DRAG RACE! Can The New Electric 2020 Mini Cooper SE Beat A Performance-Tuned JCW On The Track? 

Step on the clutch, fall behind.

Buy the e-Mini. Then use the tax returns to buy the JCW.

The edits on this video are stellar guys! Man you all are reallly doing great work on all your channels.

I think there's going to be a huge 2nd hand market for the new electric mini. I looks like a fun car but the lack of range relegates it to the status of a 2nd car, at least here in North America. I could not justify spending that much on a new one for that reason but in a few years when the value has dropped, this thing could be an extremely fun, cost effective, reliable city runabout!

The reason that the JCW saves you money is because it's old, so its savings is upfront when you buy it used. The SE will save you money in the long run if we're talking about cost of ownership. My family owns an older Mini Cooper and a Tesla Model 3, and as much as I love shifting my manual cars...the Teslas instant torque makes me soon forget about it.

It's been interesting to watch Roman's evolving (and devolving) opinion on EVs over the past few years. I feel like I've gone through the same basic trend... excitement of a new technology that's markedly different from the ICE and torque converter automatics we have grown bored of but at the same time being appreciative of what good old dino juice can accomplish when you just need to get something done.

Thank you for taking the time to make such a real world comparison.

I need a minimum of not less than 190 miles range on an EV that I might buy. But I love the Mini!

One advantage of the Mini EV: No shift shock.

Looks like both of those would pass the visor test so it’s really down to preference...

Do you have a list of track lap times for the various models you have tested?

Tommy, an engine detailling video should be great(either for your car and for educational purpose 😋)!

Something is wrong with that old mini on this test. I have Mini Cooper S, year 2008(175HP), and measured time from 0-100km/h is 6.9 seconds, and this electric is 7.1

would love to see a dually go around this track XD

You guys really do live the dream...cheers!

I bet pops forgot to disable dsc and press the sport button for the added boost 🤦🏻‍♂️

Great stuff,...but I aint gonna drive my Mini like that,...main reason for that,.....my Mini does NOT have a Turbo Charger! I can here Tommy screaming at Dad right about now! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY CAR, GEEZ DAD!

I had the near identical spec Mini S with the JCW tuning parts but mine was a 2013 with the N18 engine. The 6 speed manual was brilliant and really is what made the car fun, that and turbo lag that gave it real character. If Mini put a real manual into the electric one (I'd take a smaller less powerful motor), I'd be all over it like butter on a hot baked potato. I know it's not the best performance or likely highest efficiency option, but it would bring the fun back, and that's what Minis are about, fun.

Would be interesting to see lap times for all the current EVs. Especially model 3 and Taycan.

That new SE is a tempting e-car, especially with electric car tax incentives. Thanks for doing this comparison!

My 2010 Cooper S gets 30 mpg, is a blast to drive, and since it is now worth only like $6K at most, it's extremely cheap to insure. If I buy new, I would rather put my $30K toward a Boxter or a Cayman.

I’m surprised you guys didn’t bring the GP

Andre the Hummer driver likes electric Minis? Unlikely! Love your reviews Andre!

You should talking about level 2 Charger or CCS only charging! That is important in Electric Vehicles!

Boy the range on that electric sucks. It seems to be a really good car beyond that.

0:55 I'm betting the 2010 does better based on tires alone. If they both had piliot sport cup 2's, and the suspension on the SE got a proper retune, it would be a very different outcome.

You know it is serious when you leave the roof rack on

I have a 2007 Cooper s non jcw with no mods and mine would smoke both. Something is wrong with that one didn’t sound like sport mode was on and traction control off....

Coming from a former N18 owner, seeing a N14 engine really makes me cringe, but I hope that it’s been holding out for you guys!

Great idea to leave the roof bars on, must help the aerodynamics no end🙄

To be fair though, that JCW isn’t “performance tuned” it looks bone stock. No upgraded intake, turbo tubing, intercooler...

sorry, there is more than the air box and exhaust to the JCW, bigger turbo and different programming plus the air box and exhaust you mentioned

Romans launch at the track was really good, minimal wheelspin! Id take the gas version.

How about drag racing a 2020 vs 2020?

