Since we broke the news a few months back that the 2008 MINI Clubman was designed to seat five, we’ve had a raft of questions about the arrangement from readers. So recently we dug a little deeper to see if we could find a few more details.
Talking with a few more of our sources, we’ve learned that the Clubman’s rear seats are indeed meant to accommodate three across the rear seats. However in the US that will not be the case. Evidently concerns over NHTSA safety guidelines have persuaded MINI to fit the US Spec Clubmans with the same two seat configuration found in the current R56 hardtops.
So yes the Clubman will seat 5. It’ll just be outside the US market.
Hmm. Nittsa callin’ me a fat-ass? 😉 Hah, can’t drive a railroad spike with a tackhammer, dontcha know? As always, I’ll take the measure of the available space in direct comparison to the frequency of le petite mort with the seats folded flat – it only takes two to tango, no?
It seems to me that with MINI you have to start petition drives to get certain “Not for US sale” items here.
Anyone care to start a petition to have MINI give this market a proper 5 passenger vehicle, instead of the rip off 4 seater they want to shove down our throats??
Gabe, put the time back up so we can compete.
My post should have been the first but when I clicked submit, I was the second to post.
I wondered about the time but it’s not there.
Grrr… I was looking forward to the Clubman as my next MINI; a MINI to haul kids instead of a Minivan. It’s going to stink to still only have seating for 4.
Regardless if it is a 2 or three place seat in the back, I can’t see the actual side to side space changing….The frame of the car is only so wide. So what does it really matter? You’d fit the same amount of stuff or people back there and honestly, could you put three people in the back…even in child seats? Seems dubious.
MINIUSA is going to have a hard time selling a station wagon MINI with only 4 seats. Very bad business decision folks! The whole idea behind the car is to provide added passenger room over the standard 2 door models, not the same.
I am not convinced this is a “NHTSA” but yet another arbitrary cost cutting decision for those “Americans” that won’t notice the difference.
How disappointing, after having hopes up from the earlier reports of seating 5. I fear that a retrofit would be fairly expensive (new seat bottom and backs, extra seat belt, and maybe extra headrest). MINIUSA could make some extra money by offering 5-seating as an overpriced option in the future.
It shouldn’t be an option, period. No one should be forced to pay extra money to have the standard seating configuration everyone else in the world will get. That’s is pretty lousy.
Right now I can name several cars the size of the Clubman that offer seating for 5 STANDARD:
Scion xB
Mazda 3 hatchback
VW Rabbit
Honda Fit
Toyota Echo
And the list goes on and on. Mr. Stracco needs to realize that this car is going to be a hard sell without having the added attraction of carrying a 5th passenger. If I want to carry only 4, I’ll save the money and added weight and get a regular R56 2 door 4 seater.
If MINIUSA does not address this drawback with in the next few months, I might as well CANCEL my order and look elsewhere. Really, this is that bad.
<b>Okay folks – chill.</b> This is not a conspiracy. There is simply not enough room in the back seat of the MINI to seat three and expect to get past the NHTSA. It’s as simple as that.
Btw – have you ever sat with someone in the back seat of the MINI? Do you really want to squeeze a third in there? Granted the Clubman will have a little more room since the wheel wells will be moved backwards. But it would still be incredibly tight – even for children or the insanely slim.
And you know if there’s any way to do it, we’ll have the PDF retro-fit 🙂
Gabe, I’ll be convinced until I see a pic of the rear euro spec seat. The main benefit of having a rear center position is to safely add a baby car seat in there. The Honda Fit, Heck even the Chevy Aveo are all narrower cars and do have seating for 5. I don’t see why MINI has to take the “black sheep” approach to this.
Gabe man you really pushed some buttons today didn’t you? I have customers that don’t mind the fact that the Cooper is a four seater but need additional boot space. The Clubman is the answer and I have people chomping at the bit to get their hands on one. Not one person has asked will it seat five. It will not be a deal breaker in my opinion.
