Mini JCW convertible 2025 review – softer JCW adds appeal but also compromises
The JCW convertible is usefully less aggressive on the road than the hatch, but suffers the usual soft-top compromises too
It’s a funny old world where the small hot hatch as a whole is all but dead but Mini still sees a market for a convertible version of their hot John Cooper Works. Oh well, mustn’t complain, especially if it’s a worthy thing to drive.
I approach the JCW Cabriolet with a strange sense of anticipation because, as a general rule, soft-top cars ride a little softer than their hard-top equivalents and the Mini JCW hatch is borderline intolerable. Could this be the first instance in our history where the convertible actually proves preferable as a driver’s car on the road?
If a softer ride is paired with minimal other compromises that usually come with taking a tinopener to a hard-topped car, then maybe… Perish the thought.
Engine, gearbox and technical highlights
The JCW Convertible from a technical standpoint is as per the hatch: a fettled version of the UKL1 architecture that underpinned the previous F56 Mini, made more obvious in this convertible by the fact that the triangular lights of the hatch haven’t made it over.
Rather, the same lozenge shape of the F56 carries on because the changes required to the body-in-white to implement the new lights would have been too expensive relative to expected revenue from this car. The lights themselves do have new guts, they’re just exactly the same shape as before. The roof is the same too – same mechanism, same time to rise and fall and the same speed limit.
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Under the skin it’s equipped with the same BMW B48 turbocharged 2-litre engine outputting 228bhp and 280lb ft, that arrives at the front wheels now via seven-speed dual-clutch alone – the old six-speed manual is off the menu. The convertible is slower than the hatch as you’d expect, reaching 62mph from rest in 6.4sec vs 6.1sec and topping out at 152mph.
The deficit will be thanks in part to the extra 95kg the convertible is carrying, at 1425kg. The JCW runs on 18-inch wheels shod in Continental Sport Contact 7 tyres. The dampers are adaptive with the most aggressive Go Kart mode tautening the JCW, while also making the steering heavier, the engine and gearbox more responsive and the stability control more lenient.
Performance, ride and handling
So, the moment of truth. Is the convertible a Mini JCW you can stand to drive on UK roads? Sort of… The ride is definitely more compliant, the Mini far less keen to crash between a road’s imperfections. It’s far from perfect, reacting dramatically still to certain lumps and bumps but your vertebrae aren’t compressing cartilage and your teeth aren’t shaking out as in the hatch. You can cruise along with the Mini’s rambunctious attitude irritating you for less of the time. Whether it's softened suspension or the flexion in the chassis adding accidental compliance, it's just a less jarring car down a swooping British country lane.
There are other plus sides to having the roof down too, like getting a bit closer to the odd turbo whoosh and flutter emitted from the driver’s side of the car with every twitch of your right foot. The better ride combines favourably the juvenile joys of a slightly rorty combustion engine and the novelty of open sky overhead.
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Sadly, this is not a carbon-tubbed supercar impervious to the kinds of issues soft-tops normally have. Every piece of road that would rattle your spine in the hatch, rattles the steering rack and wheel a commensurate amount, with turn-in precision and off-centre feel also dulled. It also bends and flexes over crests where the stiffer hatch will be keener to take momentum-induced attitude. Any gains in ride quality are lost in platform competence, capability and togetherness when on the right road… but maybe, just maybe, it’s worth it.
Apart from this the convertible is like the hatch, in that it feels reasonably peppy, even muscular in the mid range, even if the powertrain has none of the attitude of the chassis – the incongruity of a relatively dull four-cylinder soundtracking you being bounced out of your seat can’t be overstated. The balance remains neutral, the platform is still resistant to roll, the steering remains swift (if not as sharp) and the nose is eager.
If the Mini JCW convertible weren’t essentially in a class of one it’d claw back some points when it comes to the interior. This is an almost concept car-like cabin that’s full of intriguing design and interesting materials. It’s spacious enough though the canvas top being up does make it feel a little claustrophobic. With the sun at the wrong angle the big OLED circular infotainment display can be difficult to use (it's fiddly at the best of times) though it’s far from the worst where this is concerned.
Price and rivals
The Mini JCW convertible costs from £37,535, a sturdy £4000+ more than the hatch. Jump from equipment package level 2 (standard) to level 3 and it’ll top £40,000, though that doesn’t really add any essential toys – I could personally live without parking assistance plus and driving assistant plus. A nice colour will add £550 to the price while the union jack roof – as if the rear lights aren’t enough – is another £700.
As for rivals? As alluded to above numerous times, hot hatches are hard to come by, let alone soft-top hot hatches. Even the Abarth 595C is now off-sale after what feels like forever. That would be a good one to look for on the used market as an alternative to the Mini, though it will feel extraordinarily dated. The new Abarth 500E Convertible isn’t much better inside and is an EV, so may not appeal to the JCW convertible’s audience. For the money you’d pay for a JCW convertible, we’d be highly tempted to veer off and buy a Mazda MX-5. It loses some practicality, badge cachet and plushness inside but as a thing to drive, it’s not even a contest.