You should compare mini F56 S vs mini F56 EV

Get Tommy to remove those roof bars I think it could have got under one minute fifteen and increase is fuel mileage, I was surprised the difference when I did this with my Juke Nismo.

Coopers dont have a hood they have a bonnet

Jcw mini ftw! Roman lost a few seconds by missing shifts

Guys, please wash and wax that old Mini.

The Jcw can be driven much faster!

What about the Electric vs GP?

I have a 2019 Mini Cooper JCW, chipped and tuned if you have any interest in using it for the series

Do the wheels on the electric look like a British electric plug?

Electric...no doubt! ♻️🔋👏💪🔝❤️

Both cars are awasome and fun, just diferent style and... yes, past sound freaky better

If Roman makes all his shifts Old Mini wins the road course race and wins the dollars per smile race hands down.

I would not buy either but if I had to have one it would be a tough decision. Minis are not known for reliability but the electric one should be a lot more reliable. Obviously a massive price difference though and the electric mini has terrible range.

Well the gas version (premium gas) will suck once gas prices goes up.

Tommy's car is better...his JCW gets four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐Its a Manuel♥

For fun, I'd take the older model every time. Manual, nice sounding exhaust. Fun.

Sweet

Great comparison. I will say the way you lean against the frameless window at 11:18 made me cringe.

The black car looks like it has winter tyres on

I have stayed away from Mini's because of the poor reliability. My i3 has been rock solid and the Mini is a neat package for the i3.

Take the roof bars off as they will impact performance

That MINI S would likely out preform the SE quite handily without the studless snow tires...

Well you can pull the motor on the 2010 six speed and potentially build a far more powerful than the factory electric car? Electric motors are actually old tech. Though we’re just now developing batteries strong enough to unplug them and wonder about. Please do pull the gasser motor and compete with the factory build all you need do is find a cad designer to mate the bell housing onto the electric synchronous bldc premium efficiency motor to the transmission and clutch plate in doing so you then send a clear message to the manufacturer for example “ We Are Gear Heads! So Please Don’t Take our gears away!” We surrender our combustion engines but don’t you dare take away our six speed transmission which do not give off emissions

imagine how much faster those cars were if you would have cut the mcdonalds

Good content but pleaassse use a decent mic in the car!

I normally really enjoy TFL videos, but Roman seems to be absolutely hell bent on trashing the Cooper SE. In the Loveland Pass video he spent the entire time trashing it for range, fun factor, price for the fully loaded model they have as tester, despite the fact that it is the shortest range and least expensive (base price) EV you can currently buy in the US and the base MSRP (new) for the car they were comparing it to is basically the same as a base Cooper SE (its substantally more expensive when adjusted for inflation). You can't compare used car pricing for a 10 year old car to a new car, they are not the same. Despite all of that, it still made it up the mountain and back down to a fast charger without issue. The issues you had with the fast charger and the subsequent high price you had to pay was down to user error. In this video, Roman spends the entire video trashing the Cooper SE for being boring and trying to compare the price of a brand new car with a warranty to a 10 year old worn out Mini. I'm sorry, but that highly flawed comparison really shows your bias. Of course the 2010 Cooper costs less than a 2020 Cooper, its 10 years older and completely out of any warranty. At least compare it to a brand new Cooper JCW, which starts at a higher price than the fully loaded Cooper SE when you include the tax credits. We won't even mention the fact that any EV that isn't a Tesla usually has deep dealer discounts in addition to the tax credits. Roman then goes on to trash the Cooper SE for being less fun than the Cooper JCW. Loud exhaust and shifting gears is fun on the track or a twisty back road, not so much in typically city driving or commuter traffic. Plus the SE outperformed the JCW in both of the measurable tests you put them through. If you can't test a car without being biased and refusing to admit it's strengths, don't bother testing it. Or at least if you are going to trash a car, make a valid argument.

I have a 73 mini 1.275l engine. Im in broomfield. I d like to put it up against em.

Perhaps have a section titled ‘is it sustainable’ or ‘is it spewing CO2 into the atmosphere’

Love your videos, but just a little piece of advice: How about you have the cars washed before you film? The SE is looking good, but just because the JCW is old, it doesn’t mean that it should be filthy.