Mark, I am sure many customers won’t mind having only 4 full seats. From my perspective, makes little sense to develop and launch a model whose ultimate appeal is increased cargo and rear passenger room and saddle it with only 4 seats. If other cars in the size range of the Clubman have 5 seats, I see no reason why the US market should be excluded.
I really, really want a Clubman but the lack of a 5th seating position limits its appeal somewhat. MINIUSA needs to rethink their approach and they still have time to come up with a solution.
My view of the clubman all along wasn’t a mini station wagon as much as a mini with usuable rear seats. I would say right now my R54 fits four adults in a tight pinch but I believe Mini’s idea of the clubman is making a vehicle that has actual room for adults in the rear seats. Even if the concept if to put kids in the back, they have a nasty habit of growing up quick and a traveler would atleast be viable unlike my current mini.
This seems to be the opposite of USA airlines policy where you get hardly any room in coach class (United Airlines example). So what is the difference between cramming into a UA jet seat and a MINI seat? Well nothing really. Given that the airline safety guys get away with minimal room, why are car safety guys so tough?
These safety guys killed off old Mini’s green card with those rules.
I can’t believe that UK and Europe safety standards are less than USA.
<blockquote>So what is the difference between cramming into a UA jet seat and a MINI seat?</blockquote>
My guess is the fact that an SUV flying into the side of most aircraft is a relatively rare experience 🙂
I want to go on the record as supporting the four seat solution over the less desireable five seat option. Why, I have no idea. Honestly if four versus five seats is going to seriously influence someones decision I am puzzled at why they are looking at a MINI. They are small cars and either fit your situation or they don’t. I am very much looking forward to the new 4 seater Clubman S.
I guess this makes it tough to tear out the backseats and stuff in that old sofa on the porch, huh? Dang. Where’s mah dawgs gonna set? I’ll just hafta cancelrooney m’order fer that one.
After owning 3 MINIs we can’t get enough of them. Sure there are other “roomier” alternatives out there, but they are not MINIs!
The Clubman is perfect in the sense of being the same fun, nimble car we all know and love with the added bonus of rear room and more cargo space. Sure, a Minivan or SUV probably is a better choice, but neither one of us sees ourselves giving up a MINI for sluggish gas guzzlers.
I haven’t called my dealer to cancel the order because it pains me to look at something else, but I still think that MINIUSA has time to work out the 5 seating arragement in our market, rather than shaft us with just 4 seats. We already have 4 seaters!
I hope Jeff Stracco is reading this thread. MINIUSA has been a company that pays close attention to what their loyal customers have to say. I hope that they take into consideration our comments and let us have the 5 seat Clubman the rest of the world will get.
This silliness reminds me the fiasco of 5 years ago with the rear fog light. Anyone remember all the ëxcuses” That MINIUSA came up with as to why the USA should not get the rear fogs? A grassroots movement within MINI owners collected enough signatures and MINIUSA changed their position on the subject. Thanks to that initiative, today we get to order rear fog lights either from factory or as an aftersales dealer retrofit.
>This silliness reminds me the fiasco of 5 years ago with the rear fog light.
You cannot compare a rear foglight to whether or not the car is certified to be a 5 passenger vehicle by the NHTSA. You cannot create a petition for something like this. The NHTSA has guidelines that (for better or worse) must be adhered to by automotive manufacturers.
If MINI USA could sell the Clubman with five seats in the US, I’m sure they would in a heart-beat. If there’s anything that the SUV craze has taught us over the years, it’s that more seats sell. The fine folks at MINI obviously know this.
Gabe, I need a technical explanation as to why this is not possible. Supposedly, the R56 chassis is bigger and more flexible than the outgoing car, hence why BMW decided to delay the Clubman until the new car became available.
I am a hard headed type of guy. I have to be given clear and concise specifics as to why something is or isn’t. In This case, I still find it hard to believe that NHTSA would not certify this larger vehicle for 5 passengers. There are smaller, narrower cars that have a center shoulder/lap belt and a headrest.
I don’t think this has to do anything with the rear seat and more with the fact that the car only has one rear door. I betcha had the Clubman been designed with a pair of rear doors, this would not have been an issue with NHTSA.
Gabe, during the rear fog light drive, MINIUSA also cited “bogus”reasons as to why these would not be offered here, including “disapproval”by NHTSA and the like. The truth is, that only one state in the union prohibits rear fogs… Oregon.
Sorry, I am not an easy customer and don’t take “No”for an answer that easily. 🙂
The Honda Fit and Chevy Aveo are tiny, small subcompacts, yet they come certified for 5 passengers. I bet the R55 is as wide or wider than any of the above.
Like I said, I think what bothers NHTSA is the single rear door.
<blockquote>We already have 4 seaters!
</blockquote>
In my opinion we have 2 seaters masquerading as 4 seaters. I see the Clubman as the fix for those of us desiring a true 4 seat MINI.
Being 6’6″ my current MINI is only a 3 passenger vehicle at best. I’ve even considered rear seat delete due to the sheer pointlesness of it. The Clubman with its 13″ additional length may actualy allow some type of human, with lower extremities, to sit behind me. Seems like an improvement to me.
Yes, the Honda Element seats four. I’ve wondered why they haven’t improved on that still. There’s plenty of room for even a jumpseat when you’re in a pinch.
I am glad that the Element was mentioned. I know someone who owns one and regrets that it only seats five, despite being larger than the mini. I believe that you could still install a child seat in the centre using the ISOFix/LATCH system? Should be the same for the Clubman, even if they do end up with seating for just 4. One of the main reasons that I am considering the Clubman is so that my little one will have more leg room while sitting in the rear with a car seat than in the regular sized mini. I’d like to see some feedback from those of you who have experience with child seats in the back of the mini.
Sheesh! This is crazy! I love the passion of MINI owners. Did anyone REALLY think they were going to find a way to magically make three people fit in the back of the car without dramatically increasing it’s width?
I do agree with comments about the child seat, though, that would be really nice. Hopefully we will get a future DIY post to fit the Euro back seat for that purpose.
Besides that, though, I wouldn’t want to share that seat with two other people unless they were really REALLY good looking! (and both of them were my wife)
Assuming the specs from the R56 are comparable to the R55, the next Gen MINI states rear shoulder room is 44.7″. Honda’s Fit has rear shoulder room of 50.6″. Nissan’s Versa is 50.7″. So, both offer roughly 6″ more shoulder room than the R56 (and probably R55).
I thought perhaps a jump seat mounted in the boot sideways (similar to the seats in the earlier Mercedes M-class) would have been a possibility.
Retrofit Euro rear seats in the yet-unreleased US-spec Clubman? Hell, I’m still waiting for someone to sell and ship a pair of leather Recaros from anywhere to the US to replace the front seats in my 04 MCS!
Retrofit Euro rear seats in the yet-unreleased US-spec Clubman? Heck, I’m still waiting for someone to sell and ship a pair of leather Recaros from anywhere to the US so I can replace the front seats in my 04 MCS!
I will be considering replacing my Scion xB with a Clubman, and the 4 vs. 5 will have no impact on my decision. In either case, my two Golden Retrievers will fit back there with room to spare. I did like those barn doors, though.
I will be considering replacing my Scion xB with a Clubman, and the 4 vs. 5 will have no impact on my decision. In either case, my two Golden Retrievers will fit back there with room to spare. Having only the one door will actually be safer when they get out-it’ll be on the sidewalk side. They’re keeping the two barn doors for the rear, right?
…the euro-spec ‘5-seater’ will not really be able to seat 5 in any comfortable fashion…
…i mean have you ever ridden in some of the euro-spec passenger vehicles???
