I don't get why everyone says these are unreliable. Yes, you do need to do some maintenance, but they are easy to work on. Sure, the hydraulic motor mounts fail too quickly, but they are cheap and easy to replace. There are tons of aftermarket parts to fix the quirky issues. I love my R53 and will be modding it to the extent that it remains a reliable daily driver. You know, bigger intercooler, bigger injectors, supercharger pulley, new ecu tune. I already have the strut tower plates as the suspension in these are hard and will deform the strut towers. These are just so fun to drive. Very quick and very nimble. Also, you can buy replacement batteries for the keys. You have to glue them back together, or buy a new blank and put the guts in there and have the blank cut. Not a big deal compared to the $300 plus keys on newer cars.
loved my r53 till some dumbass took a left turn in front of me during a green light and got it totaled. it was neat cool looking speedy and reasonably reliable (clutch not withstanding) really my biggest gripe with this car is i always hated the interior i thought it was goofy looking and the seats were really uncomfortable.
It's a shame early BMW Minis weren't that reliable. They're fun cars and stand out from the crowd. The new Minis have gotten so big and expensive. Rechargable batteries don't last forever. It's fine for the dealer because by the time it dies, the warranty will be over and they can sell you a new one. The toggle stitches are unique and quirky. The upper cupholder is very Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. One of my college drum majors had a Cooper S. After a game she walked away for a minute to grab something so we found out how many people we could stuff into her car. We had a guy who was 6'10" stretched out through both windows. I don't remember how many people we fit but it was hilarious.
I learned how to drive stick and modify cars in my 2006 Mini Cooper S R53! The R53 is the one below the JCW, but I put an exhaust w/ resonator delete, CAI, SC reduction pulley, performance crank pulley, and a half dozen other smaller mods. It was a god damn rocket ship.
@@valentinsanchez2680 I mean… the engine was solid. Known parts of failure are the water pump, the belt tensioner (has a gas shock, must be bought as an assembly though), the alternator, and the pre-cat.
I have a 2003 Mini Cooper S (6spd) that has a Alta 15% Supercharger Pulley, Alta Open Airbox and it looks like a GP1 plus it sounds like a F1 under WOT.
Funny about that cupholder. The smaller ones fit a 12oz soda can or cup perfectly. The bigger one was a complete bodge in 2005 after the American market couldn't comprehend a container that small and the designers scrambled to find a spot to put a larger one.
Good review, but I don't know why people insist on testing the back seats in these cars. Porsche 911s and Camaros have "back seats," but you rarely see people testing them because it's understood that they're intended only for small kids or extra luggage space. A lot of MINI enthusiasts remove the back seats altogether and save about 35lbs. Oh well; I used to have all kinds of simpletons ask me (I'm 6'1") "how do ya fit intuh that thing?" (you know, because it's a "mini") and they were shocked (and a bit offended) when I showed them I actually have more legroom than their pickup truck does. Still a good review.
It was just the R50 models with the Midlands 5-speed transmissions that gave MINI the reputation for being unreliable. The Midlands were weak transmissions that often failed. In 2005 the R50 switched to a much better Getrag 5-speed, and the R53 (which this JCW is a variant of) had a Getrag 6-speed from the very beginning (no issues). Other than that, these cars are BMWs under the skin, and are very reliable as long as you perform routine maintenance, and take them to someone who knows what they're doing (in the early 2000s, a lot of mechanics didn't know how to work on these cars, or didn't like working on them because the engine bays are so tight).
8:01 " Don't put your big homies back here, big homies don't fitties". Very funny. Great video.
I love these Minis, Zack! Loved the video, Zack! Also congrats on the BFB pass at 6:46!
I don't get why everyone says these are unreliable. Yes, you do need to do some maintenance, but they are easy to work on. Sure, the hydraulic motor mounts fail too quickly, but they are cheap and easy to replace. There are tons of aftermarket parts to fix the quirky issues. I love my R53 and will be modding it to the extent that it remains a reliable daily driver. You know, bigger intercooler, bigger injectors, supercharger pulley, new ecu tune. I already have the strut tower plates as the suspension in these are hard and will deform the strut towers. These are just so fun to drive. Very quick and very nimble. Also, you can buy replacement batteries for the keys. You have to glue them back together, or buy a new blank and put the guts in there and have the blank cut. Not a big deal compared to the $300 plus keys on newer cars.
