“Effervescent” would be a good word to sum up the Mini John Cooper Works Paceman. Someone once defined “effervescence” as a big word for little bubbles, and “Mini John Cooper Works Paceman” is a long name for a small car. There are a lot of things in this world that are physically small but don’t seem to realise it and/or punch well above their weight. Jalapeño peppers, for example, or Chihuahuas. The Mini John Cooper Works Paceman is, in some ways, a car for a very masculine guy – the sort of guy who doesn’t need to drive something large, powerful and grunty (and looks it) to show that he is large, powerful and grunty… we can already see what he’s like.

This is not to say that (a) the Mini Paceman John Cooper Works isn’t a good car for anybody, male, female, old, young, urban, rural or what have you; or (b) the Mini Paceman John Cooper Works hasn’t got the specs to hack it with other cars that are larger on the outside. Large cars beware: if the little Mini Paceman John Cooper Works pulls up beside you at the lights: it could very easily be away from the blocks much faster than you can. However, there are a few not-so-subtle clues that this unit is no slouch: the chilli pepper red roof and mirror caps that contrast with the body colour, the 18-inch twin spoke wheels, the sporty side skirts and the roof spoiler give it all away. To say nothing of the optional racing stripes… Yes, the Mini John Cooper Works Paceman is a little car to be reckoned with, even if you’re unsure whether to call it a sports hatch or a coupé.

It’s what’s inside that counts, and that’s where the Mini Paceman John Cooper Works comes up trumps. The engine inside this model is a 4 in-line 16-valve 1.6-litre unit like you’ll find in many other modern Minis, but this is the Mini Paceman John Cooper Works, so it’s capable of much more. The power peaks at 6000 rpm with 160 kW, but it’s the torque that is really impressive: 280 Nm on tap throughout a very wide range of revs: all the way from 1900 rpm through to 5000 rpm. The little Mini John Cooper Works Paceman can whip through the 0–100 km/h sprint in a highly respectable 6.9 seconds. Nice work by the twin-scroll turbocharger and the overboost! Needless to say, the fuel consumption figures are also pretty darn good: a combined consumption figure of 8.0 L/100 km for the manual variant, which drops to 6.5 L/100 km on the open highway.

The very feisty engine in the Mini John Cooper Works Paceman is harnessed to Mini’s All4 all-wheel-drive system to maximise traction in all situations. A Mini just isn’t a Mini if it isn’t grippy and responsive, and the AWD drivetrain allows the Mini Paceman John Cooper Works to handle the abrupt cornering, the quick stops and starts and the fast reactions needed for urban driving – something that’s aided by the multi-link rear axle.

The exclusive sporty contrast styling of the exterior is echoed in the interior, with a red bezel feature on the interior in chilli red, and red contrast stitching on the sports seats, leather steering wheel and gear shifter – and even the floor mats. The red highlights are continued on the instrument panel, although the basic background of the dials and display panels is mostly black for ease of reading. There’s enough room to share the Mini John Cooper Works Paceman experience, as there’s room for four people very comfortably. The rear seats fold flat to increase the boot space to 1080 litres (capacity is 330 litres with the seats up).

The Mini John Cooper Works Paceman has a very impressive range of gadgets inside – far too many to list. But a few are worth a mention. One that I haven’t seen in many other cars, if any, is the way that the designers have replaced the centre console with a centre rail (which continues to the back so passengers can stow their odds and ends) that allows you to clip on the items that you want close to hand wherever you want. No more phones sliding around the place and banging into your glasses case. Glasses case and phone alike can clip onto the rail conveniently and securely. However, the driver aids and conveniences that most people will appreciate more are the active safety features, which has more strings of initials than a top-level doctor: ASC+T, DSC and DTC (translation: automatic stability control and traction; dynamic stability control (with hill assist); dynamic traction control). And given the oomph that the little Mini John Cooper Works Paceman is capable of, you need it.

The Mini John Cooper Works Paceman claims to be the fastest Mini Paceman out there. The big question is whether you’ve got the guts to drive it.

Current model series include:

• Mini John Cooper Works Paceman

For any more information on the Mini John Cooper Works Paceman, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Mini dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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