And... PASZOL... Hahaha Andrej you Russian connection ;) Regards

Mini E has a cradle that the motor and inverter sit in and it mounts to the original engine mounts. Pretty nice solution for building ICE and EV on the same line. They should have made a clubman EV really. I don't really know why they did the 3 door when you consider in Europe 3 door hatches are a dying breed. Even popular hot hatches started to be offered in 5 door only some time ago.

Should call it a Mini Cooper Pikachu because of the yellow color

I would get a plug in hybrid, I drive too much to rely on a full EV. The old mini is a way better deal, it’s cheap and even though it costs more to fill up with gasoline it’s still cheaper then almost 40k for the EV. It would take over a decade to see any savings from the new mini compared to the old one.

does being electric means cheaper to maintain than the gas engines that are known to be unreliable?

Should have power shifted. Stay on the throttle between shifts

The JCW can be driven way faster, keep in mind it’s not even a real JCW. Painful to watch.

Please race the Spark against the Mini electric

Turn off all the traction and stability controls and have fun with it! So much mechanical grip from minis! That’s why I love mine!

Owned a mini once. I stress the once because they're junk vehicles. Fun to drive while the warranty is in effect. Otherwise they're maintenance nightmares.

One does 80 miles full charge let’s just end the debate there, you can barely go the shops without having to recharge it 😂

That's not a JCW just an appearance package on an S. Big difference, not saying it's a bad car, just call it what it is... Like a 340i sport package with the owner putting on m3 badges

Take the roof rack off, it must add drag.

I doubt that any Mini is the future.drive them across the state of Colorado see with one gets there first.

MinE has wayyyyy to short of a range , that was dumb . I understand why they had to but it's just not going to sell well with that short of a range . I'd want one if it had another 100miles of range and the extra weight would be acceptable based on how well it performed

Having owned a r53 jcw I'd take the turbo jcw any day over the eletric...

The roof rack adds drag and slows the car down. And you were sloppy and slow on the gear change

Are the taillights really represent the british flag or I'm just going crazy??

How can you compare them with two drivers and one being especially poor.

A new Cooper S would beat that electric Mini

Who can use tax credit or how do I use it

One advantage of the SE: it’s electric.

quick summary - electric is 2 seconds faster

You could have stripped 2 seconds off the JCW if you removed the roof racks! Lol... The electric mini are great but no good at sustained performance.. the batteries get hot and the performance is throttled (much like a smartphone or computer)... You might have gotten different results if you did a few laps..

Yeah most people don’t have 37000k to spend on a electric mini I would go for the gas Manual mini best option can’t drive stick learn your just saved 30000k

Of course a brand new car is more expensive than a decade-old heavily used one lmao, that's not a real pro-con.

For daily I would take the jcw Saved thousands And if it breaks you could replace and fix it your self Can’t do that on a electric

Old mini any day.

New v Old ... The MINI Cooper SE BEV WINS. Why would anyone want a $6000 MINI with neither a Maintenance Plan nor a Warranty? This is the definition of MONEY PIT. And, please, stop making excuses about no gears, no sound, no stick shift and, price. The $29,900 version of the BEV is not hard to find. You can order it on the MINI site. Fun or Faster? The MINI Cooper SE BEV is both. Why are you stuck on a stick shift? It's not faster or more fuel-efficient; it's an anachronism.

I'm old school I like sound of a that internal combustion engine, imagine a muscle car, Charger or Mustang that sounds like my electric blender. . Electric cars remind me of an electric golf cart - boring - sorry.

First you said that a manual transmission was better then complain that you have a manual transmission and need to shift. You then try and compare the cost of a brand new Mini SE against an 8 year old Mini JCW. That is like comparing apples and oranges. I do not usually give negative comments on a video but your one sided blinkered view does not make sense. You only have negative comments for the Mini SE. Comparing a 2020 JCW would be better and comparable. Which is cheaper then?

turns off traction control,then complains about the wheels losing traction !

Who scammed them??? That’s a regular Mini Cooper s with JCW Badge

Duh the electric car Is going to be faster, but it has no soul to it. You dont buy a mini to be the fastest car, you buy it to row the gears and throw it around corners.

I hate the look of both the mini is dead bmw is just dragging around its corpse

Yew can take yor damn vacuum cleaner and shove it wear da son don’t shine

What a fake or bad drivers ... the Fuel JCW is 1s better fir 0 to 60mph