Mini Cooper D Clubman

[Cernunnos]

Sometime over the next 12 months I was thinking of downsizing my car, though not decided yet. But still of-course will still need space enough for golf clubs, tolley & luggage etc. We rarely if ever have passengers, so will never need the back seets up.

Big question is, does the larger clubman design have the room I need or not. The Mini range does seem overpriced, but residual values seem good, the fuel econemy on paper also seems good. And again the question is. Is it going going to be the practical stylish solution in the long run I'll be looking for.

But like with everything else in life I also fancy a bit more luxury, mesning leather, heated seats & all the trimmings... Got one hell of a shock when I totted up all I wanted...lol.

Especially when there is nothing essentially wrong with my 92bhp diesel xsara-picasso. Thing is, I'm starting to get bored, this is my third one now. Great practicality, great performance & very respectable fuel econemy.

But with todays fuel & Tax prices keeping on going up a downsize in vehicle does seem like a good idea. But is the extra initial outlay worth spending ?

Anyone else had, used & driven the new generation of mini's & espesially the clubman/D Clubman
http://www.mini.co.uk/html/model_range/mini_cooper_d_clubman/home.html

My only other thought so far is the BMW 1 Series range for my next car... But of-course again probably just as expensive.

 

[RGuk]

I have driven most of the MINI variants, old and new.

I couldn't say how "big" the clubman is, but it can hardly be a whopper can it?

For my money and i.m.o. the diesel engine is a disappointment. A car with such a peppy image and a very rewarding drive deserves better. YUK.

I use a 2.0d BMW to cover all the big mileage stuff and wouldn't trade this for a smaller engine to gain minimal fuel consumption improvement....i.m.o. there are limits to how low one might consider for savings. Modern TDi engines in 2.0 ltr are fast and economical enough.....

I'd bet MINI claim 65mpg or something else wholly impossible....

 

[CliveW]

Being old enough, I had a mini Countryman back in the 60s and it was a great car. However I just cannot see the point of the current trend of "Retro" cars such as the Mini, Beetle and Fiat. I think the Mini Countryman has a mjor design flaw for users in this country. It only has one rear door and it is on the RHS. So if you have kids in a child seat you are going to be standing in the flow of traffic while you get them in and out!
If I were considering buying a small/mid size hatchback I would cosider the Seat range.

 

[Imurg]

I'd stick with the Picasso. We're on our 3rd too - same engine etc. Does the job fine. You won't get the same space for your money anywhere else. And the visability is 100% better than almost any other car out there. All Mini's are overpriced. OK they hold their value but you've got to pay more in the first place.
And the Mini is now officially uncool - I saw one being driven by a 80 year old Granny last week!!

 

[TonyN]

I think Mini actually claim 73mpg from the Diesel engines.

I also read today that in a poll about which cars have the best resale value, the Mini came out top. I think it was after 3 years the mini was still worth 63(ish)% of its original price.

Sorry to go off on this a little bit but I bought a Skoda(yes a skoda) fabia Vrs last year. It has a 1.9 diesel golf gti engine in it. It is very nippy and pulls like an Ox. I get 60mpg out of it on motorway journeys. And if I fancy a little fun i very rarely get below 45mpg out of it. Just wish the boot was bigger but the way the seats fold about is ace.

 

[Cernunnos]

Imurg... Yes common sense says stay with the Picasso. Oh, my first was the petrol version of the 1.6 engine & seemed quite underpowered imo. The Diesel on the other hand for the same size engine is a complete revelation. & the last two have been the 92 bhp versions. It has averaged 56 mpg over the last 12 months, quite impressive for what is essentially quite a big car. And I'll swear the acceleration figures are a bit better than claimed, especially crusing accelerations.

Oh Imurg... I hear what you are saying about the mini, after you saw one being driven by a granny. But I bet it was a Mini-One & not a cooper. If you think back to the 60's & the original mini everyone could be seen driving one & they were cool back then no matter whi was driving them.

Think back to the Senior citizens that in the 60's drove Mini's & you'll find they were generally oddball excentric characters, that were always hip, even if occasionally in a slightly out of their time sort of way. I've driven the original Mini & for me never felt right. I'm hoping tomorrow will change my mind & that the quirky slightly retro looks will make sence in the 21st centurary.


Realgoferuk... Essentially the loadspace in the clubman is an extra 18 inches deeper than the other modern cooper varients. Up until the new clubman I wouldn't have even considered a mini as a golfer.

I shall hopefully be able to report back tomorrow with a conclusion as to whether a clubman is worth looking at as any sort of option for the likes of ourselves.


