PICKING THE RIGHT CLUB (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 79

Back in 2015, MINI suggested that family hatchback buyers wanting something a little different at the upper end of the Focus and Golf segment should 'go with their gut' and choose this second generation F54-era Clubman model. Drawing inspiration from the MINI estates of the 1960s, it was the most accessible car the brand had ever produced and also the largest. Unique twin rear doors added a dash of uniqueness too. How does it rate as a used car?

Modelsword count: 18

5dr Estate (1.5 petrol/2.0 petrol/2.0 diesel [One/ Cooper / Cooper S / Cooper SD / John Cooper Works])

Historyword count: 462

This second generation F54-era MINI Clubman model, launched late in 2015, was the company's first serious attempt at a volume market segment, in this case that for Focus-class family hatchbacks. It was a very significant car. If you happen to be familiar with the previous modern-era Clubman, the R55 design which sold for seven years from 2007, you'll see immediately that this is a much more serious and credible piece of design. Where that original model was effectively a stretched supermini estate with a silly single side door that forced you to stand in the middle of the road to get your kids out, this car grew up and stopped messing around. In terms of size, price, performance and practicality, it seems directly comparable to that Golf or Focus you might have been thinking about, yet claims to deliver sense and sensibility with more than a dash of MINI joie de vivre. If at this point, you're thinking that you've heard this kind of claim before from this brand, then you're right, you have. In 2010, the company launched its very first slightly larger model, the five-door Countryman, a car that MINI eventually ended up targeting at the growing Crossover segment as the original version wasn't quite big enough to compete head-on with conventional family hatchbacks. A slightly more compact stab at the five-door body style was provided by the MINI 5 Door Hatch that was first launched here in the Autumn of 2014 and has since proved to be a credible car - provided your point of comparison is with similarly configured superminis. You've got the idea then: the concept of a slightly more spacious MINI is nothing new. But back in 2015, the delivery of one with the practicality and sophistication to directly take on the Focus fraternity very definitely was. This Clubman model could offer this because by 2015, BMW itself had also entered this market with its 2 Series Active Tourer, which was the company's first front-driven design. The two cars share the same engines and underpinnings - which means that Clubman buyers got more sophisticated mechanicals than they might have expected from a MINI: an engine as large as 2.0-litres in size, for example, in the volume Cooper D diesel variant (which lasted only until 2019). And the option of an automatic gearbox with as many as eight speeds. Of course, this Clubman tried to retain its own individual appeal, most notably through a unique twin-door tailgate that rather irrelevantly positioned it as the market's very first six-door car. Overall, it's a model that aimed to open up the MINI Adventure to more people than ever before. It sold until mid-2024 - but wasn't replaced. Does it make sense as a used buy? Time to find out.

What You Getword count: 412

There's no disputing that from the outside, this F54-era Clubman still looks like a MINI, even though it's quite a substantial thing, almost identical in height and width to a Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus. If you're comparing against MINI's 5 Door Hatch from this period, this car is 270mm longer and 73mm wider, which makes the difference in size between the two models as great as it is between a Focus and a Fiesta. As for the styling, well most seem to think that, if anything, this Clubman's stretched dimensions actually improve the slightly awkward aesthetics that you get on smaller MINI Hatch models. See if you agree. Inevitably, it's impossible with this car to discuss that subject without mentioning doors - specifically the twin-door arrangement at the rear that's supposed to hark back to the Austin Seven Countryman. The distinctive side-hinged split rear so-called 'Club doors' mark this model out from any other on the road. They open via a dual-section chrome handle or, with the optional 'Comfort Access' feature fitted, by waving your foot beneath the bumper if, key in pocket, you approach the car, laden down with bags. Inside, you'll find 360-litres of luggage space. If that's not enough, then flattening the rear bench frees up more space than any MINI model prior to 2015 had ever provided - 1,250-litres. Behind the wheel, there'll be a conflicting mix of impressions for those familiar with modern MINIs thanks to design that's different, yet somehow still the same. Features like decent door armrests and a centre console that extends up to the instrument panel make it feel more grown-up. In fact, you might even talk of a BMW-style feel were it not for familiar MINI touches like the column-mounted dials, the row of toggle switches below the ventilation controls, the personalisable interior light colours and, most familiar of all, the huge circular display that crowns the centre stack. The rear is an area of the car you can access from either side of the car (unlike with the previous generation model). You have to watch your head getting in as the angle of the door aperture intrudes a little, but once inside, it's very un-MINI like and a big improvement on the rather cramped conditions offered by both the previous generation version and the brand's 5 Door Hatch. The fact that a six-footer can easily sit behind a front seat passenger of the same height seems revolutionary in a MINI.

To see the full road test text contact us on 0330 0020 227