MINI Cooper S Clubman : IT CAN SHIFT BUT CAN IT SHIFT?

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The Cooper S Clubman from MINI brings hot hatch pace to the compact estate arena. Steve Walker takes a look.

Performance estate cars are fairly commonplace at the moment, presenting motorists with the option of taking an Ikea coffee table for a hot lap of Donington Park or getting those bags of grass clippings to the municipal dump before the mower's blades have stopped turning. The dual qualities of thrilling pace and mundane practicality that such vehicles offer can seem somewhat at odds with each other but at the same time, there's something slightly naughty about a family load-lugger that can leave a hot hatchback standing in a race away from the lights. Even MINI is in on the act with its Cooper S Clubman but does the performance estate formula still work with a car of this diminutive size?

It's hard to find fault with the MINI. BMW took the 60s design concept, super-sized it and made it the ultimate automotive fashion accessory for the early years of the 21st Century. If you were forced to seek out and ruthlessly expose its foibles, however, the magnifying glass would quickly turn on the car's practicality. The MINI's twin-berth moulded rear bench gives it a maximum capacity of four and legroom in the back is stingy at best compared to the top supermini contenders. The boot too is hardly a paragon of versatility. Once three shopping bags have been lowered in, it's pretty much at bursting point. Carping on about practicality is harsh given the MINI's other qualities but even this avenue is closed off to jealous onlookers by the Clubman and with the 1.6-litre turbo engine from the Cooper S hatch, this is an estate that can really shift. The Cooper S Clubman isn't lacking the pace required to gain entry to the performance estate club. Its 173bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged engine can get it to 60mph in 7.6s and customers who upgrade to the tuned John Cooper Works edition get 208bhp enabling a 6.8s sprint. That's fast but the best bit about the Clubman is the way it retains the verve of the hatchbacked MINI. The feedback through the steering and the firm sports suspension allow the driver to really feel part of the car. It's great on your favourite B-road but can become wearing on the kind of mundane trips the average estate car buyer is more used to undertaking. Of course, this isn't your average estate car and it won't be bought by average estate car buyers so that doesn't matter too much.

"The Cooper S is a cracking hot hatchback and that leads you to expect great things from the Cooper S Clubman…"

Despite the Clubman packing an extra 75kg over the standard MINI, performance is very similar. It shares the same independent suspension and a similarly rigid bodyshell. One of the main reasons why the 1.6-litre turbo unit is such a rewarding engine to drive is the flexibility that comes as a result of its 240Nm maximum torque being constantly available from 1,600rpm all the way up to 5,000rpm. This can then be increased to 260Nm with the aid of the engine's overboost function. That means plenty of grunt for in-gear overtaking and by keeping the revs low, the Cooper S Clubman is easy to drive in a more relaxed manner if you don't feel like going hell for leather. The Clubman is a five-door car but the doors aren't exactly where you'd expect them to be. It's 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, it's positioned on the right-hand side of the Clubman and there's no equivalent on the left. It means that rear seat passengers in right-hand drive markets like the UK 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". At the back, there's 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. With an 8cm longer wheelbase and around 2cm of extra roof height plus identical components as far back as the B-pillars, there doesn't seem to be much scope for the Clubman to dramatically exceed the interior space of the MINI. Crucially though, it's 24cm longer overall thanks to the extended rear overhang and that has helped BMW squeeze in 8cm of extra rear legroom while upping the boot capacity from a paltry 160 litres to a respectable 260. The rear seats take the form of a three-seater bench in the standard car but the standard MINI's two-person pods can be reinstated as a no cost option if you don't need the middle berth. At close to £17,000, the Cooper S Clubman is fairly pricey for a supermini-based estate, even one with sports car performance. At least it leaves nobody in any doubt as to its extra potency with its chrome handles, distinctive letterbox-style bonnet scoop, sports bumpers, twin chrome exhaust and 16" alloy wheels. Inside, there's a three-spoke leather steering wheel and sports seats that do a fine job of holding you in place. All Clubman models have a detailed safety specification with six airbags including curtain airbags integrated into the roof lining that protect rear seat occupants, ABS brakes, brakeforce distribution and cornering brake control. There's also the MINI Dynamic Stability Control system that incorporates traction control, stability control and hill start assist. If you though driving enjoyment and low running costs were mutually exclusive concepts, MINI is as good a brand as any to disprove that theory. Despite its fiery performance, the Cooper S Clubman can return 44.8mpg and emits a reasonable 150g/km of CO2. This, along with the buoyant residual values enjoyed by MINI products, contributes to a very reasonable cost per mile figure of just over 36p. That's on a par with 1.6-litre petrol versions of other supermini estates like Peugeot's 207 SW and Skoda's Fabia which have none of the MINI's performance or street cred. The Clubman achieves its low costs with an integrated package of technologies designed to maximise efficiency. In the BMW model range, it's called EfficientDynamics. In the MINI it isn't but it's no less impressive or effective. Brake energy regeneration uses energy recovered under braking and low engine loads to recharge the Clubman's battery so that the engine can divert more of its efforts to powering the car. Auto Start-Stop switches the engine off automatically when the clutch is released and the gearbox is in neutral, reducing fuel consumption when the Clubman is stuck in traffic or waiting at the lights. Finally, the Gearshift Point Indicator shows the driver when to change up or down for optimum efficiency. The Cooper S is a cracking hot hatchback and that leads you to expect great things from the Cooper S Clubman. At least it does in some areas. The vivacious, go-kart persona of the standard hatchbacked car, with its muscular turbocharged engine, firm suspension and responsive steering, are great but are the kind of buyers that these qualities attract going to want them bundled up inside the more spacious bodywork of the Clubman estate? It's best to view the Cooper S Clubman as a slightly more practical hot hatchback rather than a proper performance estate car. It's plenty quick enough but there isn't a lot of extra practicality over the hatchback and the aggressive feel of the car means it doesn't lend itself all that well to family outings or weekend trips to the DIY centre. There may not be too many customers yearning for a MINI Cooper S with a bigger boot and a rather quirky door configuration but there will be some and for them, the Cooper S Clubman is tailor-made.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: MINI Cooper S Clubman
PRICE: £17,525 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 15
CO2 EMISSIONS: 150-167g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 139mph / 0-60mph 7.6s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 39.8mpg (urban) / 62.8mpg (extra urban) / 51.4mpg (combined)
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Six airbags, ABS with EBD and CBC, DSC, runflat tyres
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 3937/1683/1426