First Drive Review: 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2-Door

What’s New For 2025

Like its convertible stablemate, the MINI JCW Hardtop 2-door is all-new for a fourth generation in 2025, with a fresh design, new tech, and more power. But don’t worry, it still drives like a MINI, which equals a lot of fun. And that’s what really matters.

Exterior Style

At the risk of repeating myself, the JCW Hardtop 2-door receives the same styling overhaul as its convertible sibling. The Hardtop, too, has a revised, yet familiar MINI face. Its octagonal grille is finished in gloss black, and there are additional air inlets for better engine cooling and aerodynamic performance.

Other styling highlights include unique LED headlights with a JCW-specific daytime running light signature. At the rear, an aero spoiler, black diffuser, and single center-mount exhaust finisher separate the JCW from other MINI 2-door. 

Like its Convertible sibling, 17-inch wheels come standard, but 18-inch sets are available. Eleven exterior colors are available, along with a contrast roof option and mirror caps that can be ordered in Chili Red or Jet Black.

Powertrain and Fuel Economy

Powering the MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2-Door is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 228 horsepower and 280 foot-pounds of torque (up from 235 lb-ft in the outgoing model). The extra grunt slingshots the car to 60 mph from rest in just 5.9 seconds. Paired with the 2.0-liter turbo is a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic that drives the front wheels.

We’ll be brief here: the JCW Hardtop 2-door is fast. Switched to Go-Kart mode, with the transmission in sport mode launches the car with impressive haste, and lots of bap-bap-bapping from the exhaust, especially off-throttle. And we love that.

Fuel economy figures for the U.S. are 27 city / 37 highway and 8.8 L /100 km in the city and 6.4 on the highway for Canada.  

Ride Quality and Comfort

It would be overly simplistic to say the JCW Hardtop 2-door handles like a go-kart, but it’s not completely wrong either. This car has a darty, twitchy personality. Even small steering inputs can change its bearing significantly. Its sharp throttle response also contributes to this feeling. But despite its caffeinated ways, the JCW Hardtop 2-door won’t rattle your spine. Or snap your neck. Sure, bumpy, broken tarmac will jostle the cabin some, but the ride quality is generally comfortable for a small car. 

Interior Style and Quality

What we said about the MINI JCW Convertible’s interior applies here. It’s spartan and a bit odd. The toggles for the starter and drive modes (experiences in MINI speak!), look a bit strange at first. But you get used to them.

We especially like the motorsport-inspired details MINI provides for the JCW Hardtops. Its vegan leather and cloth JCW sport seats provide extra support, and are finished in black and red. Its chunky sports steering wheel provides extra control, and its paddle shifters (not available on Cooper or Cooper S models), make blasting through the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic a breeze.

Tech and Safety

The 9.4-inch OLED multimedia circle touchscreen is the tech highlight for all new MINIs, and it works just fine. It takes some getting used to, as its touch icons are organized in a rather unintuitive way and can be distracting when the car is moving. But we like the pin-sharp graphics, British-voiced navigation, and how the theme changes with depending on drive mode. And you can change the screen’s background to a picture of yourself, which you can upload via the MINI app. That’s also very cool.

Value Dollars and Sense

Pricing for the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2-Door starts at $38,200 in the U.S. plus $1,175 destination. In Canada, the JCW 3-door starts at $51,990 CAD, plus $2,555 CAD destination.