2,500 miles in a Mini Clubman

Mini Cooper Clubman
Mileage: 2692 miles
Average Speed: 32.1mph
Fuel consumption: 39mpg
Insurance: 8E
Price: £14,245 on the road
Options: Panoramic sunroof, light package

Mini Cooper Clubman
Likes

Looks - Anything cooler than this, at this price, on UK roads, belongs in a fridge. Looks more grown up than the three door hatch.

Practicality – Mini opens up a whole new market, people whose appreciation of driving comes with a need to shift people and luggage about.

Even better driving experience – Longer wheelbase adds more comfort and even better handling to an already great driving experience.

“That” door – Is it on the wrong side? Is it necessary? Well, we found it made access to the rear seats easier and a year after launch still has that Wow! factor for passengers.

Mini Cooper Clubman
Dislikes

Fuel consumption: The average fuel return is meant to be 51.4mpg, demanding city driving is meant to return 51.4mpg. We got 39mpg. Humph!

Comfort: The ride is better than the three-door hatch thanks to that longer wheelbase but relatively narrow axles can’t straddle speed bumps while long journeys are more of a challenge.

Indicators: 2,500 miles down the line – I still have to cancel them after use. Grrrr!

Boot: Although I found the Clubman practical enough for my needs, Deputy Editor Stuart Milne and Senior Writer Adrian Hearn came back from a trip to the Paris Motor Show complaining about the lack of space for cameras, computers and clothes.

Mini Cooper Clubman
We’ll get back to you…

Big speedo: A big awkward overplaying of Mini’s heritage? A cool design feature which engages the front seat driver in the Mini driving experience? The debate rages on.

Stop/Start: The fuel economy device which cuts the engine when the car is at rest and with pressure is applied to the clutch annoyed Deputy Editor Stuart Milne so much he deactivated it (easily done with a button by the gear stick). Editor Adrian Higgins had no such problems. Are you going to like it? Worth trying before you buy.

The rear barn doors: We like them but new Mini Clubman owners will need to take care with the sprung opening when parked tightly.

Central Console: Looks great – but is a bit fiddly.

The Mini Clubman is one of the most head-turning cars currently on UK roads.

Taking inspiration from the Morris Mini Traveller, Austin Mini Countryman and Mini Clubman Estate it represents Mini’s “Estate” offering – and as such opens the car’s ownership to a whole new market.

Few cars can have a greater hold on UK drivers’ hearts than the Mini of Italian Job fame and its turn-of-the-millennium reinvention by BMW has to go down as one of the finest comebacks in automotive history.

But the Mini Clubman was met with greater caution following its introduction to UK roads at the tail-end of 2007.

Bang up to date with the Mini range (which also includes the convertible) by being based on the second generation hatchback model, the Clubman is identical to its smaller sibling up to the B-pillar (between the front and rear seats).

It is beyond this point that things started to get controversial – or to be precise: the driver’s side rear door.

Hinged at the back “suicide-door” style the door has suffered criticism from some who complain it should be on the passenger side and not open onto the road (its fine for the bigger US and German markets). However, others have mentioned using it as an easier access to the rear for coat and luggage stowage.

One thing is certain from our experience – everyone wants to have a go!

Watch our Mini Clubman being built in this slide show

We have found it an easy way of accessing the rear seats and concerns regarding traffic can be easily solved by simply tipping the front passenger seat forwards if preferred.

There’s more door controversy at the rear of the car – accessed by hinged “barn-style” split doors.

These spring open to the touch and we had to become accustomed to the car’s dimensions before trying it out in confined spaces where damage was a risk. This is especially a risk when opening the boot using the key fob.

And it’s not just the side and rear doors which split opinion – the car’s overall looks received a mixed reception at launch.

After nearly two-month’s driving I now prefer it to the regular Mini. Aside from any short-term novelty value over its little brother I’ve found it looks a bit more grown-up than the hatch while remaining in touch with its fun side.

In the Club

Inside the Clubman is another tale of two halves. Up front the interior is “as you were” with the second generation Mini hatchback which, to my mind, is the finest design which can be had for the money. But more than most cars, the Clubman is a matter of taste.