…we were in a (cough) 9-passenger Opal-diesel-van- looking-thing, and putting any more than the 6 of us (5 of us very fit and one overweight) would have been incredibly uncomfortable for any drive more than 100 km…
…they get away with rating the amount of ‘seating’ so high because they never have to drive that far, 4-5 hours and you are on the other side of the country for pete’s sake…
…here we need and like ‘comfortable’ seating not only because we’re fatter, but also on average taller and longer average commutes…
…i would be pissed if the clubman was listed as a 5 seater, that’s just silly…
…my sister’s 4 door Golf TDI is listed as a 5-seater and i’ll be damned if i’d sit with two other people in the back…
…call a four-seater a four-seater and then smile cause at least Mini is being honest about it even if it’s not their intention…
Mike, the barn doors aren’t going away, they are the two doors in the very back that replace the boot hatch door in the coupe. I am assuming you are talking about there only being one access door on the side of the car.
My butt surely wouldn’t want to be sitting right on top of those two seat belt latches! I agree with some of the comments saying not to make this car something it’s not. it’s the truth in my opinion. Anyone arguing about U.S. safety regulations needs to take a step back and think about the people who have lost loved ones in severe accidents. These people are the ones who typically lobby for safer cars. Because of this our U.S. spec. MINI’s have airbag sensors in the passenger seats, a chime in the ’05 and newer cars that doesn’t go off for a loooooong time if you don’t wear your seatbelt (the biggest mistake you could ever make), and other various features that add weight and size to this car. MINI wants to play nice and be successful with what they sell. Imagine the press having a field day saying the MINI wasn’t safe because of some safety feature it was missing. This car wouldn’t be as successful as it has been. People anywhere always have a perception that smaller isn’t safer. It’s difficult to get past that and MINI has done a good job doing so.
Hell, you can’t fit 3 comfortably in the back of small/midsized SUVs… you really want to be crammed in the back set of a MINI with two people on either side of you? Masochists…
Seems like the boffins at BMW have had an influence as some Beemers only accomodate 2 in the rear – the ! series well thats another story waiting to happen…
Let’s use the info Gabe has already shared with us and take a look at the likely measurements for a 3 passenger rear seat for the Clubman.
The R54 spec sheet shows that the Cooper and Cooper S both have a exterior dimension of 66.5″, with an internal width of 44.7″ of shoulder room. Looking at the spec sheet for the R56 which shares the same width as the Clubman we can see the maximum exterior width is 66.3″. Knowing this we have to ask ourselves if its likely the wall thickness will be the same, which if most likely we would will have a shoulder room in the Clubman of 44.5″. This leaves your rear passengers with a seat that is 14.83″, this is of course packed firmly together, so lets give the middle passenger a half inch on either side so each passenger now has 14.66″.
If you think this is viable I would suggest you place something 14.66″ apart and see how you would feel in this space.
Knowing this we have to ask ourselves if its likely the wall thickness will be the same, which if most likely we would will have a shoulder room in the Clubman of 44.5″
I don’t think this sort of guesstimating is warranted considering the Clubman is longer, with the rear wheels further back, and therefor likely being less intrusive than they are currently. I don’t think it would be very smart for a company to build a larger car and then keep the passenger room the same..
for the record… I have gotten 5 in my ’05 MCS. Yes, that’s three in the backseat. And in case you ask… I (the fairly small young lady) was in the driver’s seat, and there were four LARGE college men taking up the other places. I have to assume that the THREE in the back were comfy, ’cause they all fell asleep!
It’s hard to resist but – I told you so 😉 Lol I had no idea about the NAS (North American Spec) cars only seating four tho, top info.
I’m not convinced it’s just a NHTSA issue? Or is it a “does this Clubman make me (Americans) look FAT!?” issue?
FYI, see below further pictures of the Clubman.. quite detailled…
<a href="http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/news/auto_-_produkte/hxcms_article_501658_14194.hbs" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/news/auto_-_produkte/hxcms_article_501658_14194.hbs</a>
Once again. America is protecting us from ourselves!
Hmm. Nittsa callin’ me a fat-ass? 😉 Hah, can’t drive a railroad spike with a tackhammer, dontcha know? As always, I’ll take the measure of the available space in direct comparison to the frequency of le petite mort with the seats folded flat – it only takes two to tango, no?
BCNU,
Rob in Dago
I smell a MF DIY friday retrofit PDF in like 12 months, maybe 18
I can see it now…
on a future MotoringFile: Euro Clubman Rear Seat Retrofit PDF, with a nice link to the Euro Clubman rear seats on newministuff.com
beat to the thought by Matt by seconds.
Yikes! this is pretty dissapointing. 1 rear door and only 4 seats? MINI you can do better than that.
Seriously I would consider the 3 passenger rear seat retrofit as well. NHTSA and the other “safety nannies” can shove it deep in their….
It seems to me that with MINI you have to start petition drives to get certain “Not for US sale” items here.
Anyone care to start a petition to have MINI give this market a proper 5 passenger vehicle, instead of the rip off 4 seater they want to shove down our throats??
Gabe, put the time back up so we can compete.
My post should have been the first but when I clicked submit, I was the second to post.
I wondered about the time but it’s not there.
Grrr… I was looking forward to the Clubman as my next MINI; a MINI to haul kids instead of a Minivan. It’s going to stink to still only have seating for 4.
Regardless if it is a 2 or three place seat in the back, I can’t see the actual side to side space changing….The frame of the car is only so wide. So what does it really matter? You’d fit the same amount of stuff or people back there and honestly, could you put three people in the back…even in child seats? Seems dubious.
MINIUSA is going to have a hard time selling a station wagon MINI with only 4 seats. Very bad business decision folks! The whole idea behind the car is to provide added passenger room over the standard 2 door models, not the same.
I am not convinced this is a “NHTSA” but yet another arbitrary cost cutting decision for those “Americans” that won’t notice the difference.
Very dissapointing, Mr. Jeff Stracco!
How disappointing, after having hopes up from the earlier reports of seating 5. I fear that a retrofit would be fairly expensive (new seat bottom and backs, extra seat belt, and maybe extra headrest). MINIUSA could make some extra money by offering 5-seating as an overpriced option in the future.
It shouldn’t be an option, period. No one should be forced to pay extra money to have the standard seating configuration everyone else in the world will get. That’s is pretty lousy.
Right now I can name several cars the size of the Clubman that offer seating for 5 STANDARD:
Scion xB
Mazda 3 hatchback
VW Rabbit
Honda Fit
Toyota Echo
And the list goes on and on. Mr. Stracco needs to realize that this car is going to be a hard sell without having the added attraction of carrying a 5th passenger. If I want to carry only 4, I’ll save the money and added weight and get a regular R56 2 door 4 seater.
If MINIUSA does not address this drawback with in the next few months, I might as well CANCEL my order and look elsewhere. Really, this is that bad.
<b>Okay folks – chill.</b> This is not a conspiracy. There is simply not enough room in the back seat of the MINI to seat three and expect to get past the NHTSA. It’s as simple as that.
Btw – have you ever sat with someone in the back seat of the MINI? Do you really want to squeeze a third in there? Granted the Clubman will have a little more room since the wheel wells will be moved backwards. But it would still be incredibly tight – even for children or the insanely slim.
And you know if there’s any way to do it, we’ll have the PDF retro-fit 🙂
Gabe, I’ll be convinced until I see a pic of the rear euro spec seat. The main benefit of having a rear center position is to safely add a baby car seat in there. The Honda Fit, Heck even the Chevy Aveo are all narrower cars and do have seating for 5. I don’t see why MINI has to take the “black sheep” approach to this.
Gabe man you really pushed some buttons today didn’t you? I have customers that don’t mind the fact that the Cooper is a four seater but need additional boot space. The Clubman is the answer and I have people chomping at the bit to get their hands on one. Not one person has asked will it seat five. It will not be a deal breaker in my opinion.
Mark, I am sure many customers won’t mind having only 4 full seats. From my perspective, makes little sense to develop and launch a model whose ultimate appeal is increased cargo and rear passenger room and saddle it with only 4 seats. If other cars in the size range of the Clubman have 5 seats, I see no reason why the US market should be excluded.
I really, really want a Clubman but the lack of a 5th seating position limits its appeal somewhat. MINIUSA needs to rethink their approach and they still have time to come up with a solution.
My view of the clubman all along wasn’t a mini station wagon as much as a mini with usuable rear seats. I would say right now my R54 fits four adults in a tight pinch but I believe Mini’s idea of the clubman is making a vehicle that has actual room for adults in the rear seats. Even if the concept if to put kids in the back, they have a nasty habit of growing up quick and a traveler would atleast be viable unlike my current mini.
This seems to be the opposite of USA airlines policy where you get hardly any room in coach class (United Airlines example). So what is the difference between cramming into a UA jet seat and a MINI seat? Well nothing really. Given that the airline safety guys get away with minimal room, why are car safety guys so tough?
These safety guys killed off old Mini’s green card with those rules.
I can’t believe that UK and Europe safety standards are less than USA.
<blockquote>So what is the difference between cramming into a UA jet seat and a MINI seat?</blockquote>
My guess is the fact that an SUV flying into the side of most aircraft is a relatively rare experience 🙂
I want to go on the record as supporting the four seat solution over the less desireable five seat option. Why, I have no idea. Honestly if four versus five seats is going to seriously influence someones decision I am puzzled at why they are looking at a MINI. They are small cars and either fit your situation or they don’t. I am very much looking forward to the new 4 seater Clubman S.
what a Bummer
Disappointing. Retrofit, sure, but.. PITA and the majority of ppl won’t want to do that. Since when has being a bit cramped been a safety concern?
I guess this makes it tough to tear out the backseats and stuff in that old sofa on the porch, huh? Dang. Where’s mah dawgs gonna set? I’ll just hafta cancelrooney m’order fer that one.
BCNU,
Rob in Dago
After owning 3 MINIs we can’t get enough of them. Sure there are other “roomier” alternatives out there, but they are not MINIs!
The Clubman is perfect in the sense of being the same fun, nimble car we all know and love with the added bonus of rear room and more cargo space. Sure, a Minivan or SUV probably is a better choice, but neither one of us sees ourselves giving up a MINI for sluggish gas guzzlers.
I haven’t called my dealer to cancel the order because it pains me to look at something else, but I still think that MINIUSA has time to work out the 5 seating arragement in our market, rather than shaft us with just 4 seats. We already have 4 seaters!
I hope Jeff Stracco is reading this thread. MINIUSA has been a company that pays close attention to what their loyal customers have to say. I hope that they take into consideration our comments and let us have the 5 seat Clubman the rest of the world will get.
This silliness reminds me the fiasco of 5 years ago with the rear fog light. Anyone remember all the ëxcuses” That MINIUSA came up with as to why the USA should not get the rear fogs? A grassroots movement within MINI owners collected enough signatures and MINIUSA changed their position on the subject. Thanks to that initiative, today we get to order rear fog lights either from factory or as an aftersales dealer retrofit.
Never take “no”for an answer.
Anyone has Jeff Stracco’s email address?
>This silliness reminds me the fiasco of 5 years ago with the rear fog light.
You cannot compare a rear foglight to whether or not the car is certified to be a 5 passenger vehicle by the NHTSA. You cannot create a petition for something like this. The NHTSA has guidelines that (for better or worse) must be adhered to by automotive manufacturers.
If MINI USA could sell the Clubman with five seats in the US, I’m sure they would in a heart-beat. If there’s anything that the SUV craze has taught us over the years, it’s that more seats sell. The fine folks at MINI obviously know this.
Gabe, I need a technical explanation as to why this is not possible. Supposedly, the R56 chassis is bigger and more flexible than the outgoing car, hence why BMW decided to delay the Clubman until the new car became available.
