2019 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Hardtop Knights Edition in Photos

Within the realm of sporty, compact cars that strive to balance practicality and driving enjoyment, the 2019 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Hardtop has style and fun covered. But with similarly priced competitors, including the Honda Civic Type R and the Hyundai Veloster N, offering greater performance and practicality, the Mini struggles as a value play. One of the JCW's key strengths is its availability with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission (the Civic Type R and Veloster N are manual-only), but which setup is better?

We set out to answer that question with a pair of identical test cars-save for their different gearboxes-both of which are among the 150 examples of the Mini JCW Knights Edition model that include $3700 worth of optional equipment (a head-up display, panoramic sunroof, wireless device charging, a Harman/Kardon sound system, adaptive cruise control, automatic climate control, heated seats, and more), plus $2915 in dealer-installed Mini accessories such as a crackling active exhaust that can be adjusted from the cabin via Bluetooth-linked dongle.

Along with the special edition's black paint, black 17-inch wheels, silver stripes, and red accents, our test cars also featured Mini's $1700 Touchscreen Navigation package. As tested, the manual car stickers for $41,065. Add another $1500 for the one that can shift itself.

That's a shocking amount of money for a two-door Mini-for comparison, the 288-hp all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf R starts at $41,290-but for those who prioritize style and features over performance and size, the Mini JCW can be compelling. Fortunately, you don't need to spend that much to enjoy these cars.

A base John Cooper Works Hardtop with the manual costs $33,250 (there is no four-door JCW Hardtop variant), and Mini offers a plethora of personalization equipment. While that's still not exactly cheap, it's a lot easier to stomach than $41K.

While its price and position in Mini's lineup place the JCW Hardtop in league with the Golf R, Civic Type R, and Veloster N, its performance numbers are closer to those of the sub-$30K GTI, Civic Si, and Veloster R-Spec models.

The six-speed-automatic JCW needs 6.2 seconds to reach 60 mph and 14.6 seconds to cover a quarter-mile; the manual car was just a hair behind at 6.4 and 14.7.

They may not be racy, but these Minis feel quick on the road, and that perceived speed is enjoyable in its own right. Their small size, low ride height, and loud, poppy exhaust work in concert to make each acceleration event joyful.

Push them to the limit, however, and these Minis aren't particularly comfortable and can exhibit an unsettling twitchiness at high speeds.

Riding on standard all-season run-flat tires-Hankooks for the manual car and Pirellis for the automatic-our test cars were quick to give up grip in corners and clung to the skidpad with less adhesion than some family sedans.

Nor did their high-strung demeanors, taut ride, and shortness of wheelbase (98.2 inches) make them accomplished highway cruisers. Both examples bettered their EPA highway estimates on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test (33 mpg for the manual, 34 mpg for the automatic), but neither figure is great for a car this small.

No, the Mini is at its best in the city. Just drive one to the other side of town and back and try not to have a smile on your face when you return.

The Mini's interior materials also are relatively nice for this class, and its interior design is funky without being impractical. The toggle switches under the center stack for the ignition, stability control, and drive modes have a more satisfying tactility than regular buttons.

And an LED ring surrounding the infotainment screen illuminates in response to drive-mode selections, climate control and volume adjustments, and engine speed.

Although many of our editors found the overall design chintzy and overstyled, the little touches do make the Mini feel a bit more special than many of its peers.

However you feel about it, the Mini's cabin is distinctive.

Whether it's fitted with two pedals or three, the JCW facilitates having fun on a daily commute. In the manual, rev-matching automatically blips the throttle to imitate a perfect heel-toe downshift without having to manipulate three pedals with two feet, and the stall-assist feature employs the stop/start system to quickly refire the engine when the clutch pedal is depressed after a stall.

While these helpers make for smoother driving for veterans and novices alike, nearly all drivers disliked the light and nonlinear feel of the Mini's clutch pedal, which makes the car easy to stall. Although the shifter itself is not exactly sloppy in feel, neither is it very satisfying to slide through its gates.

In the JCW's setup, Mini has dialed in the six-speed automatic with quick, smooth shifts that are nicely calibrated for the different drive modes. In the Efficient setting, it quickly upshifts to top gear so as to keep engine revs low, yet it will smartly downshift under braking and hang on to gears in corners when the Sport mode is selected. And as much as we love to row our own gears down winding country roads, it's hard to deny the benefits of a sharp automatic transmission when dealing with stop-and-go traffic.

The Mini's manual gearbox simply isn't crisp enough to enjoy when driving hard and requires too much attention to operate smoothly.

Considering that both configurations averaged similar fuel economy with us-22 mpg for the manual and 23 mpg for the automatic-the lukewarm feeling for the stick inclined us to pay greater attention to the automatic.

There's no way around it: The Mini JCW's turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four-good for 228 horses and 236 lb-ft of torque-simply doesn't deliver the straight-line thrills that its peers can. Yet, we still had fun zooming around town as if we were shooting a remake of The Italian Job.