What's all this about?
Facelift time for the MINI Clubman Mk2. And it's not a huge one. Although it has adopted the questionable 'Union Flag' rear lights of the contemporary Mk3 MINI Hatch.
Has it?!
Yes, sort of. Given its LED clusters are wider than the Hatchback's upright units, the Clubman has a different take on the theme, but our national flag's design is plainly evident. Other than that, the front lights have been redesigned, the horizontal solid black bar in the grille has been dropped, new 18- and 19-inch alloy wheels have been introduced alongside the regular-fit 16s and 17s, and three new colours join the ranks - Summer Red metallic, British Racing Green metallic and MINI Yours Enigmatic Black metallic.
What about inside?
Hardly changed. That means a nice dash and the same 360- to 1,250-litre boot, although satnav is now standard-fit across the Clubman board.
Are all the engines preserved?
At the moment, only three have been confirmed, for the Cooper Clubman, the Cooper S Clubman and the Cooper D Clubman. The first of these uses a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol with 136hp, for 0-62mph in 9.2 seconds, 127mph flat out, up to 53.3mpg and as little as 120g/km of CO2. The Cooper S employs the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol with 192hp, to turn in the equivalent figures of 7.3 seconds, 142mph, 51.4mpg and 125g/km. Finally, the solitary diesel is the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, 150hp Cooper D, delivering 0-62mph in 8.6 seconds, a 132mph top speed, 67.3mpg and 111g/km. A six-speed manual will be the standard gearbox, with a seven-speed Steptronic dual-clutch auto (optionally a Sports version in the Cooper S, complete with paddle shifts) as a cost alternative; in most instances, the Steptronic improves the Clubman's eco-stats and it can also make a given model more accelerative. Beyond this, MINI will offer 10mm-lower Sports suspension for the first time, as well as two-stage adaptive dampers that can switch between comfortable and sporty settings.
How much for all this little lot?
The new MINI Clubman is available from this month, with prices starting at £21,200; when the pre-facelift Clubman went off sale last month, it kicked off at £20,000, so there's been a slight price increase.
Matt Robinson - 16 Apr 2019
