Just finished reading the "Performance Car of the Year" article in the December R&T. They don't take kindly to the JCW GP. They actual said the Ford Fiesta ST kicked the GP out of the first round of competition. Sad. Not a good write up for MINI.

Glad the C7 was the overall winner as I just put one in my garage. The Mini is still more fun to throw around IMO.

 

What does R&T know.

Pics of the C7??

 

I'll keep my MINI GP2, which is rich in heritage. I've never looked twice at the R&T winner.

 

They know what they like.

I don't agree with everything they print, it's just a rag after all.

 

Agree

 

it hurts for mini enthusiasts like us but numbers don't lie. it's time for Mini to bring back the glory days of winning in race tracks and rally events because results speak louder than pedigree during H2H testing. The R53 won few ST races but fell short. The competition has stepped up. Maybe the 2014 2.0L has potential for safe 300HP+ and a lightweight body evolution will do the job at reasonable price.

 

You had me till the last three words.......at $40K for a GP II, "reasonable price" is not part of MINI's current or future marketing strategy.

 

R & T likes the GP when looking at it standing alone .. just check a few back issues

it is when the GP has to face off against newer competition that it fails.

In 2002 the MINI was hot and tight ... I bought one then. And by the time I bought my 7S it reminded me of my 79 Olds Cutlass; fast and fun but heavy and soft.

I just replaced my 7S for a FOCUS ST .... reviews say "if you have teenage drivers in the house do not buy this car" and the fiesta ST is smaller and lighter . . .

When I bought my 2S it resulted in buying a 79 Mini ... and looking at the 14 MINI, I went FORD!



I only have 1000 miles on my ST but am getting the same feelings I had from my first days of 2002 Cooper S ownership . . .

GRIP in the corners

Touch the gas and it JUMPS

VERY tight suspension ... u feel the road (no RF's btw ... full size spare)

***
R&T is not the only reviewer that's said the ST's are HOT .... but I do recognise that MINI folks find it hard to swallow. If MINI had stayed closer to the Mini mystique maybe they'd not be in this position.

To Wit .... did you notice that MOSS has discontinued their parts line for MINI?

MOSS' dropping MINI says something to me. They have always been and remain a big source for after market Miata stuff. And were in this market for MINI since the beginning. But now they've left. WHY?

Maybe they were driven out by WAY and ECS but I suspect something other . . .

{they still support Mini btw}

 

I see your point about the Ford and I understand but BMW isn't going to let Mini beat its own cars in hp!

 

The fact is up until Oct Mini was seeing record breaking sales every month.

Some may want something different from them and maybe they're not winning in some of these head to head performance comparisons but as long as they're having amazing sales it's hard seeing them change much.

It'd be hard for anyone inside Mini to say they need to focus on more X when sales are that strong and be heard.

I do believe we'll see JCW become even better in the coming years and will be even better performing. However, like rum4 said, they're never going to make something perform better and cost less than one of the BMW performance oriented models. Sadly I do think in a few years we'll look at the cost of the GP2 compared to a new JCW and think the GP2 was cheap.

 

It is interesting that the British car magazine Evo had the two reversed, the Ford Fiesta ST failed to make it out of the first round of Evo's " Car of the Year" contest. The GP2 went head to head with some pretty special cars in the second round and wound up finishing 6th out of 8 cars. A couple of the reviewers had the GP in their top 3. Go figure.

 

The R&T comments regarding the GP2 performance on the racetrack go against the grain of the majority of other reviews. It needs to be viewed within that context. It is just one opinion, not the consensus.

 

if you have not read the article

http://www.roadandtrack.com/bestof20...ar-of-the-year

We have a pair of small cars on hand—the Mini John Cooper Works GP and Ford Fiesta ST—and the editors are unanimously in favor of the Ford. Cammisa's notes in the JCW's logbook show him to be unimpressed: "Buh-bye, Mini, it's been fun. Disastrous on track." That might be a bit extreme, but I'm happy to step out of the Mini; it has a nasty habit of wagging its tail in 110-mph braking. "It's like they made it do that, for quote-unquote character," Webster suggests.