It's the N14 that was a problem. 02-06 have the W11, it's a pretty gewd motor. 07-12 are doo-doo, but the N18 was in every Mini from 13 up.
loved my r53 till some dumbass took a left turn in front of me during a green light and got it totaled. it was neat cool looking speedy and reasonably reliable (clutch not withstanding) really my biggest gripe with this car is i always hated the interior i thought it was goofy looking and the seats were really uncomfortable.
It's a shame early BMW Minis weren't that reliable. They're fun cars and stand out from the crowd. The new Minis have gotten so big and expensive.
Rechargable batteries don't last forever. It's fine for the dealer because by the time it dies, the warranty will be over and they can sell you a new one. The toggle stitches are unique and quirky. The upper cupholder is very Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen.
One of my college drum majors had a Cooper S. After a game she walked away for a minute to grab something so we found out how many people we could stuff into her car. We had a guy who was 6'10" stretched out through both windows. I don't remember how many people we fit but it was hilarious.
I didn't even know they made bootleg Minis until I saw that commercial
I always loved the exterior and interior designs of these. Nice nimble size.
I learned how to drive stick and modify cars in my 2006 Mini Cooper S R53! The R53 is the one below the JCW, but I put an exhaust w/ resonator delete, CAI, SC reduction pulley, performance crank pulley, and a half dozen other smaller mods. It was a god damn rocket ship.
how reliable was it bro? i wanna get one for shits and giggles and so i can practice manual but i don’t want it blowing up on me while i has it haha
@@valentinsanchez2680
I mean… the engine was solid. Known parts of failure are the water pump, the belt tensioner (has a gas shock, must be bought as an assembly though), the alternator, and the pre-cat.
Let’s get you to 100,000 subscribers by the end of the day👌💯🙏 Man you put out more car videos than most other UA-camrs keep it up💯
I never paid too much attention to the Mini Coopers, but after seeing this review; I kinda want one.
drive one, my 230hp mini is more fun than my 04 wrx with 435hp
The big friggin bottle build up was great. I was like, "yes yes yes... YES YES YES!"
I have a 2003 Mini Cooper S (6spd) that has a Alta 15% Supercharger Pulley, Alta Open Airbox and it looks like a GP1 plus it sounds like a F1 under WOT.
I’m looking to buy a 2006 JCW right now. Just waiting on the right one to come along….
Funny about that cupholder. The smaller ones fit a 12oz soda can or cup perfectly. The bigger one was a complete bodge in 2005 after the American market couldn't comprehend a container that small and the designers scrambled to find a spot to put a larger one.
Nice vid brother!
uau que maneiro amigão 👍😁 carro maravilhoso 🎤🎤🇺🇸🇺🇸👍👍👍
Appears to be in great shape for nearly 150K miles
There are very few 2 (3) door Hot Hatchbacks you can buy so I hope the Mini comes out with a new electric S model.
Just a cool dude checking out the same cars as me
I thoroughly enjoyed the Infinity War reference. :)
Good review, but I don't know why people insist on testing the back seats in these cars. Porsche 911s and Camaros have "back seats," but you rarely see people testing them because it's understood that they're intended only for small kids or extra luggage space. A lot of MINI enthusiasts remove the back seats altogether and save about 35lbs. Oh well; I used to have all kinds of simpletons ask me (I'm 6'1") "how do ya fit intuh that thing?" (you know, because it's a "mini") and they were shocked (and a bit offended) when I showed them I actually have more legroom than their pickup truck does. Still a good review.
Amazing!
I miss my R53. Very fun car but always needed repairs
Looking forward to backseat test 😂
Tfw a Hummer H2 fails the BFB test but a Mini Cooper passes
This is definitely going to be fun to drive...when it works. Early 2000's BMW Minis were very unreliable.
It was just the R50 models with the Midlands 5-speed transmissions that gave MINI the reputation for being unreliable. The Midlands were weak transmissions that often failed. In 2005 the R50 switched to a much better Getrag 5-speed, and the R53 (which this JCW is a variant of) had a Getrag 6-speed from the very beginning (no issues). Other than that, these cars are BMWs under the skin, and are very reliable as long as you perform routine maintenance, and take them to someone who knows what they're doing (in the early 2000s, a lot of mechanics didn't know how to work on these cars, or didn't like working on them because the engine bays are so tight).
Yeah no. My mom's lasted 150k with no engine problems
Only thing was a battery issue which was fixed
Mr Bean cars!