MotoringFile Most liked posts in thread: Next Generation MINI Clubman To Be Based On Countryman?

As was said here, the more aerodynamic you take a car the more they start to look alike. I have no problem with MINI expanding the line with more offerings, just a long as they keep a version that looks retro, for those of us that want to not look like everybody else on the road.

Jim

 

Well, I think it's probably an unnecessary dilution of the model mix - I think once the Countryman becomes available the whole point of the Clubby goes away.

Still the pic is interesting, and for those who might need the occasional adult to be able to access the rear seat, it give them an alternative that doesn't look like a ute....even a "cute ute"....

So, they'll have the Roadster and Coupe with no back seat, the regular hatch and convertible with a pretend back seat, the Clubby with an almost back seat and the Couuntryman with a real back seat.....

 

Well, I guess they do have it all covered then. :lol:

Jim

 

Two club doors? Meh. I dunno. I kinda like having just the one.

The feature I like the best on the Countryman is the rear hatch. I think it would be cool to incorporate that into the design of the Clubman.

That being said, I do like the barn doors. It always makes me giggle when I look in my rear view mirror and see the driver and passenger behind me pointing at the doors, then making the motion with their hands of how the doors open. :lol:

 

I don't have a Clubman, but those two doors look like they would be nice to have. They seem more practical then the hatch to me.

Jim

 

some reviewers initially criticized the barn doors as being impractical in the city with an SUV parked up on you. I dunno. Personally, when someone is that close to me I don't mess around back there anyway.

I think what discourages me about a Countryman platform Clubman is that the appeal of the Clubman, to me, differing to what MINIDAVE mentioned above, is that it isn't the 'family car for MINI' but rather the compromise that allows for more room, but still feels like the tucked in little MINI experience to which I'm accustomed. I don't see the Countryman's appeal as diluting that aspect of the Clubman, though I do imagine many Clubman owners will jump to the Countryman based on their needs.

 

There have been occasions when having the extra club door on the driver's side would have been helpful on my Clubby, usually when trying to buckle one of the dogs in the back seat or when retrieving something from it...

That said, I find the club door to be a real PITA if you're in even a reasonably sized parking space with a car next to you, you can't get the front one open far enough to get the back one open at all!

As to the barn doors, I like the look, but I'd be happier with a top hinged hatch, like the coupes have, for daily use. I do like the extra length in the wheelbase and the smoother ride is a bonus, and the extra load carrying capability is nice for hauling long things.

I also even like the looks of the Clubby....but I could see using the Countryman chassis for the extra length as being a plus too - but then other than trying to have a 2 dr looking Countryman, why not just get the 4 dr?

The Countryman's looks have been growing on me (exposure causing familiarity?) but I still don't get the rear roof edge and pillar design....

 

I don't care for that myself on the Countryman or the coupe. It just looks odd to me.

Jim

 

lol I had this happen to me yesterday!

 

MINI Marketing

The whole idea - intentional or not - behind the marketing of the MINI was to fly in the face of all of those me-too cars out there; particularly the (at the time) large and strangely popular SUV segment. An article in the Atlantic quotes a Harvard marketing prof. regarding this "anti-marketing" movement behind super-successes like MINI, IKEA and Apple. In an increasingly homogeneous society, people seem to be craving something different and so long as MINI keeps giving them that, no number of different variations is too many.

 

Welcome to M/A. Glad to have you aboard.

Jim

 

You want to talk about difficulty with suicide doors, when I come out to find a HUMV or Escalade or Expedition crammed into the COMPACT space next to my built-on-Civic-chassis Element, it's extra frustrating. To get the suicide doors open, you need to open the front doors enough to provide that swing clearance. With a toddler in your arm, it's SO fun...