The Boston Globe - 31.08.2019

AUGUST 31, 2019 3

“None shall pass!” growls the Black

Knight.

Flick the drive-mode switch to

Sport and the JCW swaggers down the

street barking and farting obnoxiously

like the French Taunter (uninitiated

Pythonites can look it up on YouTube).

Like the signature big peepers outside,

the Mini sports a unique, Broadway

kick-line of switches on the lower con-

sole. Off/on anchors the middle.

Like an airline pilot, I habitu-

ally flicked On, Sport and Stop/Start

switches in sequence when jumping

into the cockpit. It’s here that BMW’s

stern German demeanor interrupts

British levity.

Like its diesel-shamed countryman

Volkswagen, BMW literature these

days is full of sober sermons about a

dying planet and endangered polar

bears. That piety translates to the wee

Brit in the form of the annoying Start/

Stop button (making Mini cough at

stoplights) and Green driving mode.

Yes, a Green driving mode in a JCW

Knights edition. It makes as much

sense as a pink bow on a Rottweiler

and I suspect it will be the Cooper’s

most ignored feature.

Happily, the BMW influence is felt

in other, more meaningful areas. Like

the drivetrain.

As an upscale front-engine hot-

hatch, the JCW faces formidable com-

petition from the VW Golf GTI, Mazda

3, Hyundai Veloster N and Honda Civ-

ic Type R. Its BMW-derived technology

is worthy of the challenge.

BMW’s trusty 2.0-liter turbo-4

pumps out 228 horses and a healthy

236 pound-feet of torque. The drive-

line puts the power down beautifully

without torque-steer. Outfitted with

sturdy, six-speed manual shifter (auto

optional) with the stalk rising out of

the console like Excalibur from the

lake (“You can’t expect to wield su-

preme power just ‘cause some watery

tart threw a sword at you!”), the Mini

is a hoot to row through the gears.

German engineering also aids in the

front-wheel driver’s rotation. Where

most front-wheel drive cars struggle

on turn-in, the autocross-focused Mini

is outfitted with front torque-vectoring

in which rotation into corners is aided

by braking the inside front wheel. The

result is sharp no-plow turn-in. I was

tempted by vacant parking lots to do

full-throttle tire-burning loops, nor-

mally something I would only try in,

say, a rear-wheel drive Camaro.

But brake-induced torque-vector-

ing is not the same as the more sophis-

ticated limited-slip differential found

on the Golf GTI and Type-R (which

will also carve a mean apex), and it

begs my cloth-seat, $41,050 JCW’s

value compared to these much more

affordable five-door hot-hatches.

With just three doors (including the

hatch), the Mini is space-challenged

compared to its segment peers. Rear-

seat room for giant knights like me (af-

ter I contorted myself behind the front

seat) isn’t bad, but hatch cargo-space

is virtually nonexistent. If you pick up

four at the airport, expect to carry bag-

gage in your lap.

Perhaps the short-wheelbase Mini

doesn’t need limited-slip, but my

Knight was shy on other technology as

well. Like blind-spot assist. I count it

as a safety essential and it’s standard

on compacts costing thousands of dol-

lars below the JCW. Then again, the

JCW has irresistible touches like the

British flag formed by criss-crossing

LEDs in the taillights. Dude, cool.

In keeping with its quirky nature,

the Brit offers the best navigation sys-

tem this side of a smartphone — bet-

ter than the $58,000 BMW 3-series I

recently tested. Where the German

couldn’t understand my American ac-

cent, the Mini and I conversed like old

friends.

“Navigate to Kart-2-Kart in Sterling

Heights,” I barked. No problem. The

directions popped up instantly — com-

plete with quickest route in rush hour

traffic. Hmmm, maybe the wee Brit

wanted to take some kart laps itself.

The screen was easy to negotiate

on the Mini’s dinner-plate-sized center

touch screen. Don’t like touchscreens?

There’s a BMW-derived remote rotary-

dial just like a 3-series. This Brit-Ger-

man marriage shares some interesting

DNA.

For the most part, the German bits

are a plus. BMW doesn’t cut corners

on the interior. From round console

to round dial to round speakers, this

is Mini funhouse all the way. Change

drive-modes and the console screen

changes colors — Red! Orange! Green!