I love the look of the large analogue speedo in the centre of the dash – even though I actually use the digital speedo incorporated into the rev counter as my means of checking how fast I’m travelling.
 
I also like the fact it makes driving the car much more involving for a front seat passenger while losing none of its driver-focussed qualities.

But it’s what goes on behind the front seats which means the Clubman would be far more likely to find a permanent place in my garage than its smaller sibling.

The Clubman is 24cm longer than the hatch and 8cm of that goes into much-needed legroom for rear passengers. And the rear passengers we’ve had in the Clubman have all given it the thumbs-up for space and comfort.

Unlike the hatchback model the Clubman also offers three seats as standard, though is available with two if preferred.

And its not just people the Clubman can transport more of – the boot space can hold 260 litres of luggage (100 litres more than the hatchback) and 930 litres with the seats down (250 litres more than the hatch).

There are more spacious rivals but the Clubman means Mini now has a model which can swallow the weekly shop (even if it’s a bit of a squeeze) and keep it out of sight.

And it’s this kind of make or break practicality which should extend the Mini brand to those who, to paraphrase the advertising campaign, just need a little bit more.

Money for your Mini starts to add up when you have to factor in options but two included with our model are worth mentioning.

Manual air conditioning may come as standard on some rivals but you’re going to need to set aside £665 to keep as cool inside as your Mini looks outside. The panoramic sunroof is a definite plus – especially if you’re going to be taking frequent advantage of those rear seats and costs £680.

When it comes to personalisation Mini offer more opportunity than most to make your own statement with 12 exterior colours, 12 alloy designs (on 16-inch or 17-inch alloys) 36 colour schemes, four choices of front door and rear side panels, 14 seat options with four leather combinations, five colour line options and four trim surfaces.

That’s more than 5.8million possible combinations, without considering the bewildering array of aftermarket options.

In terms of specification, equipment varies little between the three models (Cooper, Cooper D and Cooper S) in the line-up - with the Cooper D Clubman adding only a diesel particulate filter and the Mini Cooper S Clubman adding 16-inch alloy wheels, twin scroll turbo charger and sport button to the standard set-up of the Mini Cooper Clubman we’re running.

Tech Specs

The 1.6-litre 120bhp Mini Cooper Clubman we are driving claims a 9.8 second 0-62mph time and top speed of 125mph combined with average fuel consumption of 51.4mpg.

This compares with the 1.6-litre twin-turbocharged Mini Cooper S Clubman’s 7.6 seconds, 139mph and 44.8mpg and the Mini Cooper D Clubman’s 10.4 seconds, 120mph and 68.9mpg.

Our regular model supplies more than enough punch for must situations but we have been surprised by the unexpected toll this has taken on our pockets.

While real-life fuel consumption figures are expected to differ from their testing scores we were surprised to find out by how much with our average fuel consumption of 39mpg, 20 per cent less than the test figure.

One feature designed to reduce fuel consumption which, you guessed it, split the team, was the stop/start technology which cuts the engine when the car’s at rest, neutral is selected and there is no pressure on the clutch.

The engine returns into life when pressure is reapplied – well, unless you are Deputy Editor Stuart Milne who didn’t get on so well with the system and turned it off.

Fortunately this is as easy as pressing a button at the base of the gear stick.

Driving Dynamics

And so what of those renowned driving dynamics?

We’ve actually found the six-speed Mini Cooper Clubman even more fun to drive than its hatchback counterpart.

The electric power-assisted steering is all you could want from a Mini and a big part of the reason the key has been incredibly hard to prise from my grip even with some extremely tempting cars finding their way on to the Auto Trader fleet.

But the longer body seems to have brought in improvements to both the ride and handling which help plant a big fat smile on my face every time I drive the car.

And to be fair that sums up my ownership of the Mini Clubman thus far.

Much as I love driving the three-door hatch the practical needs of car ownership outweigh my desire to have one.

But the Clubman – at an additional cost of around £1,000 per model - could just tip the balance in its favour.

Watch the birth of our Mini Clubman...