Wheels.ca Reviews the Clubman

Sections: R55 (Clubman) | Reviews Mar 4th, 2008 24 Comments

Well, maybe not so much about the Clubman as it is an open letter from Jim Kenzie to Jeremy Clarkson and his earlier review at the London Times. Here’s an excerpt:

Jeremy Clarkson, you can be such a Nigel. You rubbished the Mini Clubman a few fortnights ago. “One of the worst cars in the world”?

Bollocks.

You surely have driven Russian-built Ladas and Romanian-built Dacias.

Your initial whinge was that the Clubman’s single rear door is on the right side of the vehicle, which dumps the sprogs out into the traffic in England.

Well, boo-hoo. The single rear door is on that side because most of Clubman’s customers drive on the right side of the road Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the “right” side, Jeremy old bean.

They do, of course, continue. Naturally, they really liked the car.

But the Clubman is a Mini, with all that car’s charms, and considerably more practicality.

This one is definitely worth the read.

[ 2008 MINI Clubman ] Wheels.ca

Written By: DB

c4

Great review. However Jim Kenzie seems to have an obvious dislike for the center mounted speedo.
mlg2ca

I think that all the gripe with the centre speedo and console/radio controls stem from anybody that sits in the car or drives it for the first time. I had to get used to it as well. But after a few days, everything comes into place.
c4

After driving my new Clubman for nearly a week, claims about poor rear visibility made early on by the European car press are nothing but hot air.

Again, I love Jezza and he did manage to get the best out of Jim Kenzie as per his article above. But Mr. Clarkson is not always right..
robble

I want to know more about the picture on this page. Is that road supposed to be flooding over the top?gasp I see double yellow lines so it IS a road..

I could see slime growing on it to make it so slippery you’d only need a couple inches of water to oush you off the side.
MeanMrMstrd

Good read.

Clarkson, gotta love his flippant attitude. Gotta take Clarkson with a grain of salt. Speaking of salt did anyone see those fools on TopGear cross the English channel, in a, I think Toyota Hilux, PickUmUp truck? Hilarious!
Franz Gruwitz

I’ve been wondering where this road is to check it out myself. It looks like a fun trek in the Monterey/Santa Cruz area.
c4

The thing with Clarkson is that he openly hates BMW and he is never been shy to express his dislike for the marque. But then again, he seems to have an ax to grind with Germans (and Americans) in general.
GregW

Its easy to be nonchalant about having the door on RH side when you are in a LH drive market. But it is an issue for those markets. After all MINI is touted as an “English” car but not designed for English market place. Bit of an irony really. No matter how much spin is put on the subject by MINI Germany, the car was designed for LH drive markets. Does the door matter in RH drive markets? Probably not as it just doesn’t get used in those dangerous situations.
faster, Tobias!

mlg2ca, I’m sure Jim Kenzie is more than used to driving the MINI – he won the Targa Newfoundland twice in the ‘Unlimited’ class, and finished fourth last year, which was his fifth year racing the MINI. He brings up a valid point regarding the rear window split – Clarkson made a big deal of it obstructing his view, but when I drove the Clubman I barely noticed it. You’re better of watching what is in front as opposed to behind, anyway. And the ford in the river – as Mr. Kenzie keeps referencing France has the location of the test drive, I’d guess that is where it would be.
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

That photo is one I took at the press launch a few weeks back with a mystery guest driver. I can’t disclose the location for legal reasons – seriously.
http://www.ausringers.com Liam

I don’t care what side the door is on, it makes the car look more compromised than it already is. It would look so much cleaner as a regular coupe. That said, living in a RHD market, yes, it is a daft decision not to flip the side door for our marketplace.

Clarkson’s reviews usually have more holes in them than Swiss cheese, he is not a serious car reviewer any more, he entertains his audience using some auto related theme to reach his audience. That’s not to say he is always entertaining, but, for the most part, he is. To take his reviews seriously, though, is probably a bit foolhardy.

Even though the reviewer acknowledged the point, comparing his experience of no torque steer in a Cooper as opposed to Clarkson’s comments on the Cooper S was terribly naive. What’s the term used, “Can’t have it both ways, my good man.”

Anyway, like Clarkson, the approach taken by Wheels.ca attracted readers to the review, so full marks to them.
http://www.pittstopmini.org Mini2Go

Regardless of LH or RH drive, I don’t see how it is any more dangerous than opening either of the front doors traffic-side. I think the safety argument is completely baseless.

