Introduction to the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
MINI's smallest crossover range, the Aceman, is quickly filling out in numbers and - following on from our first drives of the Aceman SE and Aceman E models - now we're getting a go in the new flagship John Cooper Works edition.
With 258hp and a 6.4-second 0-100km/h time, this is one seriously swift machine, but it competes in a marketplace with some surprisingly talented rivals. To find out if it has what it takes to top its class, we've headed over to the Cotswolds in the UK for our first drive of the JCW Aceman.
Pros & Cons of the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
Pros: smart styling, classy interior, well priced
Cons: terrible ride quality, so-so handling, sub-400km range
Exterior & Design of the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
• Big wheels and strong JCW details
• Not a lot bigger than the MINI Hatch
• Handsome overall shape
Following a template set by multiple John Cooper Works models of MINI which have gone before it, the new top Aceman has an enhanced shape thanks to meatier bumpers and side skirts.
There's then a wealth of red detailing, including for the brake callipers peeping out from behind standard-fit 19-inch (aerodynamically optimised) alloy wheels, plenty of the signature red, white and black John Cooper Works emblems to be seen, and a larger, more substantial spoiler affair affixed atop the Aceman's tailgate.
As the Aceman has already proven itself an aesthetic hit, the JCW accoutrements adorning it hardly hurt its chances of winning over punters in showrooms.
The John Cooper Works Aceman's dimensions are:
Length: 4,079mm
Width: 1,754mm
Height: 1,514mm
Wheelbase: 2,606mm
The same six metallic colours that are available for the related John Cooper Works Electric hatchback are offered on the JCW Aceman, which means the standard finish is Chili Red II and all the other five shades are €701 options.
From the factory, Chili Red II is also the default colour for the roof, but there are other two-tone options available to better match the body paint below, while a graded red-to-black roof is offered as well.
Alloy wheels are all 19 inches in diameter, with the aero rims fitted from the factory while more open, 'classic' JCW items provided as an alternative.
Interior, Practicality, Tech & Comfort of the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
• Red-and-black colour scheme for JCW
• Classy 9.4-inch touchscreen infotainment
• Rear seats and boot OK, if nothing special
With a 9.4-inch circular touchscreen for most of the major in-car command functions teamed to a neat little fold-up head-up display for the driver, the technology in the JCW Aceman is of a suitably high standard to withstand scrutiny if you're judging this as a premium vehicle.
There's then the usual excellent level of build quality and material finishing in this MINI crossover, enlivened by the JCW-specific details of sports front seats and a matching steering wheel, contrast-red stitching and detailing, and plenty of JCW logos dotted throughout the interior.
It's a lovely passenger compartment in terms of the general ambience, although the idea of actually fitting five people into an Aceman is optimistic. Rear legroom isn't enormous and the central seating position in the second row isn't going to be the most accommodating for long journeys, but at least the five-door body makes the Aceman more practical than the related three-door Cooper E.
Boot space is also adequate if not amazing, with 300 litres on offer with all seats in use and a tad more than 1,000 litres with the rear-seat backs folded down.
Performance of the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
• Plenty of power
• Ridiculously firm ride dominates
• Not a pleasurable overall experience
We've driven all three versions of the Aceman now, starting with the SE overseas, followed by the base-model E and then this JCW a little closer to home. And it is with a heavy heart that we have to report that the ride quality of this compact crossover started out questionable on the super-smooth roads of Denmark and has progressively got worse and worse since.
The overriding memory of the JCW Aceman is of what we can only describe as atrocious ride quality. Sportily tuned cars are frequently known for firm springs and dampers, and/or being fitted with very large alloy wheels on rubber-band tyres which bring loud bangs into the passenger compartment as they deal with surface imperfections in the road - but nothing is as fidgety and downright uncomfortable as the JCW Aceman.
The problem is that its suspension never, ever settles down. It doesn't matter if you're creeping around town at sub-50km/h, attempting to roll along sedately on an open country road at 80km/h, or travelling at motorway speeds, the JCW Aceman is always needlessly eager to inform you of the minutest contours and topography of the tarmac under its tyres.
We're all for stiff, unforgiving suspension with high-quality damping, because it means you get great handling and body control when you want it, yet the car can summon up a decent level of civility when you just want a little bit of ride comfort for longer, more mundane journeys. The JCW's suspension simply does not have that level of sophistication.
It results in a car that quickly becomes very tiresome indeed. And we can't tell you that it's amazing to drive when you find the right roads anyway, because while the steering is meaty and accurate enough, and the brakes are good and strong, and the body stays fairly level in the main, the way the car bounces, skitters and veers about on anything less than pristine roads is, plain and simple, infuriating.
