2015 MINI John Cooper Works ALL4 Paceman Review

The Bavarians decided that there was room for a Coupe model based on the aforementioned Countryman. Despite the original subcompact crossover SUV being welcomed with boos and swear words, they went ahead and created the Paceman.

For the 2011 launch, the marketing team had to work very hard to show people the good sides of this car, if there are any at all. The Paceman was presented to the world as ‘a new category of car’ but that did little to make it more popular.

Then, the usual MINI schematics were put in play. Initially, the Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper D and Cooper SD models were launched, only to be followed by the hardcore John Cooper Works version we’re reviewing here. Being a niche model, sales didn’t go too well at first and judging by the price tag the JCW model has, you know this version accounts for a very, very small portion of the total.

If there’s one thing the top-spec model has to brag about over its brothers, it’s the exterior design. The touch of the John Cooper Works division of MINI (the British brand’s version of the M division) can be seen all over the car, front to back. Sure, the Paceman has a controversial design to begin with, but in this guise it looks a tad better (pun intended). Up front, going for the most expensive model in the range will get you two stripes on the bonnet and a JCW badge on the grille. The rest of the body kit is identical to the one used on the Cooper S model, including the bumper’s splitter down low and the hood bulge.

More differences are noticeable once you go over to the sides of the car, where new side skirts make sure to channel the air more efficiently at higher speeds. That’s also where you’ll notice the huge 19-inch bi-color JCW wheels that look the part and hide the red JCW brake calipers behind them. Round the back, a redesigned bumper now houses two massive tailpipes that make an interesting sound, especially when in Sport mode. Other than that, there’s little to set the JCW apart from its Cooper S brother from the outside.

Step inside and the same story continues. The seats don’t offer more side bolstering and they could be more supportive, especially since this model is supposed to go faster and harder than any other one in its range. To make things even worse, the manual adjustable levers are pretty hard to use and understand at first. Hopefully, you’ll be the only one driving this car so you won’t have to deal with them too often.

Gloss black trims go all around, but the build quality could be better. For example, the plastics covering dash are hard and feel cheap to the touch. The glossy bits will be a headache for those suffering from mild forms of OCD as the fingerprints seem to be somehow drawn to them in a freakish way.

This being a JCW model, it does come with a plethora of badges to remind you of that and a very good steering wheel that is not too thick nor too thin, but just the right size. Even the pedal covers are different, to remind you of the ‘sportiness’ of the car.

Ergonomy-wise, things could be better but the Paceman is no different from the rest of the MINI range, excluding the new Hardtop, of course. The retro-style buttons are easy to use but due to the positioning in the down-low area of the center console, right in front of the gearshift lever, they can be inconvenient to reach at times.

One particular mention goes to the infotainment control buttons that are located in between the gearshift lever and the handbrake, making them particularly hard to use. Even after a while, when you get used to the layout, it’s still mind-boggling how anyone could’ve thought of their positioning as acceptable.
In the back, things are similar but better than we expected. The Paceman is a Coupe after all so we presumed room to be limited.

As it turns out, the generous exterior proportions of this ‘MINI’ are justified by the way space is divided inside. With the rear bench being split into two seats only, there’s plenty of room back there, even for 6-foot (184 cm) tall people. An armrest between the seats would’ve been welcome though, instead of the rail that is supposed to be ‘extremely practical’.

What we did find brilliant while sitting inside our tester was the Harman/Kardon sound system. As a matter of fact, we’d go ahead and claim that this might very well be the best implementation of this sound system on any car in both BMW’s and MINI’s ranges. It sounded that good!

When you raise your head you’ll notice the wide windscreen. It’s curved to the extreme but all in the hopes of offering you a commanding view of the road. As we said, the Paceman is no ‘mini’ in size and the seating position allows you to have a clear view of what’s ahead not just because of the height of the car but also because the seats are sitting pretty high too.

Even with the imposing bonnet and front fascia this car has, you’ll still be able to tell where it ends on crowded city streets. How about the engine and gearbox combo, though? Well, the JCW Paceman uses the most powerful version of the 1.6-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine made by MINI. Somehow, the engineers managed to squeeze 218 HP out of it and 280 Nm (207 lb-ft) of torque that can go up to 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) for short periods of time thanks to overboost.

That looks impressive but when considering the 1,475 kg (3,252 lbs) weight of the car, it starts to fade off. And you feel it too. The engine is quite potent, but it has some serious turbo lag, everywhere. Don’t get it wrong, it’s everywhere, in any gear. Basically, you only get a decent response from it somewhere around 3,500 RPM. Get it up and above that limit and it starts to spool up really nicely but even at higher RPMs, the JCW doesn’t feel as hardcore as it should. It’s always composed and controllable, mostly because of the ALL4 all-wheel-drive system.

It uses an electromagnetic center differential that splits the power 50:50 in normal driving conditions but can send up to 100 percent of it to the rear wheels when conditions demand it. And you can get the rear axle to slide out but you’ll have to do it on purpose. The ALL4 is not a bad AWD system, far from it. Comparing it to xDrive, it won’t get rear axle slide out too much but it will rather pull you into the apex, making the cars fitted with it extremely efficient.

It might seem old and dated, but it’s the choice we’d go for if you want a John Cooper Works car. The automatic is more comfortable but doesn’t allow you to control the car as well as the manual. The clutch is also light on your left leg, easy to operate with no unnecessary harshness to it.

