer-installation prices for those parts/options! The installed price may be more than getting the JCW Edition. So really for that $2K price difference I'm getting the beefed-up engine, tranni, whathaveyou, comprising the "JCW Stage II" [not "Stage I"], with everything installed... Ok, I don't get LSD. I can however put one in eventually, perhaps -- hope that won't drive the electronic gremlins nuts tho trying to counteract the wheel behavior a mechanical LSD would bring.

It really does seem like the JCW Edition's a 'bargain' compared to buying all the options and parts and installing them on a R56S. Yes... I am now 'taking' & paying for options I wouldn't have otherwise [headliner, doorsills, other stuff]. All in all however, if I can get the wifie to see the light, in that I'll probably own the car for at least 10 years... And if I get an extended warranty... The JCW makes "penny-wise" sense, to me.

 

Don't listen to this guy, he's just another crazy Jeeper

I unloaded mine to get the Cooper. Its a crazy car. It has almost the same interior feel as the Wranger I hope the Mini is as stout and problem free as my Wrangler was.

 

I personally think it's kind of a crappy deal. I mean, you bought the JCW car, so you should get all the JCW goodies. The bodykit, as stated, is extra. Even worse, in my opinion, the JCW suspension is not included either. So you get all that power, but you are still running around on the same suspension as a standard S? wtf? No JCW steering wheel? That should have been a definite. No shift ****? No brake handle? No CF dash? Granted, not everyone would want that stuff, but dont you think they should throw it in, with the option of choosing something else?

This is a big deal. It's the new JCW car. It's the top-of-the-line MINI. I just feel that they should AT LEAST give you guys the bodykit.

</rant>

 

If they did put all that other stuff in there, how much would it have cost? Its borderline worth it for me right now. Any more then I would have looked at something else as what you are paying doesn't seem like its worth it, at least to me.

I agree with you though, at the very least the body kit. But, in retrospect, I would take the hard parts upgrade rather then the body kit any day.

 

yea, i realize it would cost more as it stands, but i think they should upgrade the suspension and include it in the cost. maybe thats not feasible, or maybe it's just a way to cut cost (im going with the latter). thats what irks me. it seems like they are cutting a lot of corners on what is going to be their flagship car.

 

But then there are those guys that when they do the suspension, they'll be looking to use adjustable, preferably dual adjustable, shocks. Not coming with the uprated rear swaybar tho? Ya, that's pretty silly.

 

lol... Exactly what I'm doing. Especially now after having rear-ended someone who stopped hard @ a yellow on a left turn off a highway 'cus I still had the snows on the Jeep, and it w/o ABS. [Even stock Mini has brakes that are hard to beat.] She's fixed like new tho; you're very right in that it's been pretty problem free, and "strong like bull!".

 

If your still working on your decision, I looked at the same problem. I ordered an 09 JCW yesterday. I looked at the math for an 08 MCS with all the options I wanted and then looked at the 09 JCW - most of the items were standard in the JCW. My total numbers were pretty close to each other, but what was not included would be the labor from the dealer. If you have many options then your dealer labor may be very high and there may be an advantage in the 09 JCW. It is an individual choice good luck.

 

Yep You'll pay now or you'll pay later. But you will pay.

 

 

If you go JCW you simply must get a suspension upgrade too IMO. Doesn't have to be JCW, but some sort of upgrade, preferably coilovers/asb. The aero kit would be nice, but it's cosmetic (and expensive, but everything's expensive isn't it).

 

I think it depends on if you want to go aftermarket mods to get power, handing, etc., or to go stock. You can definitely get an S stripped down add some things like brake kit, LSD, etc. that aren't available as aftermarket products, as of yet, and come in cheaper (i.e. have 4-5K to do mods). Or you can go with the JCW.

I also noticed that there are some interior options that aren't available for the JCW, like MY interior color line. . .what's up wit dat?

Anyway, either way you go, bottomline its a MINI and MINIs rock!

 

If you want the fastest MCS you can buy from the dealer get the automatic. The MCS auto is faster than the 6-speed and JCW MCS in tests.

Car and Driver showed the following:

MCS 6-speed 0-60 - 6.7
MCS JCW 0-60 - 6.5
MCS auto 0-60 - 6.2

I cannot recall the 1/4 mile times but the auto was faster there too.

Road course could yield different results but I have yet to see numbers.

 

I have spoken my peace about this topic in another thread and for what you get in upgrades and collectability with the JCW, more than worth it for me. I ordered the sport suspension upgrade and will then later add better parts.