MINI Clubman JCW: new arrival

Arrived: Aug 2009
List price (including options): £24,610
Average economy: 33.3mpg

The MINI Clubman John Cooper Works has been -

On a baptism of fire. Ok, that's a little extreme, but when I turned up at BMW HQ in Bracknell to hand back the keys to the 330d long term test car and pick up the new MINI Clubman I recognised the latter from a recent BMW Group track day and let's just say that the cars didn't stand still for very long that day. Within 24 hours I had piled another 400 miles onto the clock, though at a relatively sedate pace thanks to the rush hour motorway melee...

We're loving the -

Looks, first and foremost. The Clubman is a quirky creature of a car, but in the full John Cooper Works regalia, with 17-inch alloys filling the arches and black gloss detailing contrasting with the Laser Blue paintwork, we reckon we have a winner here. It certainly turns heads, though that could be partly down to the occasional rude pop and bang from the exhaust - and yes, we like that too.

But not so impressed by -

Fuel consumption. Or rather the reading on the on-board computer when we first started up the car. It indicated an average of about 23mpg and a range from a full tank of just 164 miles. Considering the 40mpg plus range of my previous steed, this was a shock to the system. Thankfully, within a day the average rose to over 33mpg, so I suspect the earlier reading is thanks to the track usage.

We're looking forward to -

Heading back over the Irish Sea (thank you Irish Ferries - www.irishferries.com) to spend some time in culture-rich Dublin. Although the Clubman was supplied in relatively standard trim, MINI kindly provided a few accessories to try out, including roof bars, a ski and snowboard rack (how ridiculous did that look on a hot August day?!) and even a MINI-branded baby seat. Here's hoping I can live up to the lifestyle the MINI is portraying!

Shane O' Donoghue