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2022 Mini JCW Convertible Road Test | A champion of fun

The 2022 Mini John Cooper Works Convertible just wants to have fun. It’s not the best performance bang for your buck. Beauty isnÂ’t its strong suit. And the interior isnÂ’t making up for other shortcomings — LOL if you want to make use of the trunk or put an adult in the backseat. But dammit. The JCW Convertible sure knows how to spread a smile across your face. It all starts with the little 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder under the striped hood. Mini attaches one of the shoutiest exhausts available on any car to this engine, and itÂ’s literally popping and crackling with character. Lose the roof, and youÂ’re simply that much closer to the theatrics. Nobody expects this tiny car to make such angry sounds, but no matter what mode or setting youÂ’re in, the JCW makes it known that the drive is about to be an experience. We knew all of the above from driving past JCW models, but Mini made a number of changes to the 2022 JCW lineup that applies to both the Hardtop and Convertible. WeÂ’ll start with the looks, as theyÂ’re easily the most controversial of the bunch. Mini gave the JCW a totally new front with updated LED headlights and a much larger grille with squared-off openings for greater engine cooling capacity. It all looks drastically meaner than the previous JCW. What that car's grille was still ensconced in honeycomb, the face had a playful and friendly demeanor. The new JCW face is looking at you with a bloodthirsty hunger for air and incoming bugs. We will say that photographs donÂ’t portray it in the best light, as even though it may appear tall and menacing without scale, the MiniÂ’s small overall size dampens the grilleÂ’s effects. Beyond the changes up front, Mini has fitted the JCW with a new rear diffuser and retained its signature Union Jack taillights that are oh-so-fun to see at night. It all hangs together well enough, but we canÂ’t be calling the Mini cute anymore. Instead of resembling a soft, friendly rabbit, itÂ’s much more of a rabid raccoon now. Another important change for 2022 is a newly-tuned and optional adaptive damping system. Mini says new frequency-selective damper tech allows the car to ride a hair smoother on poor roads. Meanwhile, its stiffest setting is 10% more aggressive than before, increasing agility even further on the track, Mini claims. However! Our test car was not fitted with these dampers, and instead had the standard, fixed JCW Sport suspension.

Mini knows how you take your coffee after a test drive

Mini Netherlands wanted to give its countrymen a good reason to test drive its cars, so it threw in a free cup of coffee with the spin - but not just any old cuppa joe. Cars were fitted with a sensor that analyzed the driver's style. The chip was then placed in a special coffeemaker that produced a blend to match the driving; middle-of-the-road test pilots would get a lungo (long) coffee, test-the-rollcage types were given a ristretto (short, and stronger).
The knock on the head for U.S. drivers? Milquetoast test drivers were given an Americano - a watered-down espresso. You can watch the unique promotion at work in the video below.

Mini getting serious with next Countryman SUV

With the core Hardtop and new Clubman already revealed, Mini is moving along with its plans to expand its model lineup around five "hero" models. Next down the pipeline will likely be the new Countryman, which Autocar projects will be larger and more rugged than the existing model. According to the British publication, the new Mini Countryman is set to take more of a proper SUV approach than the outgoing crossover. That means an even larger form, and more serious off-road chops to better take advantage of the connection with the X-Raid rally machine that has been dominating Dakar for the past four years. It's expected to be based on the same UKL front-drive architecture as the Hardtop, Clubman, and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, and offer the latter's all-wheel-drive system as well. Those underpinnings would still make it a crossover, strictly speaking, but with a more rugged approach. It could also emerge a good half-foot longer than the model it will replace, over a third of an inch wider, and offer considerably more cargo space. Although the existing Countryman was derided by many as a step too far for the Mini brand, it ended up accounting for a substantial share of the company's sales – making its replacement a no-brainer for the BMW Group. That's more than could be said for the quirky Paceman crossover coupe, which is not expected to follow this time around, however a slant-backed Countryman variant could be in the cards. The next question is what Mini might do next. Of the five core models it's anticipated to launch, the Countryman would be the third. The Superleggera roadster, a smaller hatchback like the Rocketman concept, and a larger minivan potentially to be dubbed the Traveller have all been rumored. Of course, whatever goes into production could be something else entirely. We'll just have to wait and see. Related Video: