autoevolution's first impression, in part:
Sure, MINI will claim that the JCW Paceman ALL4’s rival is the Evoque Coupe Dynamic that is being sold in the US with a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine under its bonnet making 240 HP and 270 lb-ft (366 Nm) of torque. In doing so, they’ll point out that the Range Rover is basically $22,000 more. At the same time, it’s also slower to 100 km/h (62 mph) by 0.3 seconds.
However, that’s a car you can actually take off-road thanks to its higher ground clearance. It’s also a lot more comfortable and the only actual criteria that can allow you to compare the two is interior space. Other than that they’re almost from different worlds.
Therefore, we’re still left with only the Cooper S as the sole rival for this car and that’s what we’d recommend. It’s more comfortable, has better fuel consumption figures and can look just as good as the JCW. Unless you want to actually enter a rally with your personal car, the cheaper Paceman will fulfill all your needs and save you a lot of money.
