Comments on: MF 1st Drive: MINI Clubman Cooper S

By: MotoringFile » Archive » MotoringFile’s Best of 2008

MotoringFile » Archive » MotoringFile’s Best of 2008 — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:30:35 +0000

[...] 2: MF 1st Drive: Clubman S [...]

By: Jude

Jude — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:38:36 +0000

I live in New England. How does it drive in the snow?

By: Philm35

Philm35 — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:56:34 +0000

I’ve test-driven the Clubman S twice now. Once with the sport suspension, and once without. The sport setup really enhances responsiveness and flatness through the turns, but it also adds serious harshness to the ride. The car jumps and jolts over road imperfections. Unless you are autocrossing your Clubman, I’d skip the sport suspension.

By: MotoringFile » Archive » MF Full Review: MINI Clubman Cooper S

MotoringFile » Archive » MF Full Review: MINI Clubman Cooper S — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:33:36 +0000

[...] + MF First Drive: MINI Clubman / MotoringFIle [...]

By: DiggyDog

DiggyDog — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:25:52 +0000

I ordered mine last Saturday and I am eagerly awaiting delivery.

I test-drove a MINI a few years back and you can imagine my disappointment when my little boy said "Daddy, I can;t put my feet on the floor!".

I looked back and, sure enough, his little feet wouldn;t fit between the front and back seats.

I knew then and there that I could not get a MINI and I wondered why they couldn;t just move the back seat aft a few inches.

I will miss my Maxima but all good things must come to an end.

They say when one door closes, two barn doors open...

By: Billy

Billy — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:52:02 +0000

I find Alan's comments incredible, how can you properly assess the car in two days? And surely he'll lose a lot of money selling it so quickly.

I love my Clubman, best car I ever had, and that includes many premium marques such as Jaguar, Rover and Aston Martin! Of course, the MINI is not quite in the Aston league but at the age of 70 my needs have changed: now I want a high quality premium car but it has to be both small and economical but still fun.

Only a MINI fits these requirements, just take a look at some of the Japanese and other far eastern horrors in this segment if you want proof!

By: Clubman Review - MINI2 - MINI Forum

Clubman Review - MINI2 - MINI Forum — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:49:19 +0000

[...] Review MotoringFile � Archive � MF Review: MINI Clubman Cooper S Nice Review, with some great pictures. Mini Cooper S Clubman Grey Silver Roof. Multi Spokes, [...]

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:34:28 +0000

Just for some balance here. Finally received my Clubman S 2 days ago (after months of waiting for special order, fully-loaded model – sport suspension, limited slip diff, leather, etc, etc). Well, to cut to the chase, I’ve driven it a couple of hundred miles and this afternoon placed an ad in the local paper to unload it. I really wanted to love this car but didn’t. The engines great; it handles nicely but, in my humble opinion, the ride is awful – it’s noisy (and I’m not talking about the sweet sounds from the engine, but road noise, tire noise), it acts like it came without shock absorbers at all (ride over a piece of thin cardboard and the rear end bounces 4″ in the air), it’s incredibly cramped (my fault, it IS a mini afterall), the transmission’s good but the throw between gears is way to long for me; the dash knobs look & feel & indeed are of cheap plastic, the fake wood on my dash would be at home in a seventies Buick; way too much electronic gizmo crap. On the plus side – it is a nice looking car (except for the really cheesy-looking black plastic honeycomb grille insert on the S version – a metal mesh would’ve been so much nicer). It is powerful – cruising in 6th gear at 60MPH you cab still step on the gas and have lots of acceleration even without downshifting). The leather is gorgeous, but the overall cheap-looking dash stuff really brings the interior down. Bottom line, for me – handles nice, looks good but too noisy and bouncy to live with every day.

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:26:38 +0000

By: SFPhoto

SFPhoto — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:05:20 +0000

I second the comment about wanting a white roof. Would be nice to have Oxy Blue as a body color option too!

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:14:40 +0000

This is a thoughtful and informative review. I had wanted a mini for two years but because I travel frequently with another person and a large dog I was reluctant to purchase one until the Clubman was announced. I take delivery in one week and am confident this car will be the perfect all rounder for my needs.

By: billy

billy — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:51:54 +0000

I am taking delivery of my new MINI Cooper Clubman on Saturday. Can't wait! Although I am sad to be trading in my MG ZR I was mightily impressed with the Clubman, and I agree with almost all your review. A lot has been said about the Clubdoor being on the "wrong" side (I am in the UK where of course we drive on the left), I see it as a great advantage to be on the drivers' side: so convenient for getting your goods or bags in and out. After all, passenger access to the back seat is just the same as on the MINI Coupe, on the left hand side, so no problem.

I predict that the Clubman will soon become the best selling of all MINIS.

By: Ginger

Ginger — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:46:33 +0000

Great review, can’t wait for another drive in mine!

By: beken

beken — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:30:39 +0000

I took a Clubman out for a testdrive last weekend and was rather impressed. I think your review, especially your driving impressions were spot on, though I did not drive the automatic. My wife loves the barn doors and the clubdoor made ingress and egress to the rear seats workable without having to move the front seat forward.
The seatbelt not getting caught was something I didn't even notice. But once you pointed it out, I went "oh yeah!". So they certainly paid attention to the details.

One thing not mentioned is a bit of tunnelvision in the rearview mirror. Certainly not a big matter as it was nowhere near as bad as the convertible's. In fact, though noticeable, I felt it rear visibility was even better than the Cadillac CTS' gunslit view out the rear.

The car also looked much better in person than in pictues. My general opinion was if the Clubman were available when I bought my 05 MCS, I probably would have bought a Clubman just for the increased versatility with very little sacrifice in handling agility.

By: Vanwall

Vanwall — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:33:40 +0000

Out of curiosity, what’s the Cx on the Clubman compared to the Coupe? Dr Kamm would love that rear-end, I think. Longer chassis should give it better aerodynamics, I seem to remember.

By: c4

c4 — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:58:14 +0000

Not long. I can see all sorts of wacky custom Clubmans popping up in the months ahead… Panel van replicas, rear seat deletes, Woody surfing nostalgia themed wagons, chrome hubcaps and whitewheel tires…Just kidding!

By: agranger

agranger — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:34:51 +0000

How long until someone builds a hidden subwoofer into the rear compartment under the floor?

By: TC

TC — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:32:48 +0000

Good review. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I got to see it at the Chicago auto show. I even liked the hot chocolate color. I cannot help but notice that the overall “tone” of the article isn’t nearly as excited as you were with the 135i. With the price of a very loaded JCW MCS hitting the 40 mark, it is going to be tough not to do the BMW.

By: Calogero

Calogero — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:15:50 +0000

Sounds really interesting. Not sure if I'm sold on it just yet.

Will have to see how it plays out of the next year or so.

Nice write up once again.

By: Timmee

Timmee — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:06:51 +0000

In our market, the flat loadbed will be an option, not standard.