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.