Mini Clubman 2015 News

Mini Australia has confirmed local specs and pricing for its new six-door member of the Cooper range - the Clubman.Based on the existing five-door Mini Cooper, the Clubman is a more practical option with a larger boot – 360-litres seats up instead of 278-litres – and dual doors at the rear for easier cargo loading.Measuring 248mm longer and 73mm wider, with a 103mm increase in wheelbase compared to the standard five-door Cooper, the Clubman can carry a total of 1250 litres with the rear seats lowered compared to 941 litres. Pricing starts at $34,900 for the entry-level 100kW/220Nm turbocharged three-cylinder variant which consumes 5.4L/100km on the combined cycle and takes 9.1-seconds to reach 100km/h.Standard features include a six-speed auto transmission, reverse camera with rear parking sensors, Bluetooth phone and audio and forward collision warning.A more powerful Cooper S Clubman variant is also available priced from $42,900 that’ll do 0-100km/h in 7.1 seconds courtesy of a 141kW/280Nm 2.0-litre turbo four.Based on the existing five-door Mini Cooper, the Clubman is a more practical option with a larger boot.Stepping up to the Cooper S also adds a standard eight-speed auto, 17-inch alloys, satnav, selectable drive modes and sports leather steering wheel.Despite the slightly wider dimensions over the rest of the Cooper range, the interior design is almost identical, while outside the Clubman uses horizontally mounted taillights instead of vertical ones. 

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Minis aren’t actually very mini any more. The brand has become more a style statement than an appropriate description, given the size and stature of the cars it now produces. Each successive model grows in size to fulfill new roles, or simply appeal to a wider audience.And the new Clubman Concept -- which is undoubtedly the production car robbed of its door handles and given some showy wheels -- is no different. Where the outgoing model is compact and quite obviously part of the small Mini family, this one appears to be more Countryman than Cooper.The concept is 4223mm long, 1844mm wide and 1450mm tall, representing a marked increase in size over the current Clubman which is 260mm shorter and 170mm narrower. As a result the 2015 model boasts greatly improved cargo and passenger space.The Clubman features the same face as the new Cooper range, meaning refreshed headlights with day-time running lamps and a mildly massaged front bumper are used. From the front angle it’d be difficult to tell the Clubman apart from the Cooper, its extra width and height the only telling factors.Move around to the side of the car however, and you’ll realise just how vast the new Clubman is. It’s longer and wider than the Paceman coupe-SUV-thing. The new model is also a conventional four-door, where the outgoing model features two standard passenger doors and a curbside suicide door.However the Clubman still employs two ‘barn-style’ rear doors to give improved practicality and versatility over a conventional single-door setup. A pair of slightly awkward looking rear light clusters trimmed in chrome – like most of the Clubman’s features – sit on the doors and are unique to the new car. The model pictured here has likely been given the ‘S’ treatment, which includes sportier twin central exhaust tips, roof spoiler and fruitier 2.0-litre engine.The interior looks further from production reality than the exterior. A large circular display dominates the dashboard as in all recent Minis, while the dash itself is a round shape similar to an aircraft wing, giving the cabin an open and airy feeling. Two smaller circular screens sit overlapped in front of the driver displaying engine and vehicle speed, and satellite navigation information. We expect the production-ready Clubman to use an interior closer in design to the new Cooper range.The Mini concept will debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week, with news of a production-ready version likely to follow. If the production car retains the concept’s dimensions the iconic Clubman will become Mini’s largest ever model, and the British brand’s first ever five-door station wagon.