# 2013 Mini Countryman JCW Test Drive - BMWBlog



## [email protected] (Aug 15, 2012)

Mini's 4-door Countryman gets the John Cooper Works treatment. The Countryman gets more power, sport oriented suspension tuning and some nice visual touches. BMW Blog spent a couple weeks with the Countryman JCW and here are some of the findings.



*Power!:*


> The main element of the JCW tuning here is the 1.6 liter twin-scroll turbo four-cylinder engine which produces 160 kW / 218 PS and 280 Nm of torque (300 Nm with the over-boost function). Power which makes itself felt even in this heavy Countryman which weighs in at 1,400 kg. There's always plenty of juice on tap for just about anything and the engine never feels like it's a propped-up 1.6 liter. Sure, you hear the turbo at work (BMW's 2.0 liter twin-scroll turbo is a little smoother and quieter) but it's certainly not bothersome and you know that it is there to deliver the fun.


*Handling:*


> Riding on 19-inch rims and with a suspension tightened and lowered by 10 mm all combine to provide a very sporty ride such as a car wearing the JCW badges should have. Bumpy city streets aren't the easiest to drive on, though, with this harder set-up but take the car on the slalom roads of the Alps and you feel the handling that comes from that ride configuration. And the grip from the All4 traction makes itself felt too. The suspension is well-tuned to that kind of traction-oriented driving.


*As a whole it was...:*


> It goes without saying that when it comes to MINI, the brand definitely aims to sell its cars mainly on the basis of style and quality. And here we have the ultimate MINI, the JCW Countryman with loads of chic to spare. But once you step inside the MINI JCW Countryman and drive it around some, it quickly reveals itself to be quite a practical little number. The John Cooper Works treatment certainly adds a sportier performance to the car, but it does so without getting in the way of the plain Countryman inside this JCW edition.


Read the full article from BMW Blog here.

-_photo credit: BMW Blog_


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