2017 Mini Clubman Cooper S ALL4 Arrival: Fun, Stylish, and Practical?

Until 2007, the reborn Mini lineup offered just one model in many different variants. That changed when the Clubman arrived for the 2008 model year. Although it was longer than the standard Cooper hatch, the first-gen Clubman was still very much a small car. The second-gen model retains much of that Mini character, but it’s much more maxi than before.

The second iteration of the Clubman is more than a foot longer and 4.6 inches wider, and it has a wheelbase 4.8 inches longer than the model it replaces. Length- and width-wise, the new Clubman is the biggest Mini yet—about the size and heft of a Volkswagen Golf. It’s positioned as a more premium model, an impression you’ll get from the interior and also from its smooth (for a compact) highway ride. The new Clubman also becomes a little more practical, ditching the single passenger-side half-door for a pair of actual front-hinged rear doors for access to the rear seat. (The cargo doors are pretty much as they were in the first generation.) In addition, the Clubman adds the option of all-wheel drive.

To find out how these big changes to the Clubman formula affect the most wagonlike Mini in the lineup, we’ve taken delivery of a long-term 2017 Mini Clubman Cooper S ALL4. Being an S model, our car comes equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4, which produces the same 189 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque it does in the Hardtop and Convertible Cooper S. That power is routed to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission and Mini’s ALL4 all-wheel-drive system, which was first offered in the Countryman.

The peppy Cooper S turbo-four combined with all-wheel drive is good for 0–60 mph in 7 seconds flat, which is decently quick when you consider this Clubman weighs 3,451 pounds. Not only is our long-termer as heavy as Minis come, but it’s also heavy on price. The Clubman S ALL4 base price rings in at $30,300, but ours comes loaded to $38,750 with options such as the Sport and Technology packages, not to mention the extra $1,750 for the automatic transmission. Picking the eight-speed over the manual saves you 1 mpg in both highway and city driving.

There’s frankly nothing mini about the new Clubman, but does it still offer that combination of fun, style, and practicality that we loved about the original? We hope to find out during the next year.

2017 Mini Clubman Cooper S All4
BASE PRICE	$30,300
PRICE AS TESTED	$38,750
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door wagon
ENGINE	2.0L/189-hp/207-lb-ft* turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION	8-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,451 lb (58/42%)
WHEELBASE	105.1 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	167.4 x 70.9 x 56.7 in
0-60 MPH	7.0 sec
QUARTER MILE	15.4 sec @ 88.4 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	107 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.89 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	26.5 sec @ 0.67 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	22/31/26 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	153/109 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.77 lb/mile
*221 lb-ft with temporary overboost

 

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