Club, man. The partylike atmosphere of the 2008 Mini Clubman press conference included fresh-faced Mini reps, bumpin' beats, and was packed with sweaty bodies. Despite all those people, few bothered to look up at the Clubman lurking precariously overhead.
Normally, I dig this kind of hedonist vibe, but these were grumpy, ill-mannered journalist bodies. Ah well. I'll get my groove on however I can.
This second member of the Mini family has been "introduced" a few times already, but seeing it in the metal was worthwhile. The rear cargo doors, while apparently not adding a lot of functionality, certainly look cool. A passenger side-only "club" door (think Saturn coupe) eases access to the rear seat. Ride quality stands to benefit from a longer wheelbase, though limited suspension travel remains a Mini shortcoming.
The Clubman's sub-4 meter length (that's 19.4 feet in American units) means it's still fairly usable as an urban runabout. We've driven the Clubman already, so be sure to check out our impressions. -- Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor, Inside Line
ateixeira says:
08:05 AM, 09/11/07
Seems like that door could have been a foot longer.
Most rear doors go in to the wheel well, I don't know why they avoided that here.
estreka says:
03:33 PM, 09/11/07
Rigidity, perhaps?
You know floorspace is expensive when you start putting new releases on the walls.
allcarsrcool says:
08:39 PM, 09/14/07
WHY such the wait. They've been teasing us for over a year now... i just want to build and price it on mini's website... Is that really too much to ask for? Or even if they don't have it available on the website, they should at least acknowledge its existance!