- Clubman is the station wagon variant of the MINI
- Double the cargo space at 509 litres
- Cooper S comes with the same 189 bhp engine.
- New eight-speed auto
- More expensive than a MINI Cooper S
- Coming to India by early next year
The MINI Clubman could be the next addition to the MINI range in India. BMW has imported an example, a Clubman Cooper S, for homologation, so expect it be launched in a few months.
The Clubman is like a station wagon version of the MINI Cooper hatchback, with five doors and an elongated trunk space which at 509 litres, is almost double the cargo space offered on the hatchback. The most interesting bit about the Clubman is that instead of a traditional hatch, the tailgate is split into two doors which open out. Fold forward the rear seats and the available luggage space increases to over 1300 litres.
Unlike the Countyman, the Clubman doesn’t sit any higher than a normal MINI hatch, but since it is based on the new BMW UKL2 platform, which also underpins the new BMW X1, the wheelbase is 100mm longer than the hatchback, and the overall length has grown to 4.3m.
If you see one in the rear view mirror, you will be forgiven if you mistake it for the MINI hatch, but it looks like nothing else in the MINI range from the rear, with a pair of massive oblong shaped taillights on either door of the split tailgate.
While Minis have stopped living up to their name dimension-wise a long back, the kerb weight of the Clubman deserves a mention here. At 1550 kg, it is no featherweight, and is 300 kg heavier than a MINI hatchback. And even with the 2.0-litre turbocharged, four-cylinder petrol producing 189 bhp that ‘Cooper S’ variant gets, progress is definitely not in the hot hatch territory. The Clubman S gets an eight-speed automatic transmission which is unlike the six-speed unit found in the MINI hatch sold here, and working with the engine, it able to hit a 100 kph from standstill in a claimed 6.9 seconds, which is half a second slower than a Cooper S hatch.
The interiors of the Clubman is not too different from that of the MINI hatch, except of greater legroom in the rear and with slightly more headroom. As with all MINIs there are a number of ways in which you can customize the interior to your liking, with different packages which add more leather, features and safety equipment to the build spec, along with more digits to the final price.
Other than the 2.0-litre turbo four, MINI sells a diesel, sport diesel and an all-wheel-drive variant of the Clubman abroad, with a few of those expected to head to India later. Expect the MINI Clubman Cooper S to be priced at around Rs 38-40 lakh when it is launched here in India.