— like a carnival ride.

The Mini JCW Knight is an expen-

sive ticket to fun. But for the initiated,

it’s got a cute, maniacal character all

its own.

“Run away! That rabbit’s dyna-

mite!” as King Arthur might yell.

Howtotakedeliveryofanew

vehicle at home

BMW

From D1

By Matt Jones

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Here’s a car-buying pro tip that may help

shave serious time and negotiation stress

from the average purchase process: Ask the

dealership to deliver the new vehicle to your

home. Taking delivery of a car can be done

without ever setting foot on the dealership’s

lot.

The industry term for a car deal com-

pleted away from a dealership is an “off-site

delivery.” Bridget Stennis, a Volkswagen

Santa Monica fleet manager with more than

20 years of dealership experience, says she

does several off-site delivery deals monthly.

“Sometimes my clients simply can’t

make it into my store because of schedule,

distance or whatever. So occasionally I’ll of-

fer to bring the deal to them,” says Stennis.

She says shoppers are usually surprised to

hear that they can have the new car deliv-

ered, along with the purchase paperwork,

and are often excited by the prospect.

Distance or time constraints aren’t the

only reasons. You can also avoid what many

shoppers see as a time-wasting hassle: price

negotiations at the dealership. If you handle

negotiations on the phone or online, you

might be able to get the vehicle delivered to

you without getting up from your couch.

Edmunds offers tips on how to negotiate

a home delivery for your next vehicle.

BAKE IT INTO YOUR PRICING NEGOTIA-

TIONS

These days, many new-car shoppers start

negotiations online. When discussing pric-

ing details with dealers, tell them that an at-

home delivery would encourage you to give

them your business.

For many dealers, the option of picking

up a deal by simply doing the paperwork re-

motely will be too enticing to pass up.

BE FLEXIBLE ON WHEN YOU GET THE

VEHICLE

The chances of the dealership agreeing

to an at-home delivery drop dramatically if

you request delivery during a busy holiday

sale or weekend. Consider trying to set up

the drop-off when business is slower and

fewer employees are needed on the sales

floor, such as weekday mornings or eve-

nings. You may also be able to arrange a

weekend delivery if it is done in the earlier

part of the morning.

KNOW YOUR OPTIONS

Industrious car dealership personnel

aren’t the only force powering the home

delivery movement. Newcomers to the au-

tomotive landscape such as Shift, Carvana

and Vroom offer up used vehicles that can

be purchased online and dropped off on a

buyer’s driveway.

On the automaker side, Hyundai has

what it calls the Shopper Assurance pro-

gram, which allows customers to sched-

ule test drives online. A local participating

Hyundai dealership can deliver the test-

drive vehicle to the customer’s home. Hyun-

dai’s program also lets you see no-haggle

pricing online, although the purchase pa-

perwork still has to be done at the dealer-

ship.

OVERCOMING RELUCTANCE

Some dealerships will be hesitant to do

an off-site delivery. It could be as simple of a

barrier as the extra behind-the-scenes work

for dealership employees needed to make

it happen. Also, possible identity theft,

forgery, or the prospect of losing a vehicle

purchased unlawfully and shipped overseas

may present more risk than some dealer-

ships are willing to stomach. These cautious

dealers will want documents signed in per-

son, where the shopper can be vetted.

Other dealerships will want the deal

done in-house because their long-term busi-

ness model relies on car shoppers returning

for vehicle servicing. These dealers believe

the odds of that customer coming back drop

if the final deal is done off-site or if the cus-

tomer lives far away.

Another reason some dealers want deals

done on their premises is that off-site deliv-

ery allows shoppers to bypass the traditional

visit to the finance and insurance office. The

F&I office is where shoppers can purchase

aftermarket add-ons such as warranties and

alarms. These products are often profitable

for dealerships, and skipping that F&I visit

virtually eliminates the dealership’s oppor-

tunities for those add-on sales.

All of this is to say that it may take some

convincing to get a dealer to agree to an off-

site delivery. Try asking your salesperson to

find out what would motivate management

to allow the deal to happen.

This story was provided to The Associated

Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Matt Jones is a senior insights manager at

Edmunds.

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