Tag: Car Reviews

With forged carbon fibre aero, no rear seats and over 300bhp under the bonnet, does the MINI JCW GP3 have what it takes to be a brilliant hot hatch?

Review first appeared in Performance MINI. Words: Martyn Collins.

It’s just a little badge, but we’ll wager the ‘GP’ badge gets performance MINI owners just as excited as us. Possibly the most highly anticipated third-generation MINI, the third volume of the MINI GP formula landed on UK roads last year, once again based on the more power and less weight concept.

And what a power jump! This is the most powerful GP yet, with 306bhp as standard – the result of a modified version of the 2.0-litre, B48 four-cylinder TwinPower turbo engine. Top speed is a licence-losing 164mph, with 0-62mph acceleration coming up in just 5.2 seconds.

All good stuff aimed at the enthusiastic MINI owner, but the MINI JCW GP3 isn’t without its critics. The styling is a tad over-the-top for some, and most contentious of all is the fact the GP3 is an auto-only model. It’s fitted with an eight-speed Steptronic transmission as standard, complete with integrated differential lock to get the power down.

Inside, we marvel at the GP’s excellent driving position; there’s plenty of adjustment and the John Cooper Works sports seats feel comfortable and supportive from the start. The new digital dash is easy to read, and the GP interior highlights in general are tastefully done too.

Flick the start button and the familiar B48 engine roars into life. The soundtrack is louder and deeper than a standard JCW hatch, thanks to the lack of back seats and those bigger rear pipes. Then, slot the gear lever into Drive and we edge our way on to the main roads.

For such a hardcore car, things are surprisingly docile and tractable around town, although the GP’s Auto transmission seems to hold on to gears for too long, making smooth progress at urban speeds difficult. Then there’s the ride which is super stiff and unyielding, which is fine for a track day or a B-road bit of fun but a tad tiresome on longer journeys.

When the road opens up and the speed limits are less restrictive, that’s when you realise you’re driving something special. Look into the wing mirror and you can see the top of the unique carbon rear arch.

This version of the GP’s exterior additions does divide opinion. We like them and feel MINI has made more of an effort with the GP3’s styling than the GP2. The Racing Grey paint reminds us of the GP1’s Thunder Grey, and it’s well-paired with the Melting Silver roof and mirrors.

Now I can knock the gear lever to the left, putting the gearbox in Manual mode. The ‘GP’ metal gear paddles feel special as I flick through the gears and the speed builds so quickly. The GP3 is a very fast hatch.

Before long we’re on some decent B-roads, one of the places where any MINI GP should excel. Good news is turn-in is sharp, the steering super responsive, there’s plenty of grip, very little body roll in corners, and the brakes are strong.

Yet on first acquaintance, this MINI frustrates. Why? Because it’s hard to drive fast here, thanks to torque-steer. I find myself constantly correcting the steering when pressing on. Also, personally, I always find a manual gearbox more involving, and the GP3’s auto box should, in my opinion, be more responsive.

We are not saying the GP3 is unruly, it’s not. It is just that the torque-steer and stiff suspension can lead to a twitchy drive.

It is always exciting though; we get the feeling the MINI JCW GP3 is a car you’d have to learn to get the best out of and think it might be better suited to the track.

I would prefer a manual gearbox, plus the combination of torque-steer and stiff suspension make for a challenging drive, but does that put me off wanting one? Not a chance! I still want one just as much as I did with the GP1 and GP2 models before it.

Tech Spec: MINI JCW GP3

Engine: 2.0 litre, four-cylinder B48 turbocharged petrol engine, producing 306bhp
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic automatic
Suspension: Specially tuned stiffened springs, dampers and stabilisers
Wheels: Lightweight 18-inch four-spoke wheels
Price: £34,995

Couldn’t get hold a MINI JCW GP3 but fancy cashing in on F56-chassis fun? Make sure you check our our JCW F56 buying guide.

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0-62mph in 3.9-seconds is insane for a car this big and practical. But hard launches aren’t the whole story. We check out the 2020 Audi RS5 Sportback.

Words & Photos: Dan Bevis

What is the essence of the Audi RS5 Sportback, the five-door version of what is otherwise a two-door coupe? Well, what it all comes down to is your mum’s favourite aphorism: if you want to make a pearl, you’ve got to get a little sand in your clam. The A5 upon which this car is based is a sensible thing, and this spec level naturally fills it with all sorts of fancy equipment… but the essential vitality of it all is really about what the iconic RS badge represents. It gives the Sportback a dirty mind, filthy ideas, despicable intentions. And it does it all with a veneer of respectability, pretending to be all grown-up and practical while all the time being an absolute hellion underneath.

All of this traces back to the original Audi A5, which launched in 2007 as a range of coupes and cabriolets based on the A4; the Sportback variant reworked it into a five-door hatchback, so essentially this was a five-door version of a two-door version of a four-door saloon – such is the confusing niche-filling nature of modern motoring. Don’t worry, everyone’s at it. The second-generation (8W6) A5 range debuted in 2016, based on the Volkswagen Group’s MLB platform, with the Audi RS5 Sportback being unveiled in mid-2019, a gentle facelift followed in 2020. The car shares its engine with the Porsche Panamera 4S – a 2.9-litre twin-turbo TFSI V6, which is good for 444bhp and 443lb.ft. Big numbers for a practical family car! It also packs an 8-speed auto transmission, quattro all-wheel-drive, and five-linked front and rear suspension with Audi Sport Dynamic Ride Control. 0-62mph is despatched in a frankly ludicrous 3.9-seconds. Yep, it’s exactly as entertaining as it sounds…

The drive

Crikey. I don’t think I’d ever get bored of the way this thing accelerates. It’s relentless. I mean, obviously this car is more nuanced and multi-faceted than sheer acceleration, it’s agile and poised and luxurious and… bloody hell though, the way it gets from here to way over there is just demented. Physics shouldn’t allow it, but somehow Audi isn’t listening.

