MINI JCW Electric Review & Prices

The Mini John Cooper Works Electric, to give it its full name, is the hot hatch version of the excellent Mini Electric. It’s just as high quality inside as the regular car, but it’s so uncomfortable over bumps it’s almost funny; well, if you don’t laugh you might cry. It also struggles to put its power down to the road, making it a frenetic thing to point down a twisty road.

It’s a bit like jumping out of a plane with a partially deployed parachute. It’s quick, you’re bouncing around all over the place and you don’t feel fully in control of where you’re going.

Alternatives are few and far between, so if you want a proper performance-focused small electric car, it’s this Mini, Abarth 500e and the MG4 XPower, though if you’re not too worried about the fact it’s well down on power, the Renault 5 has a sporty character.

Things start well on the outside, because there’s no denying this is a go-faster Mini. You get a gloss black body kit and a prominent rear spoiler. The only downside is that this kit is largely the same as the one on the Sport trim, which is available on other, slower Mini Electrics, so it perhaps doesn’t stand out from the rest of the range as much as it could.

Mini JCW Electric: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 226-250 miles
Efficiency: 4 - 4.4mi/kWh
Battery size: 49.2kWh
Max charge speed: 95kW
Charge time AC: 5hrs 15mins, 0-100%, 11kW
Charge time DC: 30mins, 10-80%, 95kW
Charge port location: Right rear
Power outputs: 258hp

Inside you get Mini’s quirky circular infotainment display, which looks great with modern graphics, but isn’t the easiest system to find your way around. The synthetic leather on the seats feels quality, as does the interesting choice of fabric atop the dashboard.

Space and practicality are virtually non-existent in the Mini JCW Electric. Tall drivers shouldn’t feel too cramped in the front, but there’s next to no space in the rear seats, which can also be problematic if you want to fit a child seat. The 210-litre boot is tiny, too, comfortably down on capacity compared with the Renault 5 and MG4 XPower.

Officially the range is up to 250 miles, but if you’re enjoying the performance of the 258hp motor too often then there’s a chance that could drop below 200 miles in the real world. The upside of the relatively small battery is that even though the maximum charge speed of 95kW isn’t that impressive, it’ll still take you from 10-80% capacity in half an hour.

In any case, you’ll probably appreciate the regular stops, because the Mini JCW Electric is one of the most uncomfortable cars you can buy right now. The regular Mini Electric jostles and jiggles over bumps, but the JCW rattles through potholes like its suspension is made of concrete.

On top of this, the front wheels can’t handle the power of the motors, so every time you plant your foot on the throttle they scrabble around for grip, darting the car from side to side. It’s frenetic, for sure, but this was an old school front-wheel drive performance car problem that had largely been eradicated, and doesn’t make for particularly satisfying progress. The MG4 XPower is a bit more capable, though because it feels more secure, it’s not as much fun.

Ultimately it’s tricky to recommend the Mini JCW Electric. If you like the interior and the styling you can get that with the regular model, which is also a fraction more comfortable and doesn’t tug and pull at the wheel when you’re trying to drive quickly.

If the frenetic character appeals, though, check out the latest Mini JCW Electric deals on Carwow, or get a fuss-free ownership experience with Mini JCW Electric leasing. You can also browse used Minis from our network of trusted dealers, and when the time comes to sell your current car, Carwow can help with that, too.

The John Cooper Works sits at the top of the Mini Electric range and costs about £35,000, which is a fraction less than the MG4 XPower. However, that’s a full £5,000 more than the big battery version of the regular Mini Electric, with a near-identical styling kit and a power figure that’s not far off the JCW. That’s about what a Renault 5 costs, too.

Some of that extra cash goes towards JCW-specific suspension, JCW logos for the exterior and a unique paint job. You also get the Level 1 option pack as standard, which adds heated front seats, adaptive LED headlights, and a useful head-up display, among other things.

Quick and accurate, but it’s far too uncomfortable for most roads

In town

The Mini JCW Electric’s diminutive proportions pay dividends in town, because it’s a delight to nip about in traffic. No gap feels too small and coupled with the punchy electric motors, which are smooth and quiet, it’s one of the least stressful cars around to drive.

It’s not relaxing, though, because the suspension is so stiff that every minor crack in the road sends a crashing jolt through the cabin, and larger potholes will make you convinced your wheels have been destroyed. It’s infuriating because even on relatively smooth roads you’re constantly jiggled about, making the JCW more effort than a proper hot hatch should be to live with.

On the motorway

Things settle down somewhat on the motorway, though again, larger cracks in the road will have you wincing. Wind and road noise are ever present, but that’s a common trait among small cars like this, made worse by the fact the Mini has large 18-inch alloy wheels. You’ll find the limits of the Mini’s range if you spend too much time on the motorway, too, though the extra power means slip roads and overtakes are little effort.

Standard equipment includes adaptive cruise control, but you’ll need to upgrade to the Level 3 pack to get the full semi-autonomous system, which can help keep you in your lane as well as take over in stop-start traffic.

