In our quest to due a proper send-off for the MINI Clubman before it goes out of production, we’re testing three examples of the F54 across the globe. Last week we were in the Austrian Alps and Bavaria driving a Clubman S through the biggest December snowstorm in recent memory. This week we’re in the beautiful hills of South Carolina with a Clubman JCW. It’s all in a quest to find out if it’s still as good as we remember and still the best car MINI currently sells.
Due to sales and a world that can’t get enough of small crossovers, the wagon-like Clubman is being killed by MINI after an 15 year run. Beloved for its mix of utility and performance, the Clubman has become a cult favorite for the brand. And it’s been a favorite of ours. Having run two longterm test Clubman over the past few years we’ve fallen in love with the blend of utility and performance.
As a wagon (even if MINI won’t call it that) it has can deliver almost all of the utility a crossover offers with none of the performance trade-offs. Having driven a Clubman on everything from the Dragon to the track to snow covers mountain roads we can confidently say there is nothing that comes close to the broad capabilities of the Clubman – especially in JCW form. Saying it will be missed is a massive understatement.
So journey with us to the hills of South Carolina where we have an Island Blue MINI Clubman JCW at our disposal. And stay tuned for part 3 in this series later this winter.
The Brief (Modern) History of the Clubman
The original R55 Clubman was a bit divisive. With the third door on the wrong side for right-hand drive markets, it was looked at as the “other” MINI even by the brand’s own marketing. While we loved the concept, it never really jelled for us as it felt too close to the R56 and didn’t find the sweet spot that the F54 ultimately did in terms of utility and performance.
The F54 Clubman on the other hand has been our favorite MINI model since its introduction in 2015. We’ve run three of them over the years – a manual Cooper S All4, the 228 hp JCW and most recently a 306 hp JCW. While all were great cars, the 306 hp JCW Clubman was and is a watershed product for the brand.
The stylish looking electric-only J05 MINI Aceman, is effectively a 5-door version of the Chinese built electric-only 3-door J01 MINI Cooper. Both cars share the same scaleable electric-only platform, and both cars will only be available with front wheel drive.
The MINI Aceman is, therefore, not a direct replacement for the F54 MINI Clubman, but it is an indirect replacement nonetheless. It’s worth mentioning that “Aceman” is the first all new MINI model name, since the R61 MINI Paceman was launched in 2012
The Clubman JCW is perhaps the best Mini for the Mini fan (although I think the F56 JVW is better), but objectively the competitors do better, a Golf 8 R is more efficient, and above all gives significantly more driving pleasure. conduct
I think it’s the best product but not necessarily the best MINI for everyone. And having driven the Golf R quite a bit I would take the F54 JCW over the Golf every time. But that’s me.
Sadly I’m going to be buying a new car in the next year and settled on the JCW Clubman just in time for it to be canceled. Maybe I’ll find a low mileage used one, but still. (I haven’t bought a used car since 1993; I prefer a new car to drive for 10 years or so until the wheels fall off).
It’s very clear from every MINI decision the last 10 or so years that I am not their target customer… at all. My second choice of vehicle would be the outgoing Countryman and the new one is just totally wrong to me in every way, starting with being far too large.
So probably I will end up driving (another) GTI the rest of my motoring days.