Mini Clubman...

Stupot_

Stupot_

Stupot_

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Thoughts? :D Probably on the cooper clubman.

I think they're pretty quirky, I'm trying to talk my mother in to getting something this size, and considering we've been spoilt by german cars, am hoping the interior/quality is a step above your average focus/308 etc... It's this or a boremobile A3 or possibly 1 series.

Anyone been in one? What are they like?
 
I test drove a Clubman John Works a couple of months back, because they didn't have the hatchback equivalent

I have to say I loved it, looks aside (which are growing on me), it drove no different to the hatchback, hardly surprising though considering it is only 20cm longer than the hatchback. I couldn't believe that when she told me, but it's true, the looks just make it look a lot bigger!

But it drove very well, you don't lose the go kart handling, and you really can fling it in to the corners. It was very responsive, especially with the sport button pressed, but I did drive the JCW, so there was a lot more oomph than a standard cooper. The interior is quite plasticy and gimmicky, but then that's mini, and it does actually work very well and is very practical
 
Steedie said:
I test drove a Clubman John Works a couple of months back, because they didn't have the hatchback equivalent

I have to say I loved it, looks aside (which are growing on me), it drove no different to the hatchback, hardly surprising though considering it is only 20cm longer than the hatchback. I couldn't believe that when she told me, but it's true, the looks just make it look a lot bigger!

But it drove very well, you don't lose the go kart handling, and you really can fling it in to the corners. It was very responsive, especially with the sport button pressed, but I did drive the JCW, so there was a lot more oomph than a standard cooper. The interior is quite plasticy and gimmicky, but then that's mini, and it does actually work very well and is very practical
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I had the exact same feeling only with the Clubman S Vs the Cooper S, compared to the hatch it felt literally no different, just wasn't that keen on the 1 rear door being on drivers side, not kurb-side, and the split boot door, but any gripes with the Clubman-S were purely cosmetic, went well, enough footroom for rear passangers to sit "quite" comfortably, and decent boot space given the size of the car.
 
Robbie G said:
You say that like it's no big deal. All the new Minis look utterly stupid, with their big sixties-style dash gauges and awful visibility.
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I like the Mini Cooper, the looks are very marmite to some, but I do like 'em, what I meant by my comment was that the cosmetics were the only gripes to me, as I was a fan of the look of the Cooper/S/JCW.
 
Steedie said:
Visibility was definitely not an issue I noticed, infact I thought the visibility was excellent
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Do you really think 'excellent' is a fair description, when it has a vertical bar right in the middle of your rear view?

TimBrad said:
I like the Mini Cooper, the looks are very marmite to some, but I do like 'em, what I meant by my comment was that the cosmetics were the only gripes to me, as I was a fan of the look of the Cooper/S/JCW.
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I see.
 
When I test drove a Cooper S my mate and I spent the whole journey discussing the Clubman with the lovely looking sales lady, she agreed with us that it was pig ugly.

She did say you couldn't tell the difference drive wise but for a car that people pay extra for it to look good I think they've really failed.

Want a small quirky hatch? Great get a Cooper or 500!
Want a small estate? Great get a Focus/Golf Estate!
Want to be a laughing stock? Great get a Clubman.

The 'extra' space was useless and didn't offer much more than your standard Focus/Golf hatch anyway, it's just easier to fit stuff in cause of the silly door.
 
It's still a very small, with a pathetic amount of boot space.

Unless your mum really wants something this small, I suspect a 1 series or A3 would be better.
I was about to recommend the new Audi A1, but that's not out in RHD until November.
You could still pre-order, they look pretty funky.
 
A mate of mine has one and I don't hate it but I don't really understand what it is trying to achieve. It doesn't offer much extra space, the rear window is stupid and the little door opens on the wrong side for our roads. He is a mini nut and his other car is a classic cooper so I think his decision saw him blinded by the name.
 
I think the Clubman is one of the most badly botched cars on the road today. The new Mini I like but the Clubman is just a stupid mess of a car. The silly door that opens on the wrong side (and why not have two anyway?), the rubbish visibility, the self-consciously "quirky" styling. It's all wrong. The new Mini took the styling of the real Mini and did something modern and good with it; the Clubman took the new mini and the old Clubman and mated them in some hideous graphic-design school dropout abortion of a car.
 
Doesn't the Clubman have the extra-useful feature of an extra door for getting in and out of the back easily? An extra door on the wrong side because BMW hates Britain?
 
I had a Clubman as a courtesy car for a few days which means unlike those who test drove them, I used it for my 'daily stuff'.

The clubman doors are really, really stupid and were a complete hiderence. Something as simple as getting a bag out of the back of the car become faff compared with a simple hatch or saloon boot. The 'Clubdoor' is on the wrong side so your passengers get out into traffic.

It's a massive gimmick. Buy a normal Mini.
 
Disco Boy said:
Doesn't the Clubman have the extra-useful feature of an extra door for getting in and out of the back easily? An extra door on the wrong side because BMW hates Britain?
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Or perhaps that everyone else in the world drives on the right? ;)

The reason it wasn't changed was something to do with the fuel tank IIRC.
 
mjt said:
Or perhaps that everyone else in the world drives on the right? ;)
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Everyone should drive on the right. It would make cars cheaper as manufacturers could have one template for every country. Someone's paying for the right hand drive equivalents and it isn't the manufacturers. I'd be very happy for England to convert to driving on the right.
 
When everyone was still on horseback, they rode on the left as most people were right-handed, thereby having their sword in their right hand.
However, Napoleon changed it over to spite the British and it stuck.

Burma, for example, changed over to the right when the Junta gained independence, even though all their neighbours drive on the left, like most of Asia, and they all have RHD cars :rolleyes:

Sweden changed over in the 60s..
 
Robbie G said:
Everyone should drive on the right. It would make cars cheaper as manufacturers could have one template for every country. Someone's paying for the right hand drive equivalents and it isn't the manufacturers. I'd be very happy for England to convert to driving on the right.
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You start, and see if it catches on :)
 
You jest, but having had a retarded British woman drive at me on the wrong side of the road, I wouldn't recommend it. Rather scary :(
 
Cheers guys, I'm really surprised it's not much bigger than the hatch! I don't mind the looks, but yeah some major failings with doors, didn't know the mini door was only on drivers side. It will go on test drive list anyway:)
 
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