Character, the real stuff, is what the Fiesta has in spades. Nobody even bothers to suggest it won't come to Ohio. It's the slowest car here, but it never feels boring. "It isn't perfect," Gluckman argues, "but it's easily the most entertaining thing Ford's making right now."

The Mini is rendered obsolete by the Fiesta.



btw this 'test' was totally subjective, no measuring G's, braking distance, or top speed; it was a seat of the pants test and the 'vette won .. most people think R&T loves Europ' cars but they also poopoo'd the Ferrari that was in the group: it had a mechanical problem and that got it the boot .... who cares how it drives if it breaks down.

but eventually

After everyone's rotated through the cars once, there's a sort of rush to claim the Stingray at each driver swap, but the Fiesta's also drawing its share of repeat offenders. Condon's a fan: "The whole thing feels like they built the car around you—a totally connected blast. Pound-for-pound champ." Better check it out, then.

The Ford had seemed competent enough on the track, but on the road, it's a revelation. It's full throttle everywhere and trail-brake and body roll and just thrilling. "You wouldn't want to go any faster on these roads than the Fiesta can go," Cammisa says. It's a rare moment of sanity from our in-house drift-master, but he has a point. There's enough brake, enough power, enough grip. Smith notes that it has roughly the power-to-weight ratio of an E30-chassis BMW M3, and it shares that car's appetite for the road—if you can't go fast in the Fiesta, you can't go fast.

 

I've driven the Ford focus ST and own a GP2. Other than the seats in the ford, thats the only thing I liked better about it versus the GP. The Ford is more practical, bigger, heavier but that adds layers which take away from the aliveness that the GP has. After owning the GP1 & currently owning the GP2, I was surprised by the torque steer in the Ford.

They're both good cars. The GP has more character in my opinion.

 

Depends on how much currency/adverts/bennies are provided to the magazine doing the review. Some even borrow their writings directly from the mailer sent to them by the manufacturer.

They're all interesting reading for data. Enjoy the reading take the results with a grain of salt. It's all about selling cars.

 

I did a bake off between the Fiesta ST and the GP2. Road and track mud be smoking some pretty good crack. The Fiesta ST is great for the money, but it's just a *really good* hot hatch. The mini is a sports car. The turn in with the GP2 is unreal. The exhaust note is great. The suspension is great. I guarantee back to back the GP2 would nail the fiesta st on any track.

Also don't forget the ST has a nasty habit of overheating on track (and some hot weather situations, go check their forums) , and there is barely any aftermarket brake pad support.

So if I were looking for the best 22k hot hatch to do some autoxing and tracking I would get the fiesta st but the mini is really something special.

As for the tail wagging at 110mph I don't know what that's about. Maybe stability control was left on? It just seems odd

 

Oh and yes the C7 is awesome. I was almost seduced by that car, but mini it is for me.

 

Yea but it is a Ford not q Mini. Bet my wife's get more compliments or comments on her Mini than the lady down the street in her Ford Fiesta. Ole' The Fiesta looks like a lot of other smaller cars from Nissan, Toyota, GM You know a mini when you see it. Just like you know a 911 or Vett. when you seen one Look at all the other Retro cars out there you know what it is when you see it, it is not a Camray or Accord.

 

My friend has a Focus ST. Against my modded GP its starts to walk on it head to head. Nice car but its big and heavy and a dime a dozen.

 

The GP2 is based on a chassis and base engine design that came out in 2007, so it's a bit outdated and I think that's the main reason it can't compete well with newer cars. I think a JCW or GP3 based on the new F56 will probably do better. Having said that, there are sooo many imponderables in what car works for one person or another. I bought a 2013 R56s because I wanted it and love it, and would pick it again over F56, ST, GTI, or even a Golf type R (loads of fun, but still no MINI).