There's loads of power from the electric motor, such that the 6.4-second 0-100km/h time looks conservative if anything, but when you deploy full grunt in the JCW Aceman, the steering wheel bucks and writhes in your hands as the crossover torque-steers up the road. It has precisely no give nor suppleness in the springs and dampers, and thus the frenetic nature of this hot MINI dominates everything it does. And not in a good way.
We're reliably informed by MINI spokespeople that some folk really wanted this from the JCW cars - that recent iterations of the petrol vehicles had become too soft, too anodyne and too grown-up to bring the excitement this revered badging promised. We can therefore understand that the carmaker wanted to inject a little more rawness and vitality into these new electric JCWs, but for our money the suspension has gone way too far in the other direction, and ultimately it spoils the entire driving experience of this new Aceman. That's a real shame.
Range, Battery & Charging of the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
• Slightly lower range then equivalent hatch
• Battery delivers theoretical 391km capability
• DC charging results in 30-minute 10-to-80 per cent time
The JCW Aceman has the same, larger battery pack of the crossover family as the mid-grade SE, which means 49.2kWh of usable energy. This is the same unit as employed in the three-door JCW Electric, but because the Aceman is 95kg heavier than that car then the outright range dips from 404km on the hatchback to 391km with this five-door machine.
We drove it reasonably quickly on the event, seeing a rather profligate 23.2kWh/100km consumption from it across more than 50km of mixed-roads driving. So, if you can stomach the way the JCW Aceman pogoes down the road and you begin enjoying its power outputs for extended periods of time, you might be dipping closer to 200km for one-shot driving range, rather than 400km.
Luckily, with a 95kW maximum DC-charging speed, it'll take a little over half-an-hour to get the battery from 10 to 80 per cent of its capacity on a fast public hook-up, while a charge on an a three-phase AC wallbox will take around 5.5 hours at 11kW (the Aceman's fastest AC pace) or beyond 6.5 hours with a 7.4kW home charger.
Running Costs of the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
• Aceman is electric only
• Minimal motor tax to pay on JCW
• Maintenance packages available
There is no direct petrol alternative for the JCW Aceman as there is with the three-door MINI models, which means the all-electric nature of the Aceman family works in the JCW's favour - it's going to be cheap to tax and, if you've got the right domestic electricity tariffs and you can optimise the times at which you charge the vehicle back up, it should be cheap to run too.
MINI's standard new-car warranty is unlimited mileage across three years' worth of cover, with up to eight years and 160,000km of back-up for the high-voltage bits. Service and maintenance bundles can also reduce your three- or four-year upkeep of the JCW Aceman down to just one single, manageable cost if you need it.
Irish Pricing & Rivals of the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
• JCW from €40,390
• Lots of kit for your cash
• Some strong rivals available elsewhere
Although there are both petrol and electric versions of the hatchback JCW, there are few other three-door hot hatches out there these days, so it seems to have a USP. Conversely, while there is no obvious in-house alternative to the JCW Aceman, there are some interesting rivals offered by competing companies, not least the two brilliant Italian choices we list here. That makes it all the more difficult to stack up a cogent case for choosing the hard-riding Aceman over those cars.
In its defence, at a starting price of €40,390 then the 258hp Aceman is hardly exorbitant. It's about €6,000 more than the next model down the tree, the Aceman SE, and only a two-grand price walk from the JCW Electric hatchback, meaning the fast Aceman's extra practicality isn't costing a small fortune.
The standard equipment list of the JCW is generous and while there are equipment bundles which can push the price of the car ever higher, realistically you could drive one of these MINI crossovers out of the showroom with next to nothing additional fitted to it and you'd be happy with the kit you'd already got.
Verdict - Should You Buy the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman?
It's all about the suspension, in truth. If you can live with the way the MINI John Cooper Works Aceman incessantly bounces down the road, then you will likely adore this car. But if, like us, you find its manic nature too much to stomach apart from in very small doses, it's arguably not going to be the ideal electric crossover for you.
Competitively priced, well equipped, swift in a straight line and sporting all of the usual MINI showroom appeal you'd expect, there's no doubt the JCW Aceman has plenty going for it. But make sure you test-drive it first, just to ensure you can deal with its hyperactive behaviour.
FAQs About the 2025 MINI John Cooper Works Aceman
Is the MINI John Cooper Works Aceman available in petrol form too?
No, the Aceman family - JCW included - is purely electric and there is no petrol-powered alternative.
Will there be an even quicker version than the MINI John Cooper Works Aceman?
There could possibly be, but usually the extreme models of MINI - like the Challenge and the GP - are reserved for the hatchback cars. Whether there will be a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive take on the Aceman, that might be able to handle even more grunt than 258hp and 350Nm, remains to be seen, but the platform it uses isn't set up for such a thing.
Want to know more about the MINI John Cooper Works Aceman?
Is there anything else you'd like to know about the MINI John Cooper Works Aceman? Or anything you feel we haven't covered here? Then just head over to our Ask Us Anything section and, well, ask us anything.
