2009 Mini Cooper Review & Road Test at Automotive.com

2009 John Cooper Works Minis

Below is a review of the 2009 Mini Cooper written by the automotive experts at Automobile Magazine. A full evaluation of the driving experience, price, equipment, and specs are here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with a wealth of experience.

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IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Review From Automobile Magazine

2009 John Cooper Works Minis

Article provided by: Automobile Magazine

2009 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Front Three Quarter View

For those disappointed by the Mini's recent weight gain, both in three-door and Clubman guise, there's hope with a new performance variant. The new John Cooper Works cars bring even more torque and improved handling to the British-Bavarian table.

Starting with the 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder found in the Cooper S, JCW Minis get a modified engine that is very similar to that of the John Cooper Works Challenge series cars. Boost gets a considerable, well, boost, from 13 psi in the Cooper S to nearly 19 psi. Engine internals are beefed up to handle the increased heat and output. The four-banger's breathing is aided by a reworked air filter, turbo, and exhaust, which also gives the JCWs a unique sound. All of these changes add up to 207 hp at 6000 rpm and 192 lb-ft of torque between 1850 and 5600 rpm. If that weren't enough, boost is turned all the way up between 2000 and 5300 rpm bringing torque to 207 lb-ft. A modified 6-speed manual handles the excess(ive?) torque.

2009 Mini Cooper Clubman John Cooper Works Front Three Quarter View

Putting all of that twist to the road will be the job of a tweaked chassis. A sport button changes the electric-assisted steering to a more, you guessed it, sporty program with higher steering torque, and also changes the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal. A sport suspension comes standard and can be augmented with optional harder dampers and stronger stabilizers front and rear. There is also an available John Cooper Works chassis that lowers the car by 10 millimeters and replaces the dampers with still harder ones while the stabilizers are an even larger diameter. Regardless of the suspension option, there's less unsprung weight to contend with thanks to lighter rims and brakes - the unique 17-inch alloy wheels weigh less than 22 lbs each.

All of these changes will allow the traditional three-door Mini to scoot to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds, while the slightly larger Clubman does the job in 6.8. Either body style will be able to reach 148 mph and the Mini's already-huge speedometer will display 160 mph on the Cooper Works cars.

2009 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Front View

Other interior upgrades that may not portend the JCW cars' increased sporting potential include an anthracite headliner and gloss piano black trim. And since no Mini is complete without a slew of dress-up bits, the full line of Mini options and accessories will be available on the cars, along with John Cooper Works performance and appearance parts.

The Mini John Cooper Works and John Cooper Works Clubman will be the first JCW models built for customers at Mini's Oxford factory. Prior to Mini's purchase of the John Cooper Works brand, JCW kits were offered as a dealer-installed option.

The factory-built cars will make their debut at this year's Geneva show. U.S pricing hasn't been announced, but expect a premium of a at least a few thousand dollars over the Cooper S.