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EDITORS' NOTEBOOK: 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S, Day 3

EDITORS' NOTEBOOK: 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S, Day 3
Posted April 13 2008 06:06 AM by AutomobileStaff 
Filed under: Car Ramblings & Reviews, Sam Smith, Mini, Wagons

2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S Club Doors

Read Sam Smith's comments on driving the 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S.


2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S Front View

The Clubman doesn't offend me as much as it does Marc - if I had to choose between it and a SWB Mini (at least the current one), I'd probably go with the Clubman, purely on a practicality basis. (I haul entirely too much junk - and people - on a regular basis to sacrifice the amount of room required to own a SWB car.) Like Marc and Rusty noted, ride quality and interior room are the two biggest selling points here; the back seat is now actually usable for long trips, and the third door is a clever, if somewhat inelegant, way to get around the access problem.

Still, I find myself turned off by the new Mini in general. The Clubman works for me because it takes all of the new Mini's attributes - fatter/faster/bigger/quieter/comfier than the "old" new Mini - and expands upon them, turning the Mini into something resembling a normal car. Would I still rather have a last-gen Mini? Of course. If I had to have a new car? I guess it'd be the GTI...I guess

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