Mini Clubman Shows Just How Maxi Brand Has Become
Mini unveiled its newest Clubman this week and the car, which is one foot longer and nearly 5 inches wider than the outgoing model, is now longer than a Jeep Wrangler.
The 14-foot-long four door will be four-inches shorter than a Mazda CX-3 and will sport the Hardtop’s duo of engines for Clubman and Clubman S models. The turbocharged I-3 will produce 134 horsepower in the Clubman, while the turbo four will bump up to 189 horsepower for the Clubman S. According to Mini, the Clubman S will sprint up to 60 mph in 7 seconds.
The Clubman is 10.9 inches longer than the 5-door Hardtop, with a 4-inch longer wheelbase and is nearly 3 inches wider. Rear passengers in the Clubman will get 2 more inches of legroom over the five-door Mini (34.3 vs. 32.3).
(And the five-door Hardtop exists, why?)
The Clubman will get BMW’s 8-speed automatic transmission as an option in the Clubman S, which was noticeably missing from the newest Hardtop. The Clubman will also get Dynamic Damper Control as an option, lifted from the Cooper S Hardtop.
According to the automaker, the Clubman will sport 17.5 cubes of room in the rear cargo area, increasing to 47.9 cubes with the rear seats folded down. The bar between the split opening rear doors has also shrunk, which should increase rear visibility in the minivan Clubman. The rear tail lamps are much larger and affixed to the symmetrical rear doors this time around.
The Clubman is the first model in Mini’s self-styled overhaul that was unveiled in June. In addition to the car, Mini will also roll out this year in the U.S. its car-sharing service that lets owners “rent” their own Minis when not in use.
The Mini Clubman will go on sale in the U.S. in January 2016, the automaker said. Pricing hasn’t been announced.
More by Aaron Cole
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- Eric Wait! They're moving? Mexico??!!
- GrumpyOldMan All modern road vehicles have tachometers in RPM X 1000. I've often wondered if that is a nanny-state regulation to prevent drivers from confusing it with the speedometer. If so, the Ford retro gauges would appear to be illegal.
- Theflyersfan Matthew...read my mind. Those old Probe digital gauges were the best 80s digital gauges out there! (Maybe the first C4 Corvettes would match it...and then the strange Subaru XT ones - OK, the 80s had some interesting digital clusters!) I understand the "why simulate real gauges instead of installing real ones?" argument and it makes sense. On the other hand, with the total onslaught of driver's aid and information now, these screens make sense as all of that info isn't crammed into a small digital cluster between the speedo and tach. If only automakers found a way to get over the fallen over Monolith stuck on the dash design motif. Ultra low effort there guys. And I would have loved to have seen a retro-Mustang, especially Fox body, have an engine that could rev out to 8,000 rpms! You'd likely be picking out metal fragments from pretty much everywhere all weekend long.
- Analoggrotto What the hell kind of news is this?
- MaintenanceCosts Also reminiscent of the S197 cluster.I'd rather have some original new designs than retro ones, though.
Comments
Join the conversation
When the parent company tosses it's own brand identity to the wind, I can't say that I'm surprised that the MINI sub brand has fully lost it's identity within a short 12 years in USDM. But this should in so many ways be a great car for the internet. It's a fuel efficient, relatively fun to drive, brown wagon available in a stick! Just a shame that there is a MINI badge on it. The public will probably buy enough of these, but for me, even the regular hardtop is too ugly and bloated now. No more MINI's in my future. Signed, R56 MINI Cooper S owner
Why would anyone buy the 5-door Hardtop over this, if the prices are not too far apart?