skip to main content

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



Detroit Auto Show 2010

Detroit BMW has unveiled its most potent Z4 yet.
We have coverage of all the new
cars on show in the motor city
BMW Z4 sDrive35is