CliveW... I remember the original mini's too & the Countryman etc. I remember an aunt & an uncle in different parts of Wales each owned a countryman

The new Clubman has driver & passenger doors, double doors to the load area & also a hidden half door to the reverse of the drivers door. As we don't have any children, JCB bucket loads of space are not an issue appart from needing enough for two sets of clubs, trolleys & enough luggage for two for a fortnight.


Anyhow, think in preperation for tomorrows test drive I'm going to watch Michael Caine in the original Italian Job before bed....

"You're only suposed to blow the bloody doors off.....!" rofl.

Night chaps.

 

[medwayjon]

I personally wouldnt opt for one of the smaller diesels when you think that you can get a diesel variant of the passat, mondeo, saab, c-class, avensis, etc, that will still be in the low road tax bracket and still do 55mpg with superb performance also.

 

[Cernunnos]

I like passats, but for me they have no more Kudos than my citroen.

I'd consider Audi A4's, BMW 1 & 3 series even X Type Jags, for the Kudos I'm now after. Saab's are nice, I like the Merc C class too.But really living in a terrace where parking is an issue, then so is the size of the car....


[/i]Anyhow[/i]...

Getting back to what I thought of the Mini during the test drive...

Visability out of the back with the split opening rear door is an issue meaning parking sensors are probably advisable. The Wing Mirrors are good for visability so this is a good point. The sports seats fitted to the roadtest vehicle we very comfortable & fitted in all the right places. Over a long journey I could imagine these being a boon in the comfort stakes.

Steering is good, very responsive. Geer change is so desisive its unbelievable. Though took some adjusting to. Nice to have the adition of a digital speed readout in the centre binical of the rev counter, especially having gotten used to reading digital readouts over the past, well numerous years now. All the functions on the stalks are easy to use after a bit of adjustment to the new environment. Engine not as responsive as I'd hoped, though still fairly eager. Though certainly not as eager as my current cirtoen's 1.6 ltr engine, which was a suprise, considering performance figure.

Now getting onto the all important practicality of the load space. Oddly enough I was etremely impressed with the width internally at the rear. As my clubs will slide in & the motocaddy wi in its soft case fit in side by side. There is even a bit of room extra in length available, with the rear seats down than I thought I'd get. It may or may not be enough to get a full suitcase in the footwell. But certainly there will be room enough in the space available in the load area to have two sets of clubs & two mottocadeys stacked up in the back. So as a vehicle for a golfer it is a viable option. For two golfers its an option, though I won't be able to accomodate 3 golfers & 3 golfers equipment (counting myself), as I've been able to do with the the Picasso. Obviously the height of the loadspace is a lot lower, but the square footage of space is perhaps not as reduced as some might have imagined.

On the question of fuel usage, there is probably only one real way of finding out for sure & that is to have one of the new Cooper D Clubmans for a day or a weekend, to see how it performs over an extended period.

I'll make one final point, once you work out all the things you'd like as extras on a new clubman, it does push the price beyond what I'd comfortably want to pay.

 

[USER1999]

Will the resale on the clubman be in the same ball park as the normal mini. I can't help feeling that the clubman will depreciate more heavily, as it is different to the norm, and may not be viewed as as cute. May in fact get viewed as a bit naff over time. The first ones may do alright, but I have a feeling they will then plummet.

Each to their own I guess, I would never drive a picasso. My sister has one, and I hated it, from inside and out.

I assume you are buying it yourself, and not as a company car?

 

[RGuk]

I like passats, but for me they have no more Kudos than my citroen.

I'd consider Audi A4's, BMW 1 & 3 series even X Type Jags, for the Kudos I'm now after. Saab's are nice, I like the Merc C class too. But really living in a terrace where parking is an issue, then so is the size of the car....

I couldn't agree more! Kudos (for want of a better word) is almost long-dead i.m.o. There are SO many Audis and BMWs around that there is no kudos left.

I buy what I like and fits the bill.....as long as it's a reliable make....

If I was looking, I'd go for a medium japanese model.....

Those of you that know me well, may also remember my fondness for Toyotas.

I'd look at a Toyota Auris, with the 1AD-FTV — 2.0 D-4D 6 speed manual transmission.....been out for 2 years, so bargains a plenty!!!

 

[USER1999]

Jap rubbish.

You can't beat spending the money on a german car.



And then spending more money on it.

And more.

Until it is like ripping up £50 pound notes, and throwing them into a big hole.

 

[thecraw]

Horses for courses when it comes to cars.

