New MINI breaks cover

In these credit crunched times, MINI has opened up the possibility of Clubman ownership to a wider range of people by introducing a cheaper base model - the One Clubman.

There are few surprises; it's a simple concoction of the Clubman's slightly wacky, uneven body style and the 95bhp four-cylinder engine from the MINI One, which means a cheaper buying and running experience than the current 'cheap' Clubman - the £13,950 Cooper. There's no word on pricing yet, but given the Cooper Clubman is £900 more than the Cooper, we can expect a similar rise for the One Clubman, making it around £12,500.

Thanks to an EfficientDynamics programme that blesses the One Clubman with stop/start engine technology and brake energy regeneration, the newcomer posts CO₂ emissions of 130g/km and economy of 52.3mpg. It has a shift light to encourage economical changes too.

So there you have it. We're all in favour of it, of course, but it's probably not going to be a show stopper at Geneva, is it?

Mark Nichol