2004 John Cooper Works (THINK GO-KART)
Written: Jun 28 '07 (Updated Jul 07 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Reliability: |
 |
|
| Seat Comfort: |
 |
|
| Build Quality |
|
|
| Roominess: |
 |
|
|
Pros: -Razor Sharp Handling
-Very Fast Acceleration
Cons: -Small Intercooler
-Terrible Stock Intake
The Bottom Line: If you can find one of these, buy one of these.
|
|
|
| mchulse's Full Review: 2004 MINI Cooper |
Review Section:
*Build: The Mini Cooper is built at the U.K. based Range Rover factor but is owned and designed by BMW. The John Cooper Works package is built in England and sent to individual BMW dealers for install. The JCW is covered under the 4 year 50,000 mile warranty.
*Ergonomics: The first thing I noticed when I first sit in a mini is it is very easy to get in and out of. This is because the front seats are at a fairly high level and does not have aggressively large bolsters. The interior of the car feels much larger than it is because of how far the windshield is from the front seats and the lack of features such as a center consol and a floor mounted shifter. The seats are not the most comfortable on the market and you are guaranteed a numb butt after a 4 hour trip. To say the least the optional lumbar support should be standard. The steering wheel feels very tight and the shifter could be more direct as it feels a bit clunky. The optional HK sound system is well balanced and performs flawlessly. A must have for mini owners. The trunk is tight and wouldn't even fit a golf bag, but the rear seats fold down enabling a couple of people to take a road trip and fit as many bags as they need (unless you’re traveling with Paris Hilton).
*Mechanical: The Cooper S is a Eaton supercharged 1.6L engine that produces 163hp at 10.5psi. The John Cooper Works also has a 1.6L engine but adds a reworked head that is ported and polished, a new Eaton supercharger producing 14psi, a high flow exhaust to reduce back pressure, a reworked computer, and in post 2004 models a fancy new intake which opens up a cold air flap after 4500rpm (my personal opinion is that this intake is junk because it incorporates electrical wiring and vacuum lines just to perform a task that is only useful because European noise pollution laws. DINAN makes a much better intake). This package (w/o the intake) produces 210hp which feels like a rocket ship coming from a 2500 lbs car. Unfortuneatly JCW did not develop a badly needed intercooler and the stock intercooler is reused. The intercooler is top mounted and in a Standard Cooper S suffers badly from heatsoak. In the JCW the intercooler is so mismatched that you almost stall at each red light in summertime because of the temperature of the air being sucked into your engine. This also greatly hinders the power band and the real power will not be felt until about 5500RPM in first. On the highway its fine because of the functional hood scoop but a larger intercooler is highly recommended (unfortunately a front mount intercooler is out of the question because of the lack of room). The standard 6 speed transmission gives the JCW plenty of legs at highway cruising speeds but is closely geared enough down bottom to make acceleration a lot of fun.
*Driving: This is the reason why I bought this car (among other things see below). THINK GO-KART, Except with a ton more power and leg room. The wheels are stretched as far out to the ends of the car as possible giving extremely sharp steering and the ability to turn on a dime. After the engine clears its throat from all the hot air collected from stopping this car really moves. The whine of the SC is addictive and the handling is about as forgiving as any car you'll ever drive. This car will put a smile on anyone’s face that drives it. The ride is a little rougher than some would care for but is understandable when the full realization of the handling comes to fruition. This car is quite but it is no MBZ or Cadi. The shifter is a bit clunky and a short shift kit would make for a much nicer experience.
*Community: You will never find a more dedicated fan base than MINI owners. Overall they are just out to have fun and saying something dumb in a forum will not get you made fun of, unlike Honda forums.
History Section:
When John Cooper was 15 he left his home in Surbiton, a suburb of London, to build instruments for the Royal Air force to support the U.K.s efforts in World War II. Upon returning home, he and his father started building race cars together. In 1946 John met Alec Issigonis, the eventual founder of the Mini, on the race track. Eleven years later Alec was hired by the British Motor Corporation to design and build a new kind of small car powered by a BMC engine, and in 1958 the Mini was born. Upon receiving a loan from Alec, John Cooper bought his first Mini in 1959 and was blown away by the potential it showed as a race car. After several failed attempts by John Cooper to convince Alec to let him build a limited high performance "Mini Cooper", John went directly to the head of the British Motor Company which approved him to build 1000 Mini Coopers. This led to many race victories including Monte Carlo in 1964. John Cooper continued to rework minis until his death in December of 2000, but not before he got his hands on the new version of the Mini Cooper S. In 2004 the first John Cooper Works Mini Cooper S was released and is the last Mini that John Cooper actually modified.
Comparison Section:
I just purchased this car a couple of weeks ago over many other options I was entertaining. I wanted a small sporty car with great performance and unique styling to match. Some other cars I was looking are as followed and include the reason why I chose the JCW mini over them:
2004 Subaru STi: This car has unbelievable performance for the price (0-60 in under 5sec and over .9g on the skid!) which blows away my 6.4sec Mini. Unfortunately people who buy these cars know these numbers and test them frequently making an unmolested STi a rare find. Also the mileage is 17city/24highway where the mini gets 25city/36highway and the insurance is much lower, not even in the same ball park, for the Mini for a 23 year old male.
-2004 350z: Another great car but has performance just slightly better than the JCW (0-60 at 5.8sec and a comparable skid). Though these cars do not suffer as bad from the same unmolested state the STi does they still get the same MPG as the STi. Also, the insurance is still almost double that of the mini for a guy my age.
-2006 Civic Si: It's a Honda, meaning that buying it new and changing the oil will get you about 250,000 miles before you have to repair any thing. Also this Honda has 197 HP which accelerates it from 0-60 in about 7.2sec, (slower than the JCW). This car gets similar mileage as the mini if not slightly better and the insurance is also comparable. The reason why I didn't choose this is because EVERYONE and their dog has one. Sure it's because they are great cars but they do not have near the style or character that the JCW has.
THANKS FOR LOOKING AND LET'S MOTOR!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 22500
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mchulse
|
|
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.