Aceman JCW Review

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chrunck said:
First Drive: Why the MINI Aceman JCW Might Be the Perfect Daily Driver
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Disappointing quotes from that review that put me in rant-mode:
"If you’re going to launch a new chapter for MINI, you do it near the brand’s birthplace. And that’s exactly where we found ourselves: in the heart of Oxfordshire"--not until the very end of the article does it reveal this "MINI" is Chinese, not British.

"It wears its JCW badge like a medal of honor, and at nearly 4,000 pounds, it carries some serious presence."--I could live with about a half-ton less presence. This Aceman is only about 600 pounds lighter than the giant MINI Countryman SE ALL4.

"Fast Enough to Feel Naughty: MINI quotes 0-62 mph in 6.4 seconds, and we verified that with a RaceBox."--Car and Driver clocked the British MINI Electric at 6.2 seconds to 60 mph. If this Aceman wasn't so heavy, its 258 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, with an extra 27 horsepower available in Boost Mode would make it seriously quick--perhaps even quicker than my 2021 SE.

"Compared to the Cooper Electric JCW, it’s far smoother and more predictable."--Is a JCW supposed to be smooth? How is the Cooper Electric JCW J01 less predictable? The article says the Aceman JCW controls torque-steer better, but after you get used to a car's torque-steer, I'd claim it's then predictable.

"MINI’s new Experience Modes are more than gimmicks. You get seven in total..." however, then, "But as the MINI engineer revealed, Go-Kart doesn’t touch the suspension or drivetrain hardware"--all the "Experience Modes" do is vary the steering effort, vary the accelerator pedal's response-curve, and unlock some extra horsepower for 10-second bursts. My idea of a MINI is centered on handling and these modes don't do anything to improve that.

"Let’s get practical."--I guess if you can have just one car in your stable, you might want it to be practical, but...

After "Let's get practical.", the rest of the article tries to rationalize the Aceman JCW's size and weight, then signs off with the fact that the Aceman doesn't matter because this 2-ton MINI isn't coming to North America.

/rant-mode
 
insightman said:
"MINI’s new Experience Modes are more than gimmicks. You get seven in total..." however, then, "But as the MINI engineer revealed, Go-Kart doesn’t touch the suspension or drivetrain hardware"--all the "Experience Modes" do is vary the steering effort, vary the accelerator pedal's response-curve, and unlock some extra horsepower for 10-second bursts. My idea of a MINI is centered on handling and these modes don't do anything to improve that.
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That's why the U25 BEV is much better because the suspension and AWD behavior does in fact change with the experience modes.
 
The article is disappointing because the MINI, which is positioned as British, is actually Chinese. Performance also falls short of expectations—it is heavy and slow to accelerate. The driving modes do not improve dynamics, and the promised practicality turns out to be questionable. And all this against the backdrop of the fact that the car will not even be sold in North America, which completely destroys interest.
 
The Aceman is just a bigger body (and maybe longer wheelbase?) on the J01 platform, right? I wouldn't expect it to perform better than the J01 (comparing JCW version to JCW version and same for standard versions). But as someone who thought the R55 Clubman was a perfect car, If I'm going to accept the compromise of the J01 I'd definitely pick the Aceman. At least the larger interior capacity makes the extra weight more palatable.
 
I believe the J05 Aceman is based off the Ora 好猫 good cat platform using svolt prismatic LFP. Kind of interesting how there is a gap for the power electronics and rear passenger floor (i.e. no battery pack). Do you still call it a skateboard??

svolt.webp
 
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