If anything, it is merely a level of convenience. It DOES make more sense for the purpose of passengers to have the Club door on the passenger side. However, as one who would typically drive the vehicle without rear seat occupants, it would actually be more convenient for me to have the Club door on the driver’s side to throw a pack or other bags in the back seat.

Either way, having the door is more convenient than not having it at all. :)
http://dbmini.us DB

Regardless of LH or RH drive, I don’t see how it is any more dangerous than opening either of the front doors traffic-side. I think the safety argument is completely baseless.

I seem to recall, at least in London, that it was ok to park on the wrong side of the road as well. Not only was it legal, but extremely common.
Vanwall

A nice rebuttal all around, with a few personal quirks. Seriously, the center bar in the rear windows becomes a non-factor after you drive it a while – it was just the same on the Countryman, as well as a ‘Burb, it’s just a whining-point for those that need a cue. I wish they had planned on a mirror image car for the RHD countries – would’ve cut down on a lot of complaining ’bout the extra door.

Speedo? Is that something I should be checking every so often?

BTW Gabe, that weir they drove across reminds of the one in the original “Italian Job” – was there an opportunity to shove an Alfa-Romeo or two into the drink, too? – would’ve been a nice touch. Didn’t recognize the mystery guest in your piccie, altho they seemed familiar – the Ray-Bans hid too much, and my tweaking got way pixilated to be very effective.
Charlie

Gabe: “That photo is one I took at the press launch a few weeks back with a mystery guest driver. I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t disclose the location for legal reasons – seriously.”

Did anyone notice the military vehicle on the road beyond the river…look at the “clearing” above the MINI’s roof, over the driver’s side. You can see the rear tire and roof in olive drab. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
robble

Gabe Mar 4th, 2008 Link That photo is one I took at the press launch a few weeks back with a mystery guest driver. I canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t disclose the location for legal reasons – seriously.

ok, now I have increased from mild interest to really wanting to know. dang you Gabe!

(and yup, I see the military vehicle.)
http://dbmini.us DB

Now I’m beginning to wish I would have used a different photo.
http://www.lilcoopr.com Chrissy (lilcoopr)

Did anyone notice the military vehicle on the road beyond the riverÃ¢â‚¬Â¦look at the “clearing” above the MINIÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s roof, over the driverÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s side. You can see the rear tire and roof in olive drab. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

I think that it’s at least a tad bit suspicious that the army vehicle is (“purposely”?) placed so you can see it through the most obvious gap in the trees…

Hmm… :P
Vanwall

Looks like an O.D. Green Hummer, or maybe a Mutt in ‘Nam colors. There’s a desert-camo Sheridan Light Tank on a concrete display slab in some of the previous pics from that day – that’s where I remember the mystery guest from, as well. That’s why it’s hush-hush – it’s the super-secret miltary base where they hide all the dead space-aliens.
Jimbo

There is a road like this near my parents house in Winsted, CT. When the water is high and the wind is blowing north, water flows over the road.

It’s a great place to take an unsuspecting lady on a warm summer day. Roll down the windows, cross the water from west to east, the wind will blow the water onto lady friend – instant t-shirt contest.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Winsted,+CT,+United+States+of+America&ie=UTF8&ll=41.922493,-73.082369&spn=0.001848,0.003616&t=h&z=18
http://mini2.co.za Timmee

a mystery guest driver

Syring?
http://www.ausringers.com Liam

Finally got to see the Clubman in the flesh at last night’s launch at our local MINI Garage (sunny Canberra, Australia). It does look much better in person than I first thought — I went in thinking I could never see myself buying one, and left thinking, if the circumstances were right, I would buy one (test drive pending, which is coming soon).

I still reckon the rear seat door is a bit daft, but Mini2Go summed it up pretty well above.

Not sure how well these will sell in Australia. The Cooper S at the launch yesterday was optioned with lots of fruit and came with a AU$61K asking price which is pretty hefty considering an Audi S3 could be had for around $65K. Yes, not necessarily direct competitors, but just putting the price into some context. Also, given the plunge of the US$ currently it makes our domestic pricing even harder to swallow. C’est la vie!
http://dbmini.us DB

a mystery guest driver

I bet it was The Stig.
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