On a twisty road

Twisty roads are where the Mini JCW Electric should come into its own, but it’s actually where its limitations become most apparent. The stiff suspension bounces you about on country roads, so even though it feels sporty and limits the amount the car leans in corners, it doesn’t inspire confidence because you’re always concerned the car might be unsettled by a bump mid-corner when you’re driving quickly.

Then there’s the ‘torque steer’. This has been a problem inherent to powerful front-wheel drive cars, but over the past decade it has largely been eradicated. Not in the Mini JCW Electric. The problem comes from putting power to the road through the front wheels, which are also responsible for steering. As the car fights for grip it tugs and pulls at the wheel, which is infuriating.

The MG4 XPower is a bit better on a twisty road, but it’s not particularly fun. The Renault 5 is nowhere near as quick, but it feels more enjoyable and characterful when you’re driving your favourite B-road.

Roomy enough for those in the front, but the rear seats and boot are pretty limited for space

Space in the front is actually pretty good, despite the Mini JCW Electric’s small proportions, and you can get a good driving position even if you’re tall. You sit low to the ground, too, giving the car a sportier feel than a small SUV would.

Storage is acceptable, too. The glovebox is a useful size and the door bins will take a typical water bottle. The covered bin between the front passengers has a neat fabric lid and ahead of this is a pair of cup holders. Feels a bit mean that you need to upgrade to the Level 3 option pack to get the wireless phone charging pad, though.

Space in the back seats

The rear seats are best reserved for very short friends, children, or people you don’t like very much. You’ll struggle to fit an average adult behind another average adult, and even if you do they’ll be complaining about the space, or lack thereof, pretty quickly.

That also means it’s a pain if you have young children. You have to push the seat in front forward to accommodate all but the slimmest of child seats, and if you’ve got a bulky rear-facing item you might struggle to get it in at all.

Boot space

Boot space is limited, too. At 210 litres it’s well down on alternatives – the MG4 XPower is a bigger car and so its 363-litre boot is perhaps unsurprising, but even the Renault 5 manages 326 litres, despite its similar dimensions.

There are some plus sides, for example when you fold the rear seats flat there’s no ridge to push items over. And there’s no lip above the bumper, either, making it easy to load heavy items.

Cool interior design and quality materials, but that circular infotainment isn’t easy to use

You’ve got to give the Mini JCW Electric major style points for its interior, which looks fantastic and comes with a cool mix of materials, notably a fabric covering for the top of the dashboard that’s somehow retro and modern at the same time.

Yes, there are some scratchy plastics low down in the cabin, but you have to go searching for them – everything you touch regularly feels pretty posh, with impressive build quality that should stand up to a good few years of use.

That circular infotainment display is the main feature. It’s an OLED display so it has pin-sharp graphics, which are all designed with a clean, modern aesthetic. There are also ‘experiences’ that can change everything from the menu designs to the mood in the cabin. You’ll probably find one you like and stick with it, though.

Unfortunately, while it looks good, it’s not the easiest to operate. Finding your way around menus isn’t the most intuitive, it’s not particularly quick to load between screens, and the climate controls are a pain to operate on the move, even though they’re always displayed at the side of the screen for quick access.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included as standard, but they weren’t designed for a circular screen, so they display in a square box in the middle. It works perfectly fine but looks a bit awkward.

On the plus side, an excellent Harman Kardon sound system is included as standard. It’s an optional extra on other trims in the Mini Electric range.

The Mini JCW Electric has a usable battery capacity of 49.2kWh, which results in a range of up to 250 miles. That puts it on par with equivalent versions of the Renault 5 and MG4 XPower. You’d have to get pretty good efficiency to achieve that, though – you can expect to get about 200 miles in the real world, or less if you’re driving quickly.

You might be encouraged to do just that, because the JCW Electric has a 258hp motor, which is pretty impressive performance for a car of this size. It can do 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds, which isn’t lightning quick but represents solid hot hatch numbers.

The maximum charge speed is 95kW, which isn’t particularly good, but because the battery isn’t huge you should still be able to charge from 10-80% in 30 minutes. You also get up to 11kW from AC charging, rather than the typical 7kW, so if you have access to a suitably quick charger it can really help with overnight top up times.

Being an electric car means you’ll pay the lowest rate of Benefit-in-Kind if you get the JCW Electric as a company car, and it’s the same for first-year Vehicle Excise Duty for private buyers. Being under £40,000 means there’s no expensive car supplement to pay in the following years, either.

Although the JCW version has not specifically been put through Euro NCAP’s safety testing, the regular Mini Cooper Electric scored the full five stars. Its adult occupant protection and child occupant protection scores were particularly high, at 89% and 87% respectively.

Standard assistance kit includes a lane-keeping aid, reversing camera and a head-up display to help keep your eyes on the road. Upgrading to the Level 3 option pack adds a 360-degree parking camera, too.

The Mini JCW Electric is using a new vehicle platform, so it’s tough to make a strong case for how reliable it will be. That said, Mini came 20th out of 32 manufacturers in the Driver Power ownership survey in 2024, which isn’t fantastic.

You get a three-year warranty as standard, which is the minimum you’ll get for a new car in the UK, but at least the unlimited mileage in this time is better than what you get elsewhere.