Got a chance yesterday along with my buddy to take a Paceman S out and give it a test drive...here is my opinion on it. As a full disclosure i have a tuned R53 that i have put now 195k miles on. First impressions...the exterior styling is pretty radical compared to other minis including the countryman, it seems that in 2 door form that body doesnt look nearly as big and bulky as the countryman. One of the things that struck me was pushing it side to side it barely budget, and i an 6'4 220 so i can put a pretty fair amount of force behind it and still barely moved . The "PACEMAN" lettering is a bit much on the back, kinda reminds me of a Mitsu Evo "EVOLUTION X" badging on the back, but that is nitpicky and can be solved with recoloring them or pulling them off. I actually like the styling and to me looks far better and sportier looking than the Countryman (sorry c-man owners, just my opinion) The color scheme on this one was Pure White/Black roof and mirror caps and the windows were already tinted, and i must say the black roof and tinted windows really tones down the bigness of the body and it doesnt look so bulky. Everything opens and closes with the satisfying clunk that i got used to with my R53, it just feels solid. One curious oddity is the fact the rear seats dont fold flat, i think its probably since the seats have more bolster than before. Opening the bonnet, the engine looks a bit different, i know its the N18 motor but looking at other 2nd gen's, the configuration of some of the vac/pcv lines seem to be routed differently and IMHO a better config. Also it looks like they tried for some weight saving by cutting out unneeded body metal...the shock towers have holes cut in them so you can reach through the side and grab the strut...could help if something like a drop link snaps. Climbing into the backseat, even someone of my size was very nice, as with all minis there is a trick to it but the rear seats felt great, though if you are like my buddy and have a long torso you might be touching the roof, but im more leg so it wasnt as bad for me. For the testdrive my buddy drove(heavily modded R56 owner), i had shotgun and the sales rep had rear seat(for more context the sales rep was a hardcore R53 owner as well). One of the things that struck me was just how MINI it felt, even though the controls were different, something just felt....right. We surmised is that because its a 2 door and the driver/passenger side windows were larger, the B pillars moved back to where they should be and just the overall closer feel of the interior, i actually felt at home in there so more bonus points for MINI on this one . This Paceman was the "S" model with the auto trans, at the time it was the only paceman they had on the lot. Starting it up it had the standard 2nd gen quiet growl, and taking off i noticed it is quite quiet in there, not much in the way of road noise or exterior sounds, just the radio, exhaust and engine noise...so again more bonus points. Taking it around some roundabouts and some soft corners in the beginning, i noticed there was very little movement in the body, no roll or wallowing that the countryman suffers from. Once we got out there and really started to put it through its paces, thats where i was shocked. There was very little if any roll to the body, it seems that no matter what corner we found she happily ate it up and did not compain once! The power, even in the automatic, is very linear and just keeps going, no boost surge, no lag it just keep climbing and the power was also very responsive, no noticible lag between what my friend was doing and the engine responding . After awhile i forgot we were in a 3,000+ lb MINI, i daresay it felt more and more like a R53! The only time it ever showed its weight was when we were doing some circles on the roundabout and the backend started to slip but that was 3 rotations in and it just locked in to its line and stayed there. When the drive was over we actually looked at each other and came to the same conclusion, where the hell has MINI been hiding this! It felt as still and sound as a R53, better power delivery than any other stock 2nd gen ive ever tested and despite the height and weight it carried itself like a proper MINI. My friend commented that this could be the darkhorse MINI, many people have written it off but dont count this baby down just yet, she has quiet a few party tricks. I would love to get my hands on the JCW ALL4 and see what a AWD with 30more hp will do. I walked in to that test drive with pretty modest expectations, i was looking for something to show me that i shouldnt consider this MINI, but no matter how hard i tried this MINI kept impressing me and really my only complaint would be is no Recaro option, and honestly i would consider this to be my next MINI and has created quite a dilemma for me :mad2: . I kinda equate the Paceman and the Countryman to the M3 and the 1M...and before the BMW snobs crucify me for it...just hear me out...the current M3 seems to be the M car the engineers were forced to make, big V8 and every gadget known to man on it(suprised it doesnt make coffee)...where as the 1M is the M car the engineers wanted to make, very analog and a bit more hardcore... so in that logic...the Countryman was the MINI the engineers had to make where as the Paceman is the MINI the engineers wanted to make! I would say take one for a spin, i dont think anyone would leave the test drive unimpressed, it made a believer out of a crotchety R53 owner.
