Last month I had the privilege of getting a full month of in-depth seat time with MINI’s latest Clubman thanks to my local dealer, Vista MINI in Coconut Creek, FL.  My ride for the month was a 2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman in Midnight Black with 17” Black Net Spoke Wheels, Black Jack mirror caps & side markers and front chrome driving lamps.  Since I was used to driving Clark in Superman colors, it was obvious that I had to name this Clubman, Bruce (as in Bruce Wayne lol).  

Bruce was equipped with the new 8 speed automatic transmission which completely impressed me.  I will admit that I am a stick shift snob and really don’t care for driving cars with automatic transmissions.  However, I have to say that the 8 speed automatic in the 2016 MINI Clubman is a LOT of fun, especially when you throw it into manual/sport mode.   First of all, it is SOOOOO smooth and quick.  I can now see how MINI can claim that the automatic is quicker than the manual transmission cars.  If you throw it into manual and hit the gas, the transmission will stay in the desired gear well beyond what most other automatic cars allow, providing a good sense of control that is often lacking from automatic transmissions.  Secondly, once you shift to the next gear, the shift happens so fast that you don’t ever skip a beat in acceleration.  To say it was a joy to launch the car and completely leave other cars in the dust is an understatement!  That brings me to my next point… Even though the Clubman is larger than the F56 hardtop, I didn’t really notice it being much slower at all.  The Clubman felt almost as zippy as the F56 hardtops that I have driven, which really impressed me.  Yes the Clubman weighs 3,300 lbs compared to the 2,785 lbs of my F56 manual hardtop, but I really was expecting the car to feel slow with the extra 500 pounds of added weight.

The weight also didn’t seem to affect the handling too badly either.  I was able to take some aggressive turns at speed and the Clubman responded predictably, without issue.   I will admit that the back end of the Clubman does not rotate as nicely as the Audi A3 wagon I drove in the past, I am sure a stiffer rear sway bar can fix that right up if desired ;). On the inside, Bruce had the Sports Seats in Carbon Black Leatherette, Automatic Climate Control and MINI Connected + Visual Boost (all standard options) as well as the Harmon Kardon Sound System.  The main differences to my 2016 F56 was the lack of the XL screen with Navigation and the heads-up display, so I was pretty familiar with the options in the car already.  However, one item that I was not used to was how much more spacious the Clubman is on the inside.  As soon as you sit in the front seat, you are aware of the extra personal space you have.  Gone is the feeling of having to watch where you place your elbows to avoid contact with your passenger.  Now, you both have plenty of space to place your elbows wherever the heck you want!The Clubman has a real center console that separates the driver from the passenger and provides ample storage compared to any previous MINI with 2 layers of storage in the center arm rest.  The rear seats also have a pull down console that provides cup holders and arm rests.  One item that my son loved was the rear air conditioning.  For the first time in a MINI, he could direct air conditioning where he wanted to in the back seat.  Between that and the ample room in the rear seating area, my son was sold and asked when we could get one lol.

 The boot area is enormous compared to previous MINIs.  Putting the rear seats down really provides quite a lot of hauling space that may get you added to your friends’ list of people who have cars that can haul stuff!  I was happy to find that the automatic rear doors opened much easier on this car than the early production Clubman I had played with at the launch events. Overall, this is the nicest, most refined vehicle that MINI has ever made.  The fit and finish on the interior is quite a step up from the R5x series MINIs and even a tad higher-end than the F5x series MINIs.  I know many MINI enthusiasts are worried about what they are seeing in the brand with larger MINIs being released.  Yes, the brand has changed over the years.  Consumer demand has changed over the years.  The one thing that remains consistent, however, is how much fun these cars are to drive.  From a performance standpoint, the Clubman still behaves very much like a MINI, and that’s a great thing.