Typically, getting to a media drive involves getting on an airplane and flying to the event, but I got lucky when the Mini held the 2025 John Cooper Works 2 Door launch only a few hours from where I live. That meant I got to drive there instead, and to get me there, BMW sent an M3 Competition. Since more is better, you might think a 503-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive sport sedan would have been a terrible car to let me drive down since I’d be bored out of my mind in the much less powerful front-wheel-drive Minis. Having that M3 as a primer ended up being perfect to highlight what makes Minis so great, including the new JCW models.
You see, for all its power and track capability, the M3 isn’t actually that fun as a daily driver. It’s quick and the steering is sharp, but it’s also too stiff for anything but the smoothest roads, it’s a cop magnet, and — with the optional carbon bucket seats, at least — it’s annoying to get in and out of even if you, like me, spent the last decade skipping leg day. The Mini John Cooper Works 2 Door, on the other hand, is still stiff and sportier than the Cooper S, but no matter where you’re driving, it’s a hoot. Forget the numbers, the John Cooper Works 2 Door is just fun, period. Opt for the convertible version, and it’s even more fun.
And yet, as even Mini will admit, most people are still going to go for the Cooper S, and I don’t really blame them. In fact, since they cost similar money, I think I’d rather have the Cooper S Convertible than the John Cooper Works Hardtop. You can’t get a manual transmission in either version anymore, and neither car is setting lap records, so you might as well enjoy a little top-down fun for your money. If you can justify the higher price tag, though, the JCW convertible gives you the best of both worlds.
Full Disclosure: Mini wanted me to drive the 2025 John Cooper Works 2 Door Hardtop and Convertible so badly, it sent me an M3 to drive to the event, put me up in a hotel in Savannah that may or may not have been haunted, covered my food and drinks, then sent me home in a John Cooper Works convertible to keep for 10 days.
