MINI Clubman   Women's view

Only MINI could have brought us an estate like the Clubman. June Neary checks it out

More than most, Im fed up with boring cars. I, after all, have to drive different cars day-in, day-out and over time, one tends to blur into another. This weeks ride was a welcome change from that. MINIs Clubman, after all, is not a car you would easily forget.

It would have been easy for BMW, when faced with doing an estate version of the iconic MINI, simply to churn out something slightly longer with a couple of extra doors. Instead, theyve brought us the MINI Clubman. Many will hate it but I love the thing.

Interestingly, its on the subject of practicalities that all the controversy with this car is based around. True, the Clubman is a five-door car but the doors arent exactly where youd expect them to be. Its business as usual at the front but access to the rear seating is through a single suicide door on the right-hand side. Hinged on its rearmost edge so that it opens in the opposite direction to the front doors, its positioned on the right-hand side of the Clubman and theres no equivalent on the left.

It means that rear seat passengers in right-hand drive markets like ours are forced to exit into the road. MINI recognises the problem but explains that shifting the rear door to the left would mean relocating the fuel filler cap, the costs of which would be "prohibitive". I was hoping for a more colourful reason or simply an if you dont like it, then dont buy one kind of response but the truth is that it comes down to money. I continue to ignore all that and pretend that its really down to this MINIs desire to be different. At the back, theres more access fun and games.

The Clubman employs a pair of side-hinged doors reminiscent of the old Mini Traveller. These are a key design feature of the car and the one that does most to differentiate Clubman from MINI. They feature cut-outs for the rear light clusters that mirror those in the bonnet. Separate wipers and the doors are also framed in the same colour as the roof trim.

With a longer wheelbase and around 2cm of extra roof height plus identical components as far back as the B-pillars, there doesnt seem to be much scope for the Clubman to dramatically exceed the interior space of the MINI and it doesnt. Crucially though, its 24cm longer overall thanks to the extended rear overhang and that has helped BMW squeeze in 8cm of extra rear legroom which makes all the difference when lumping in a childseat. At the same time, theyve upped the boot capacity from a paltry 160 litres to a respectable 260 which makes a trip to the garden centre at last a realistic possibility. The rear seats take the form of a three-seater bench in the standard car but the standard MINIs two-person pods can be reinstated as a no cost option if you dont need the middle berth.

If you like the driving experience of the standard second generation MINI models, then youll like the feel of a Clubman since the recipe is exactly the same. The car uses the same range of engines and model designations as any normal MINI, which means theres a 1.6-litre 120bhp engine in the Cooper, a 1.6-litre 110bhp diesel in the Cooper D and a 175bhp 1.

6-litre turbo unit in the Cooper S, which also features sporty suspension settings. Despite the Clubman packing an extra 75kg over the standard car, I found that performance was very similar. The Cooper S is fast enough to give the markets more sensible hot hatchback offerings something to think about with a 7.3s 0-60mph time and a 139mph top speed.

The normally aspirated 1.6 in the Cooper is more mundane but still respectably rapid on paper. 0-60mph takes 9.8s, which compares favourably with the diesels 10.

4s showing.

Prices start at £14,235, a premium of around £1,200 over models in the standard range. Theres an initial choice of Cooper, Cooper D or Cooper S variants. The Clubman then, follows the MINI and keeps its model range simple but theres nothing simple about the vast catalogue of optional extras that customers can use to personalise their vehicle. As for standard equipment, all models receive six airbags including curtain airbags integrated into the roof lining that protect rear seat occupants, ABS brakes, brakeforce distribution and cornering brake control.

Theres also the MINI Dynamic Stability Control system that incorporates traction control, stability control and hill start assist. The Cooper models feature 15" alloys and the Cooper S gets 16" items.

Because I like to be different, I love it but I could quite understand why others would choose something else. Its an estate that you would buy for totally un-estate-orientated reasons. Only MINI could build such a car.