I am a hard headed type of guy. I have to be given clear and concise specifics as to why something is or isn’t. In This case, I still find it hard to believe that NHTSA would not certify this larger vehicle for 5 passengers. There are smaller, narrower cars that have a center shoulder/lap belt and a headrest.
I don’t think this has to do anything with the rear seat and more with the fact that the car only has one rear door. I betcha had the Clubman been designed with a pair of rear doors, this would not have been an issue with NHTSA.
Gabe, during the rear fog light drive, MINIUSA also cited “bogus”reasons as to why these would not be offered here, including “disapproval”by NHTSA and the like. The truth is, that only one state in the union prohibits rear fogs… Oregon.
Sorry, I am not an easy customer and don’t take “No”for an answer that easily. 🙂
The Honda Fit and Chevy Aveo are tiny, small subcompacts, yet they come certified for 5 passengers. I bet the R55 is as wide or wider than any of the above.
Like I said, I think what bothers NHTSA is the single rear door.
<blockquote>We already have 4 seaters!
</blockquote>
In my opinion we have 2 seaters masquerading as 4 seaters. I see the Clubman as the fix for those of us desiring a true 4 seat MINI.
We’re planning on a Clubman to replace our Honda Element — which, by the way, seats four.
Being 6’6″ my current MINI is only a 3 passenger vehicle at best. I’ve even considered rear seat delete due to the sheer pointlesness of it. The Clubman with its 13″ additional length may actualy allow some type of human, with lower extremities, to sit behind me. Seems like an improvement to me.
Yes, the Honda Element seats four. I’ve wondered why they haven’t improved on that still. There’s plenty of room for even a jumpseat when you’re in a pinch.
I am glad that the Element was mentioned. I know someone who owns one and regrets that it only seats five, despite being larger than the mini. I believe that you could still install a child seat in the centre using the ISOFix/LATCH system? Should be the same for the Clubman, even if they do end up with seating for just 4. One of the main reasons that I am considering the Clubman is so that my little one will have more leg room while sitting in the rear with a car seat than in the regular sized mini. I’d like to see some feedback from those of you who have experience with child seats in the back of the mini.
Sheesh! This is crazy! I love the passion of MINI owners. Did anyone REALLY think they were going to find a way to magically make three people fit in the back of the car without dramatically increasing it’s width?
I do agree with comments about the child seat, though, that would be really nice. Hopefully we will get a future DIY post to fit the Euro back seat for that purpose.
Besides that, though, I wouldn’t want to share that seat with two other people unless they were really REALLY good looking! (and both of them were my wife)
Assuming the specs from the R56 are comparable to the R55, the next Gen MINI states rear shoulder room is 44.7″. Honda’s Fit has rear shoulder room of 50.6″. Nissan’s Versa is 50.7″. So, both offer roughly 6″ more shoulder room than the R56 (and probably R55).
I thought perhaps a jump seat mounted in the boot sideways (similar to the seats in the earlier Mercedes M-class) would have been a possibility.
Retrofit Euro rear seats in the yet-unreleased US-spec Clubman? Hell, I’m still waiting for someone to sell and ship a pair of leather Recaros from anywhere to the US to replace the front seats in my 04 MCS!
Retrofit Euro rear seats in the yet-unreleased US-spec Clubman? Heck, I’m still waiting for someone to sell and ship a pair of leather Recaros from anywhere to the US so I can replace the front seats in my 04 MCS!
I will be considering replacing my Scion xB with a Clubman, and the 4 vs. 5 will have no impact on my decision. In either case, my two Golden Retrievers will fit back there with room to spare. I did like those barn doors, though.
I will be considering replacing my Scion xB with a Clubman, and the 4 vs. 5 will have no impact on my decision. In either case, my two Golden Retrievers will fit back there with room to spare. Having only the one door will actually be safer when they get out-it’ll be on the sidewalk side. They’re keeping the two barn doors for the rear, right?
It is really sad when the USA is the most heavily regulated market.