Speaking of the gearbox, we should also point out that the ratios are a bit too long for our liking. Sure, the engineers had to keep the fuel consumption in check but this is a John Cooper Works model and it should be really snippy and fun, keeping the average mpg somewhere towards the end of the ‘must-have’ list.

You’ll also have to be extremely careful when parking this thing due to the precarious visibility offered by the rear window. The Coupe body style and the sloping roofline diminishes the rear glass to a small opening while the weirdly placed side mirrors will be nearly impossible to look at if you set your seat too low, especially the one on the passenger’s side. For some reason, MINI decided to place them on the door panels instead of next to the A pillar, like we’re used to.

“Thanks” to those reasons, if you go for the optional 19” wheels like we had, parking won’t be easy, especially if you care about your rims. Speaking of which, the all-familiar potholes you meet with around town will jolt your insides harder than you though possible in the JCW Paceman. This is not only due to the huge wheels but also the firmer suspension that comes with this package.

As the hardcore model of the range has to be stable in tight corners, the company fitted it with special dampers and coil overs that make this car pretty hard to live with, especially on normal, everyday roads that are not silky-smooth. A big jolt will be going through the cabin and your body every time you meet a pothole and trust us, it’s not pleasant.

Unfortunately, all that effort doesn’t really pay off when pushing the car to the limit either. Enter a corner with a higher speed than usual and you’ll immediately feel the weight of the car turning into some hard body roll, despite the engineers’ hard work to keep it at bay.

On the highway, the car is extremely composed and practically hugs the road, allowing you to cover big distances at high speeds if you don’t mind the fuel consumption. Inside the city the car returned an average of 13 l/100 km (18 mpg) while outside it was showing us 10 l/100 km (23.5 mpg) at a steady speed of 130 km/h (80 mph). Oh, and the engines are all EU6 compliant now, including the one on the JCW.

The same problem with the suspension persists outside the city too. Potholes will become your worse enemy as well as any rough patch of road that will be felt especially through the steering wheel. The exhaust that makes an enticing burble in Sport mode can become a bit tiring after a while. Wind noise around the A pillars is decent, even at speeds up to 150 km/h (93 mph) but after that it gets a bit louder.
Stopping from high speeds in a few meters won’t be a problem.

The JCW brakes are worth their premium price and might very well be some of the best in the segment. They will stop the 1.5 ton car straight up in case of an emergency and even after a series of hard brakes they didn’t show too much fade, giving us the confidence we needed to recommend them wholeheartedly.

We know that you might be looking at our photo gallery and notice the ALL4 logo on the doors, once again, but don’t even think about taking this car off-road. That system is there to keep traction in check on tarmac and slide the rear end, not get you out of a pickle when trying to test the car on unpaved roads.

The standard Paceman is 25 mm lower than the Countryman it’s based on and that poses a problem. Detract another 10 mm from that lower ground clearance on the JCW model and you’ll soon notice that not only you can’t get it to off-road, but you’ll also have to pay attention when parking the car not to hit the curve or anything with your precious front bumper.

Those would be just nudges though, and would leave you more disappointed than downright hurt. However, if it was to come to a straight up collision, the Paceman would keep you safe. Working in that regard are numerous airbags sprinkled around the cabin and the 5-star rating the Countryman received from NCAP. You might say that this is a different model but the Coupe wasn’t tested yet by any authority in the field. Since the two share everything between them, apart from the two extra doors at the back, we figured using its results would be the best alternative.

Even pedestrians will be well protected.... as long as they’re not adults. The bumper scored maximum points, but the front edge of the bonnet’s rating were split between poor and marginal. That’s because the bonnet itself offered good protection in the areas where a child’s head could strike, but the when it came to adults, the protection was mainly poor.

In the end, though, no matter what, there is one essential flaw to this car: the price. In Europe, the JCW Paceman starts at €36,550 and can go up to €49,500 with every possible optional on the list ticked. At the same time, the less powerful Cooper S starts at €27,700, €8,850 less, nearly the same difference as in the US. That’s because the John Cooper Works Paceman starts at $35,600 on the North American continent, $8,700 more than its main rival. Care to guess what car’s its nemesis? Unfortunately for MINI, it’s the Cooper S that starts at $26,900. Allow us to explain.

The John Cooper Works version of this car is nowhere near as impressive as it should be for that price difference. It has more power and an aggressive design but for even with 34 more horses under the bonnet, the Paceman is simply too heavy and too composed to ever feel as special as it was intended to.
Getting the Cooper S model would make a lot more sense for many people. Add all the John Cooper Works trims on it for that extra money and you’ll be extremely happy with your choice as the two basically feel the same.

Sure, MINI will claim that the JCW Paceman ALL4’s rival is the Evoque Coupe Dynamic that is being sold in the US with a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine under its bonnet making 240 HP and 270 lb-ft (366 Nm) of torque. In doing so, they’ll point out that the Range Rover is basically $22,000 more. At the same time, it’s also slower to 100 km/h (62 mph) by 0.3 seconds.

However, that’s a car you can actually take off-road thanks to its higher ground clearance. It’s also a lot more comfortable and the only actual criteria that can allow you to compare the two is interior space. Other than that they’re almost from different worlds.

Therefore, we’re still left with only the Cooper S as the sole rival for this car and that’s what we’d recommend. It’s more comfortable, has better fuel consumption figures and can look just as good as the JCW. Unless you want to actually enter a rally with your personal car, the cheaper Paceman will fulfill all your needs and save you a lot of money.