2015 Mini Clubman to Get RWD Electric Boost

Jo Borras
by Jo Borras

You could make a case for Mini’s Clubman being an ideal small-business/delivery vehicle. It’s large enough to carry bulky office items, small enough to park, stylish enough to be seen in, and gets decent fuel economy. One of the biggest criticisms of the Clubman, though, has nothing to do with its practicality- it’s that the bigger Mini doesn’t quite live up to the brand’s hard-earned performance heritage. That’s going to change, however, with the launch of the 2015 Mini Hybrid Clubman.

Using a system similar to the one used by Volvo in its XC60 and V60 hybrids, the electric power train in the 2015 Mini hybrid models is expected to send power directly to the rear wheels. The “modular” approach here would make tooling up easier, and allow the unit to be used in other BMW/Mini properties like the recently-released, front-wheel drive BMW X2.

Up front, the 2015 Mini hybrids will make use of the company’s existing 135 HP, 1.5-liter three cylinder turbo engine. According to LeftLane News, the new car “may, effectively, act as a rear-wheel-drive platform if driving in electric-only mode. Under hard acceleration the system would switch to all-wheel-drive mode.” If that’s true, the arrangement should make for a fun little runabout- especially with the expected 190 total HP!

What do you guys think? Is 190 HP and all-wheel drive enough to make the Clubman a Mini a worth successor to the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally winning Mini Cooper, or is all this just an excuse to ramp up economies of scale for BMW’s i Brand? Let us know!

Originally published on Gas 2.

Jo Borras
Jo Borras

I've been in and around the auto industry since 1997, and have written for a number of well-known outlets like Cleantechnica, the Truth About Cars, Popular Mechanics, and more. You can also find me talking EVs with Matt Teske and Chris DeMorro on the Electrify Expo Podcast, writing about Swedish cars on my Volvo fan site, or chasing my kids around Oak Park.

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  • Allenped Allenped on Feb 26, 2014

    i would like to see a similar system in the chrysler minivans. if they eliminate the stow and go seating there is plenty of space to house the hybrid parts.

  • Russycle Russycle on Feb 26, 2014

    "it’s that the bigger Mini doesn’t quite live up to the brand’s hard-earned performance heritage." Says who? Clubman weighs 180 pounds more than the basic Mini, that's like carrying one average-sized man in the passenger seat, hardly a performance killer. At least one performance driving school uses Clubmen because the longer wheelbase is more stable at speed than the standard model. Sorry, I really loved my Clubman, Mini looks and performance with enough room for a Costco run. 190 hp AWD hybrid? Sign me up! Oh wait, probably no stick shift on these guys. Dang.

    • See 3 previous
    • Russycle Russycle on Feb 26, 2014

      @tedward Good point about the Countryman, taller and 500 pounds heavier definitely effects performance. And it already comes with AWD, I wonder if somebody got their Minis mixed up?

  • Robert Gordon Robert Gordon on Mar 03, 2014

    "What do you guys think? Is 190 HP and all-wheel drive enough to make the Clubman a Mini a worth successor to the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally winning Mini Cooper" The Mini Cooper didn't win the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally…or any other year for that matter.

  • Snakebit Snakebit on Mar 26, 2014

    I'm with Tedward. The Clubman model is the definitive MINI, to me, from the moment MINI put the model announcement in my mailbox. The Countryman, on the other hand, seems like MINI went to Fiat and asked them to design a MINI like a 500L. What a pig of a design. I like BMW's effort to offer a choice of more models, but I'd be happy for now if they just stuck with the Hardtop and the Clubman model in standard and Cooper S trim, and thought long and hard before offering more of their niche two-seaters that aren't so successful with buyers. As for the awd Countryman, while I don't personally care for the design at all, at last it seems to be popular with buyers on the east coast, so in one respect I'm happy for MINI and BMW. Any thing that keeps them in the black and in the market I'm fine with.

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