People, if you have 5 people in the car it = more weight = less handling. Thats why it’s only certified for 4!
;o)
…this is purely an issue of semantics…
…the euro-spec ‘5-seater’ will not really be able to seat 5 in any comfortable fashion…
…i mean have you ever ridden in some of the euro-spec passenger vehicles???
…we were in a (cough) 9-passenger Opal-diesel-van- looking-thing, and putting any more than the 6 of us (5 of us very fit and one overweight) would have been incredibly uncomfortable for any drive more than 100 km…
…they get away with rating the amount of ‘seating’ so high because they never have to drive that far, 4-5 hours and you are on the other side of the country for pete’s sake…
…here we need and like ‘comfortable’ seating not only because we’re fatter, but also on average taller and longer average commutes…
…i would be pissed if the clubman was listed as a 5 seater, that’s just silly…
…my sister’s 4 door Golf TDI is listed as a 5-seater and i’ll be damned if i’d sit with two other people in the back…
…call a four-seater a four-seater and then smile cause at least Mini is being honest about it even if it’s not their intention…
…piece out…
Mike, the barn doors aren’t going away, they are the two doors in the very back that replace the boot hatch door in the coupe. I am assuming you are talking about there only being one access door on the side of the car.
can’t we really just carry as many people in the back seat as we want?
My butt surely wouldn’t want to be sitting right on top of those two seat belt latches! I agree with some of the comments saying not to make this car something it’s not. it’s the truth in my opinion. Anyone arguing about U.S. safety regulations needs to take a step back and think about the people who have lost loved ones in severe accidents. These people are the ones who typically lobby for safer cars. Because of this our U.S. spec. MINI’s have airbag sensors in the passenger seats, a chime in the ’05 and newer cars that doesn’t go off for a loooooong time if you don’t wear your seatbelt (the biggest mistake you could ever make), and other various features that add weight and size to this car. MINI wants to play nice and be successful with what they sell. Imagine the press having a field day saying the MINI wasn’t safe because of some safety feature it was missing. This car wouldn’t be as successful as it has been. People anywhere always have a perception that smaller isn’t safer. It’s difficult to get past that and MINI has done a good job doing so.
Hell, you can’t fit 3 comfortably in the back of small/midsized SUVs… you really want to be crammed in the back set of a MINI with two people on either side of you? Masochists…
Look! A black helicopter!
I really don’t care as long as it will have AWD and long enough to compete and win in WRC!
Seems like the boffins at BMW have had an influence as some Beemers only accomodate 2 in the rear – the ! series well thats another story waiting to happen…
Let’s use the info Gabe has already shared with us and take a look at the likely measurements for a 3 passenger rear seat for the Clubman.
The R54 spec sheet shows that the Cooper and Cooper S both have a exterior dimension of 66.5″, with an internal width of 44.7″ of shoulder room. Looking at the spec sheet for the R56 which shares the same width as the Clubman we can see the maximum exterior width is 66.3″. Knowing this we have to ask ourselves if its likely the wall thickness will be the same, which if most likely we would will have a shoulder room in the Clubman of 44.5″. This leaves your rear passengers with a seat that is 14.83″, this is of course packed firmly together, so lets give the middle passenger a half inch on either side so each passenger now has 14.66″.
If you think this is viable I would suggest you place something 14.66″ apart and see how you would feel in this space.
Knowing this we have to ask ourselves if its likely the wall thickness will be the same, which if most likely we would will have a shoulder room in the Clubman of 44.5″
I don’t think this sort of guesstimating is warranted considering the Clubman is longer, with the rear wheels further back, and therefor likely being less intrusive than they are currently. I don’t think it would be very smart for a company to build a larger car and then keep the passenger room the same..
for the record… I have gotten 5 in my ’05 MCS. Yes, that’s three in the backseat. And in case you ask… I (the fairly small young lady) was in the driver’s seat, and there were four LARGE college men taking up the other places. I have to assume that the THREE in the back were comfy, ’cause they all fell asleep!