Road test: Mini Clubman Cooper S 8-Speed Auto

The Clubman was always the most practical Mini, and the latest version is a fair bit longer, wider and taller than before, making it by far the largest ever Mini.

A longer wheel-base means a better ride and more rear head and legroom, and instead of the old car’s single rear “suicide” passenger door on the wrong side for the British market, there are now four front-hinged passenger doors with larger apertures, making it easier to get in and out.

The twin rear doors spring open automatically using the key or by waggling your foot around beneath the rear bumper, but the area where the doors meet costs quite a lot of rear-view vision, and the windscreen pillars are also quite chunky.

Engines at launch are four-cylinder two-litre petrol and diesels, with a three-cylinder 1.5–litre petrol version to follow. The 192hp Clubman Cooper S feels lively and willing and its double exhausts emit a fruity burble when pushing on. The 150hp Clubman Cooper D’s engine is refined and could easily pass for a petrol unit.