I opened this thread expecting you to pan the Paceman. That it is too big, too bloated and quite removed from what makes a MINI a MINI. You now have me really wanting a test drive! Hope the dealers at MOTD have one we can gently flog about.
I went in to the whole thing thinking the same but honestly i cant really think of any glaring reason to pan it. I really really tried to find something and even a day after the test i still cant, i belive that this should have been Countryman from the jump.
Great review, I have only seen it in person but haven't driven it yet. I too like the styling more than the CM, it has a nice sleek look to it.
Have you driven a countryguy? How does it compare to that? I'll try a pacerman & hope it is better than its cousin.
I have test driven the countryman, i have some buddies who work at dealers where i can give a bit more of a spirited test...and honestly this is worlds apart from the countryman...it seems like they really stiffened up the body and suspension but not too stiff it makes it uncomfortable...you do get the same feeling like your riding a bit higher but thats mainly because of how high it does sit...but i think a proper set of springs could cure that
So, why would you get one of these if you weren't getting the All4 version? When I sat in one at the dealer it really didn't feel that much bigger inside than a hatch, and it didn't feel any bigger inside than my Clubby. Although I did feel the height..... I really wanted to like this car, maybe I need to give it another look when I can drive one, but there's one more thing that's a bit off putting to me - the price! Time I get an All4 specc'd out with just the minimum stuff that I'd want, it's over $35K!
Good open review, now I really want to go test drive a JCW Paceman. I did submit my Paceman ALL4 S config to my favorite salesman and asked him to config all my options into a JCW ALL4 Paceman, still waiting for the heart attack. $$$$. Don
I would have liked to test drive the all4...however they only had the one at the dealership at the time...from what ive read about the JCW All4 Paceman it sounds like an even more aggressive MINI...the 30 extra hp def compensates for the more weight of the All4 system... many people think that i just hate on 2nd gen's because im partial to the 1st Gen's...which isnt true i like what i have so it would have to be a special MINI model to come along to tear me away from her and honestly if the JCW Paceman lives up to the hype it could be the next one
id also like to see how one of these handle when you have the lighter 6MT in there instead of the 6AT
some dealerships only have a handful...this was the 2nd one ive seen in the wild...i saw one at MINI of Reno in blue/blue...only problem is it was already sold...
I want to see someone get a JCW Paceman ALL4, lower it a bit, add some go-fast bits under the bonnet/tune , and put a rear-seat delete in the back.....
funny you mention that because it pretty much how i would play it...i do know that i would leave the turbo well alone...probably would leave the JCW airbox alone as well...for me the more i think about it i think its getting to a point where i am doing more and more cross country trips and just have more stuff plus having the extra space would be nice...and having a MINI that handles and acts like this one does could be a good thing
ok I had never considered this Paceman but after reading the reviews here and elsewhere I am definitely going to check it out the next time I am at the dealer!!
I've driven the Paceman a couple if times now. (Point of reference, R53 GP owner, previous modded R53 and R56 JCW). Agree with all of the comments in this review. The Paceman has a BMW-like solid feel to it. The only downside was that the motor and brakes were a slightly challenged by the weight. Sport mode helped. The test drives were in a All4 S with sunroof, so it was a heavy configuration. That said, a JCW Paceman is now on the short list for our next MINI. Just remember, this is not a MINI hardtop and is not meant to be. You won't be doing any track days in one. But it would work well as a daily driver for those who need a back seat.