By cutting out superfluous quirks, the Clubman has gone from impractical oddball to the most rounded member of the Mini family…
There comes a time when you have to grow up. The piercings have to come out, the surfboard gets listed in the classifieds and that apartment in town makes way for a family-friendly house in the suburbs. It’s much the same with Mini’s Clubman, which has morphed from a fun but impractical oddity to what is now the most pragmatic and liveable member of its family. But does taking a sensible stance now mean that this Mini has lost its fun-loving side?
While those taken with the previous Clubman’s decidedly quirky four-door layout may wistfully see the new car’s more conventional five-door packaging as rather sober and grown-up, it’s not without its charms; the short overhangs, wheels pushed to each corner and squat glasshouse perched on a retro-styled body are still unmistakably Mini.
As characterful as it was, we’re glad to see the back of the previous version’s awkward club-door arrangement. Placed on the car’s right-hand side, this one-and-a-half door clamshell setup required passengers to awkwardly shuffle into the rear compartment and similarly shuffle out into traffic when the car was parked roadside.
The new car does, however, retain the distinctive clamshell (or barn door) rear arrangement, with its handles rendered as an appealingly fat, tactile chrome bar and the glazing split (although the large, horizontal lamps are an acquired taste). The rear hatches are operated in sequence and reveal a 208 dm3 boot that expands to a reasonably flat-floored 912 dm3 of utility space.
Given the traditionally van-based connotation attached to the Clubman, including its boxy-by-Mini-standards profile, and the fact that the new model shares much of its BMW Group UKL1 platform underpinnings with the airy 2 Series Active Tourer, you’d expect the new car’s dimensions to render it far removed from the Mini nametag.
But all of this conspires to trick the eye, as breaking out the measuring tape reveals the largest member of the Mini family to be 2 mm shorter than a Volkswagen Golf. Thankfully, the Clubman wears those enlarged proportions more comfortably than its five-door hatchback sibling.
Slipping behind the wheel, you’re presented with a model-specific facia that features an arc of body-coloured trim bowing behind that Wurlitzer jukebox-like infotainment display binnacle and a revised lower instrument panel ringed in chrome a setup that, although neat, doesn’t have quite the same retro-flavoured charm as that of the hatchback.
With its combination of high window sills, narrow glazing and low-slung, well-bolstered seats with plentiful adjustment, the driving position remains typically Mini sporty. But it’s the rear accommodation that’s a departure from the marque’s norm. Deep scoops out of the front seatbacks provide enough legroom to comfortably accommodate a brace of six-footers, headroom is sufficient and the rear-door apertures aren’t as awkward to negotiate as those in the five-door hatchback Mini.
When it comes to handling characteristics, however, the Clubman’s longer wheelbase is something of a double-edged sword. Driven with gusto, it doesn’t have quite the same sort of terrier-after-a-rat directional poise as the hatchback. Conversely, the ride, although firm on the S’s stiffened springs and 40-profile footwear, is surprisingly supple and gives way to only a hint of fidgetiness on more corrugated surfaces.
That’s not to say that the Clubman completely lacks the capacity to entertain, as the basic tenets of what makes Mini’s cars so engaging are still present when pressing on. The steering is weighty but pleasingly direct, and the body still exhibits a reasonable degree of resistance to yaw when piling it into a bend. What’s more, there’s just enough feedback from the chassis to let you know when impressive levels of front-end grip gradually give way to the nose pushing wide. But … there’s a hint of heft and vagueness to its responses when driven hard that reminds you you’re not at the helm of Mini’s most dynamically accomplished product.
In everyday driving conditions, the Clubman really begins to impress. Bar a faint whistle around the wing mirrors at motorway speeds, noise suppression is impressive and conspires with a ride that’s well resolved over the majority of road surfaces and a cabin that’s solidly constructed to give the Mini a grown-up, almost “BMW-lite” air of assuredness.
While we’ve sometimes felt a bit underwhelmed by the 2,0-litre turbopetrol’s lack of a characterful soundtrack, there’s little to complain about in terms of its performance. There’s plentiful mid-range punch and, with the meat of its 280 N.m (300 on overboost) available between 1 250 and 4 600 r/min, the engine proves pleasingly flexible.
Our performance testing saw the Clubman hit 100 km/h from standstill in 7,71 seconds, while the important 60-80 and 100-120 km/h overtaking acceleration times stand just below and above the two-second marks, respectively.
Although the sportiest drive-train setting ushers in sharper throttle and gearshift mapping, and weights up the steering, the powerplant is best left in its default mode, where it meshes very well with an eight-speed automatic transmission that’s devoid of lurch and doesn’t hunt around the ratios.
Those in the market for a Mini generally accept that premium placement and multitude of customisation options means that value for money doesn’t sit at the forefront of their purchasing decision. Even so, the Cooper S Clubman isn’t too spartan on the standard specification front, with features such as auto lights and wipers, rear PDC, Bluetooth- and USB-enabled audio system, a full complement of active and passive safety features, not to mention a five-year/100 000 km maintenance plan, included in the price.
