Comments on: Autoblog Garage: ’08 Clubman

By: Winstons_Mum

Winstons_Mum — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:37:59 +0000

I never had a problem with the visibility thru the rear windows. And, to make matters worse, half of one of the barn door windows was covered with my temporary Pennsylvania registration tag. What I did have a problem with was looking thru the front window. It seemed that the rear view mirror was extrememly large and blocking a lot of the view thru the front window. After 2 months, I’m used to it now, but it was bothersome at first.

By: C4

C4 — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:32:42 +0000

I had a Cooper Clubman auto dealer loaner a month or so ago. Nice car overall, but the Cooper's N/A engine does work a little overtime to haul the extra 200 or so pounds of added weight in the Clubman.

To me the turbocharged Clubman is a no brainer. The car simply drives better with the forced induction motor.

If you are going to drive your Clubman out in the highway 60%+ of the time, get the S. Worth every penny.

By: DB

DB — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:02:07 +0000

Yes, that is exactly what I typed.

Shocking since the R56 MC and Clubman don't always review as well as the MCS or the Clubman S. I was amazed to see such a positive review.

'Cause y'all know I'm all about the justacooper. Good chance when the times comes, this will be the next MINI in my driveway.

By: rkw

rkw — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:34:21 +0000

DB, showing some bias here: "And, it was just a Clubman, not an S."

By: C4

C4 — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:57:24 +0000

The rear visibility in the Clubman being a problem is a highly over-cooked claim made by some in the automotive press. I haven't had any problems backing out of tight spaces in the Clubman, and the rear center pillar is not nearly as bothersome as the roll over bars of the R52 MINI Cabrio.

Within 5 minutes of my first drive in the Clubman, I was already used to its fairly good outward visibility.

By: GregW

GregW — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:47:15 +0000

ontheroadagain – yes many people would prefer the choice of a Mini One Clubman, a basic version. This is not available in any market. Mini One coupe is available in most markets outside USA. The rear vision through the rear doors takes time to get used to. A good driver will also use the two exterior mirrors for rear view and reversing situations. If there are three people in the back seat your rear view is restricted anyhow.

By: C4

C4 — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:34:41 +0000

Hopefully, I’ll get around getting my review completed. I have a bare-bones basic ’08 Clubman S No options other than automatic, MFSW, rear fogs and metallic paint.

By: ontheroadagain

ontheroadagain — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:44:56 +0000

I have the MCC - but the automatic in which the sport button really does make a difference. Hard to believe it doesn't in the standard shift version.

Someday, I'd love to have a review about a really basic version - no sports suspension, etc., just the basics with the basic price. You can get a lot of MINI for a pretty reasonable price if you don't add in extras, though I'll admit it's hard not to. ;-)

Thanks for posting!