But before we get into all that, let’s look over the spec. This particular Audi RS5 Sportback has enjoyed a thorough ticking of the options list, with the black nappa leather interior featuring heated seats front and rear, along with the extended LED lighting package, panoramic glass sunroof, carbon fibre inlays, and the utterly superb Bang & Olufsen audio upgrade. It’s a properly big car inside too, the generous dimensions swiftly making most SUVs seem a bit pointless.

Settling into the driver’s spot is an immediately satisfying affair, not just because the chunkily bolstered seat holds you in a tender caress, but because you’re then confronted by a completely excellent dash layout – the whacking great touchscreen in the centre controls all of the major things you’d expect (audio, nav, customisable chassis settings and so on), and thankfully there are proper physical controls for the climate setup rather than having to jab at the screen to turn the fan up – which is always annoying – and the real party piece is the Virtual Cockpit. The dials ahead of the driver aren’t actually dials in the traditional sense, but a single-piece TFT screen; it can show you the dial readouts in the traditional way, but you can also throw a sat-nav screen up there, or your music information, or all sorts of swappable settings. It’s all controlled by the buttons on the steering wheel, and the nav screens (front and centre) are particularly cool, as they use real-world graphics to make it all look more lifelike; it’s less A-Z, more illustrated atlas.

But anyway, you’re not reading this mag because you’re interested in noting down relative spec levels, or you want to learn how spacious the boot is (although the answer to that, if you’re bothered, is ‘very spacious indeed’). No, you want to know how quick it is. And that’s pretty much where we came in. What it all comes down to is that this car is rapid enough to peel the enamel from your teeth; way faster than a practical family car would ever need to be, but we’re long past worrying about the concept of ‘need’. Sure, it can potter happily to the shops like an A5 diesel, but whack it in RS mode and the suspension stiffens itself in readiness, waiting for you to bury the throttle. And when you do, you can almost feel the sparks crackling off the roof and flanks like Doc Brown’s DeLorean.

This car is equipped with the optional RS Sport exhaust system, which is amusingly shouty when you’re on it – and that’s a good thing because as characterful as this Porsche-tweaked V6 is, it’s not the most tuneful or sonorous unit. Stealthy, almost. But in RS mode and with the revs approaching stratospheric levels, the sound from the tail is more than enough to chase the birds from the trees, with the amusing pops and burbles you’d expect from a sporty-edge VAG product. The box has also been ticked to up the speed limiter from 155mph to 174mph, but you’ll have to take Audi’s word for that. We didn’t test that on the A3, we’re not mental. But while it may seem that they’ve shoved a ludicrous amount of grunt into this plus-sized hatchback, you can be damn sure that the chassis can cope: combining the quattro system (the full-fat Audi Sport one, rather than the slightly less hardcore Haldex arrangement) with the Dynamic Ride Control allows the car to pull off an impressive magical feat, and shrink itself on country lanes. It may be quite big, but it feels like a TT when you wind it through the curves. That’s the ace up its sleeve – yes, it’s insanely quick, but the RS5 has also been engineered from day one to be able to deploy all the power effectively. That’s what makes it fun.

Audi RS5 Verdict

We found the best approach is not to drive it at ten-tenths like a maniac – although with the way this thing accelerates, that’s always a temptation – but instead to wind it back and treat it like a Bentley. Which is to say, driving in the knowledge that there’s all sorts of power, without the obligation to use all of it all the time. With this approach, you’re saved from overwhelming the brakes (because, let’s face it, even the best chassis in the world would eventually struggle to mask a 1,720kg kerb weight), and instead just let the RS5 flow across country in its own rhythm. RS mode is great for exploiting the full drama of the drivetrain, although the stiffest suspension setting might shake the fillings from your teeth on the average pot-holed B-road. Even in ‘soft’ standard guise, the weaponised performance is exhilarating, and the more you find a rhythm with it, the more it rewards you – and the more you’re able to enjoy the performance with the whole family on board, without your spouse telling you off and your kids throwing up. It’s a properly capable parent-wagon, this. It may have been conceived to appease the US market when they realised they wouldn’t be getting an RS4 Avant, but it’s arguably best suited to British daily life. The way it launches and surges is astounding, and the manner in which it controls itself through challenging twists and turns is downright stupendous – but what’s most impressive about the Audi RS5 Sportback is that it’s basically really good at everything. If you won a modest amount on the lottery (and for a lot of us, that’d be the only way in – RS5 Sportback prices start at £67,505; this one with all the options weighs in at £85,360) and only had one parking space, this is a car that could fulfil every brief on your wish list: family car, sports car, grand tourer, hot hatch, Ikea hack, track toy… it can do all of these things. And it does all of them bloody brilliantly.

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