MINI Cooper S Clubman 1.6 Review

The idea of a sporty two-door estate that actually has five swiveling doors isn't new - the Clubman was based on the rather appealing Shooting Brake concept that went on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show two to three years back.

Yet, they still went the way of the original Clubman estate. This "stretched" MINI will not bear any badge, decal or sticker that says it's a Clubman. In a similar fashion, the guys at BMW have hoped that this new car can replicate the success story of its ancestor for what it now is - a departure from the conventional coupe-hatchback that we know of.

Outside

Stand in front of the Clubman and you will in no way, realize that you're looking at one. From the front bumper to the pillar-less front doors and the front seats - in short, the front half of the car, it's all typical MINI. The signature headlights and upright windscreen remains too.

Take two small steps to the left, and you'll notice how the integrated roof rails hint at it's redesigned behind. That's where things get interesting. The driver's side doors - the subject of much criticism for right hand driven MINIs, open ala RX-8 style - suicide doors. You open the front, driver's door first, and then reach inwards to pull open the secondary door that swivels outwards against the car's forward direction of travel.

Ideally, this would have been great for letting your kids down from the car and safely onto the sidewalk, but unfortunately in this island and the rest of the peninsula, there was to be no such thing as far as two-way roads are concerned. Suicide doors indeed!

Out back, the twin doors pretty much represent the 70s Clubman. Their electrically operated open buttons and gas-pressure springs make things pretty convenient. Just remember to do the right-side door first. Silver trimmings on the rear pillars blend into the surroundings of the tail-lights and the bumper strip.

Yes, it looks miles ahead of the original 1969 estate car, but as far as modern-day appearances go, nothing beats the original MINI. This might just be one of those cars that need a little getting used to!
Inside

While effort has not been spared into making rear passenger and boot space more abundant, it isn't that impressive. With an improvement over the two door hatch's by 244mm in length, 100 more litres in volume do not really sound like much - that's a hundred more cartons of Magnolia or Marigold (whichever you prefer) up from 160.

With the elimination of a spare tyre, there is enough space to pile two golf bags on top of one another, or fit a plump human being as illustrated™

Even with all that, there isn't as much space as your typical Golf or Renault Megane. The load cover awkwardly unclips and doesn't automatically roll itself up. Thankfully, the same can't be said while folding the back seats down, which needs only one hand to activate. Once you do that, 930 litres of boot space are yours for the taking - enough to cram in a 1.2-metre tall bar-fridge inside.

There is more legroom at the back than in the standard MINI, but it still feels cramped, especially with a tall driver/co-driver combination up front. On the plus side, headroom is more than adequate for the average sized Asian around 1.7 metres in height.

The Clubman's interior is virtually identical to that of the standard one, so there isn't much to complain about here. Now, you can specify three seats in the back instead of the usual two.

Driving Impressions

While it doesn't go nearly as fast as the standard Cooper S automatic (5 0-100 km/h runs took an average of 8.1 seconds in the rain), not much else is different. The punchy, responsive nature of this 1.6-litre turbo means it pulls cleanly with all of 260nm from 1700rpm onwards. Under hard acceleration, all 175 horses remain to be the raw, visceral characters we've come to love in the R56s.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Clubman has lost it's edge in corners, especially when it is physically longer. Well, nope™

Confidence, responsiveness, well-weighted, communicative, vivacious - all words that come to mind the minute you take the wheel of this Clubman. Typical of long-wheelbase variants, it is more forgiving at the limit. Recovering from a slide is much easier, and ironically, more fun for the novice driver, simply because there is more time to react before that three-sixty.

In theory, a longer wheelbase also means a more comfortable ride, but in the Clubman, the run-flat tyres have taken that out of the equation, giving us instead the "live-wire" ride of the standard MINI. Not to worry though, because the precision and composure of the Clubman isn't exactly dust in the wind. You'll receive pretty much the same, involving drive, and firm ride quality that so characterizes these cars.

MINI claims 6.3l/100km (highway) in terms of fuel consumption. According to the car's fairly accurate trip meter, we'd manage 12.7l/100km under very harsh urban driving conditions over a period of two days with the occasional peak hour trip across the CTE, and a constant 6.5-7l/100km at highway speed limits.

Should you Clubman?

Peugeot, Renault and Skoda are all picking up on the pint-sized estate market. Being the more practical choice, we anticipate a little trouble. Having said that, for potential customers who never fancied MINI's lack of space, the Clubman makes good sense. After all, it still is a MINI, and for those looking a more practical fashion accessory of a car, this might just be it. By the way, it costs $139,800™