I also have a Fabia Vrs and its ideal however I'm not doing big miles. My wife has an Altea TDI Sport which is a 2l diesel and its a great car to drive.

I also drive Ford Focus's all day long at work and cant fault them either considering the abuse that they take.

 

[Cernunnos]

Horses for courses when it comes to cars.

Never a truer word spoken & is the crux of the matter. Everyone looks for different things in their cars, their clubs, their houses, infact everything in life.

To be honest I'm probably going to hang fire anyway, unless I can get the right deal, at least for the time being. But I'll certainly be considering The Clubman varient as a viable, if quirkily stylish solution as a golfer.

 

[CliveW]

At least this is probably the best time ever to buy a car. Dealers are desperate to sell cars and you should be able to get a great deal. NEVER take the first price you are quoted. Get your spec sorted out and phone as many dealers as possible. They will all tell you that they can't better what you have been quoted, but they can. Don't let them know what your initial quote is until they give you theirs and then haggle.
I've just saved over £3,000 on a Merc B Class from the original quote I had, just by spending an afternoon phoning round dealers.

 

[Cernunnos]

The other side of this is when trying to sell a car as a private seller or god forbid as a trade in, then the return is also going to be less then you perhaps ought to imagine to expect.

Meaning less money to play with for the new replacement, no matter how good a deal arranged.

 

[viscount17]

now for the ultimate in golfing equipment transport

 

[medwayjon]

At least this is probably the best time ever to buy a car. Dealers are desperate to sell cars and you should be able to get a great deal. NEVER take the first price you are quoted. Get your spec sorted out and phone as many dealers as possible. They will all tell you that they can't better what you have been quoted, but they can. Don't let them know what your initial quote is until they give you theirs and then haggle.
I've just saved over £3,000 on a Merc B Class from the original quote I had, just by spending an afternoon phoning round dealers.

Dealers ARENT depsperate to sell cars, we are desperate to BUY them.

I have sold a good number since christmas and have spent 10 out of the last 14 days at auctions trying to buy stock. The average car is making £300-£400 over book and anything desirable is making £700-£1000 over book. There is a shortage of good, retailable cars as demand is so brisk and prices are high.

I have seen joe-public at auction, regularly paying MORE that a dealer forecourt price for cars that need a bit of paint, and of course are sold totally as-seen and without warranty.

I have just sold and E320CDI to a guy who travelled down from Altrincham and he paid the screen price for the car.

 

[USER1999]

Is this because people who would have bought new, are now buying secondhand due to the credit crunch.

Credit crunch, I love that word. I read yesterday that Steven Gerrards wife has said that the WAGs are cutting back on silly expenditure due to the credit crunch. What is she on about? Her husband must be on 100 grand a week, with no sign of impending pay cuts or redundancy. What planet does she live on?

 

[medwayjon]

Basically Chris the used market has retained its levels in my experience but new sales have fallen, basically the guy who would part-exchange his 2 y/o car in against another new one is keeping it rather than chopping it in and fleet operators are running extended life-cycles of their vehicles, in some cases upto 5 years.

In turn this is having the effect of reducing the availability of good used-car stock at disposal agents, auction and main dealers direct.

Because the used market is still ok demand is up, supply is down and therefore prices for good quality stock are strong.

What makes me laugh is that lying scumbag quentin wilson (he went to prison for clocking btw) who said that 2002 mondeos were selling for £500 at BCA Manchester in his sunday mirror column. I rang BCA and they said he was talking out of his arse and gave me data to proove it.

It is the likes of Wilson and his a-grade moron mates who are making our lives a misery. He is advising people looking at for example, a 5 year old focus at £4995, to go into the dealer, bid £3500 and expect to buy it.

Now I know from experience that the car mentioned would be £3800 or so to buy. Take from that £60 valet, £160 VAT, Say £150 Income tax, £100 service, £40 MOT, £100 warranty, £? for any mechanical repairs as auction cars are sold-as-seen.

Without the unexpected mechanicals that leaves £585 in the pot. That excludes costs such as rent/mortgage, insurances, electricity, phones, broadband, advertising, professional fees, bank charges, business rates, wages, depreciation, fuel and so on. So when he says offer £3500 and expect to buy it, what planet is the guy on exactly?

The advice these "consumer experts" give is frankly absurd and misleading advice and why pretty much everyone I know in the trade wants to put one on him and the likes of mike brewer and dominic littlewood.

 

[Cernunnos]

now for the ultimate in golfing equipment transport

Isn't that the Berlingo Multispace....rofl

Must be the new model.

Now on a serious note a modern reto example would be great.