I have a buddy looking for a F55 (5 door mini cooper S) I was surprised to see they don't have a full JCW option (brakes & higher hp) I thought is was interesting, then I wondered why?

Anyhow still looking for a 16 F55.

 

Well there is the F54 Clubman JCW. 6 doors, and a thrill a minute.

 

Carbon edition was as close as they came to a JCW. I think they guessed correctly that they wouldn't sell enough of them to make it pay off. I'm surprised that the 4 door even exists with the Clubman available.

Wife insisted on a Blue F55 so my lobbying for the Carbon was for naught.

 

So The clubman is better than the F55? Bigger I know, heaver? I'm not sure how to guide my friend..

 

The F55 drives pretty similar to the F56. The Clubmans I drove were great but nothing like the HT's. I'm really talking about that people who need 4 door cars would gravitate towards the Clubman. The little doors and back seats of the F55 are too small for anyone but kids.

 

Yup. And the Countryman is the hot ticket these days, with Clubman sales tanking in the USA. Changing demographics....

 

Even the front doors are smaller on the F55. I had a loaner for a week and beat myself up every time I got in or out of it. 6'4" and 230 at the time. I wouldn't even attempt to get in the back of one. My grandson told me it didn't have much more room than my F56. It's perfect for some people I'm sure, but definitely not my cuppa tea.

 

Yes, I dont know why either, they just had a carbon edition and called it a day. I seen people just add on JCW stuff to get it up to that level and then get a Dinan or NM module.

 

The Carbon Edition must have been good enough to repeat. I own a 2016 version and MINI has brought it back for 2018.

Goldielocks Syndrome for me, two door was too small, needed an actual read door; Clubman (current version was not out in 2016) was too big/heavy and the same holds true of the Countryman. The F55 hit the target, small enough and great power to weight ratio, especially after ECU tune, and I like the fact it's unique being a Carbon edition. But I will admit I do wish it had the JCW brakes and I am fighting the urge to upgrade them.

 

Better depends on what you want out of the car. The Clubman handles a lot like a VW Golf. It’s small, agile and fun, and a little plusher ride than the smaller MINIs. But it doesn’t have the same go-kart feeling that the hardtop aspires to.

I say “aspires to” because over the three generations of modern MINI, the ride has gotten a little softer. But it’s easy enough to fix. Stiffer rear sway bar goes a long way to that and is an inexpensive mod. Low end coilovers, such as the JCW
Pro (rebranded KW’s) finish the job nicely.

(Of course I would recommend this. Because it’s exactly what I did to my F55.)

I think you can bring an F55 up to JCW spec while spending slightly less than the premium for an F56 JCW, if you don’t care about the JCW’s somewhat overdone (and massively overpriced) body work upgrade. Base S model + $1500 for JCW Pro Coilovers + $250 for NM 22mm sway bar + $1600 for JCW brakes + $300 for a piggyback box such as Dinan or NM.

Granted, you don’t get the red line on the grill, the JCW badging, the option for the nice fabric JCW seat, or the fancy bumpers and side skirts. But functionally, it’s there.

(I don’t count the wheels because ALL of MINI’s wheels are heavier and more costly than aftermarket. So if you care about lightweight wheels, you’ll be repacking MINI’s wheels anyway.)

As always, your mileage may vary.

 

Oh, an addendum: there are other meaningful differences between the factory JCW and adding the upgrades. For example, the turbo is larger and runs at higher boost, and the air tubes to and from the intercooler are larger (as are the inlet/outlet of the intercooler).

But these only matter if you are racing or building for maximum performance... in which case I really doubt you are seriously buying a four door. If fun is the only thing that matters, the 2-door is where it’s at.