Mini Clubman

4:00pm Friday 20th June 2008

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THE MINI has grown up, become longer and acquired some practicality. And the name for this new breed of Plant Oxford's finest is the Clubman.

But don't for one second think that with this maturity the Clubman is the dullard of the range, haemorrhaging that endearing cheeky character.

The new car takes inspiration and styling cues from the Morris Mini Traveller, Austin Mini Countryman and the Mini Clubman Estate, which enjoyed widespread success in the 1960s.

It stays true to the MINI design language with the retention of short body overhangs, wide track, a long wheelbase and the high shoulder line rising towards the rear.

And after a week of throwing it into country lane corners and negotiating city traffic , I was left thinking that it might even be a slightly better drive than the regular version.

That should come as no surprise, since the Clubman uses the same mechanical bag of tricks and adds a longer wheelbase and tailored suspension settings.

But having driven virtually every MINI offering, from One to Cooper S convertible, and enjoyed immensely each and every one of them, I never would imagined that what is in effect a compact estate version would hold the road so well.

I have written about the karting- like qualities of the MINI in the past, but I honestly think the Clubman takes these qualities to a new level. It's so good at taking a bend that you can choose between second, third or fourth gear with complete confidence before diving into the line.

Building on the huge success of the second generation MINI, the Clubman offers 24 cm of extra length, 260 litres of space with the rear seats up and 930 litres with them folded down.

But the most important new dimension must surely be the extra eight centimetres of room for rear seat passengers who, in the regular hatchback, have always had to make do with a tight fit.

You may have read elsewhere about the most controversial feature of the Clubman, the so- called Clubdoor, which opens on the right hand side for entry into the rear of the cabin. For technical reasons, BMW decided against two rear doors and plumped for just the one on what many people perceive to be the "wrong side"

because it means that passengers have to alight into traffic when the car is parked on a road.

I have never heard so much fuss about a car door. It is unconventional and has sparked more interest than any other feature. I cannot think that a manufacturer could get away with it on any other car.

Reverse-hinged, in the same way the two rear doors are configured on Mazda's RX-8, it can only be operated once the driver's door has been opened... and then comes the tricky bit.

The driver's seatbelt forms a sort of fat tripwire, requiring the passenger to take care not to fall flat on their face while negotiating what is still a tight gap.

Was this door a good idea? No, but it is at least handy when tossing a bag on to a back seat.

Moving on to the rear, we find the twin rear doors, which have always been a part of the Clubman experience and - as far as I know - remain unique to this car. Again, it is flawed, this time because of the hindrance to rear visibility caused by the frame, but is a welcome aid to loading the fruits of a shopping trip.

As with all other MINI variants, the Clubman comes with Stop- Stop technology, which switches the engine off when the car is stopped, the gear stick is put in neutral and you take your foot off the clutch pedal. The engine is fired back up when the clutch pedal is pressed.

All the other features of the cabin are as you would expect: big fat speedo, an abundance of toggles and stacks of options that could take the buying price up to £20,000 from a starting point of £15,400.

The three engines available in the Clubman all feature in the regular hatch: the 1.6 petrol units from the Cooper and Cooper S and the diesel engine from the Cooper D.

The diesel unit, tested here, should prove the most popular - if only because it has a claimed mpg figure of 68.9 and CO2 emissions of 109g/km. But be warned, if you drive it with any sense of adventure you might find like me that you will get nearer 50mpg.

All in all, this is a cracking good but flawed addition to the MINI range, retaining all the style we fell in love with but with a measure of improved practicality.

At a glance

Model: MINI Cooper D Clubman (from £15,400)

Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 110bhp

Transmission: Six-speed man- ual, driving front wheels

Performance: 0-62mph in 10.4 seconds, top speed 120mph

Economy: 68.9mpg (com- bined cycle)

CO2 emissions: 109g/km