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I have had my 2002 R53 sense 2004. I have 4 kids. They are all grown up now but I made it fine with my Mini. My wife drove a Sequoia so that did the heavy lifting. Now she has a R57 convertible. You would do fine with a Gen1 Clubman (witch is a Gen2 mini)
If you are going to do Mods and are into cars that are nimble get the Gen1 Clubman. Drive them both and see what you like, it all comes down too taste.
I still have my 02 R53. I told my wife I would sale it when I bought the coupe but I just can't part with it. As awesome as the coupe is, and believe me it is, it's not an R53.

Hay I know buy a new Clubman and a 06 R53. There you go problem solved!



its just money

 

Benny,

The Gen 1 (R55) is smaller than the Gen 2 (F54) by a pretty significant amount. The Gen 1 is a 3 door (two front doors and a half back door on the passenger side). You mentioned you have boys, depending on their age and how long you plan to own the car the most ergonomic will be the 2nd gen with full size doors and more back seat leg room. That said, like others mentioned it's probably not as nimble. However I bet it's still fun to drive and will be more nimble. I say that with no experience of driving either. Regarding the exact specs, I did a quick search and Wikipedia has this to say:

Gen 1 (R55)
Identical to the 3-door hatchback from the B-pillar forward, the Clubman features a length increased by 240 mm (9.4 in), an 80 mm (3.1 in) longer wheelbase, increased rear-seat leg room and cargo space deeper by 160 mm (6.3 in), providing an increased 260 litres (9.2 cu ft) of space – growing from a total of 680 to 920 litres (24 to 32 cu ft) with the rear seats folded. The Clubman model weighs 64 kilograms (141 lb) more than its two-door counterpart.

Gen 2 (F54)
The new model, based on the BMW UKL2 platform, features more space.[10] At the time of its debut, the Mini Clubman was the largest Mini ever manufactured by the brand, measuring 427 centimetres (168.3 in) long and it is wider measuring 180 centimetres (70.9 in) in comparison to the previous 396-centimetre (155.9 in). The new model has 4 doors for passengers.

Since you are talking about hauling around the family, but you still want to have fun the best bet would be to drive:

• Gen 1 and Gen 2 Clubman
• Gen 1 and Gen 2 Countryman

See which one you like best. Personally, I would get at least the "S" in either model.. or the JCW. Some of that depends on if you want to mod them etc.

Here are the links to the two wiki articles I referenced:
Clubman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Clubman
Countryman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Countryman

Happy hunting - let us know which you like best... and welcome to MA!

Josh

 

Welcome to MA! The new clubman is bigger, it has 4 full doors. You need to drive both to see what You like. I believe the Gen2 Clubman would be much more nimble and fun to Mod.
Do you work on your cars? Do you plan to do any Mods?