Mini’s latest AWD model will roll into Canadian dealerships this April, when the Cooper Clubman ALL4 goes on sale at a starting price of $26,990.
That entry MSRP is for a car powered by a 1.5L turbocharged three-cylinder shared with the standard Cooper, and fitted with a six-speed manual transmission; the price puts the ALL4 version at a $2,000 premium relative to the front-drive model set to go on sale “early this year,” Mini told us last June.
Naturally, there will be a Cooper S Clubman ALL4 variant too, using the 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder from other Cooper S models; Mini pegs its price at $29,990, or $1,000 more than its front-drive equivalent.
Notably, says Mini, this is its first AWD model outside the Countryman/Paceman crossover range, the first all-wheeler to be built at the brand’s Oxford, England factory, and the first Mini model that allows the three-cylinder to be paired with an optional eight-speed automatic transmission already available in 2.0L cars. (Previous to this, all three-cylinder cars used a six-speed auto as the optional gearbox.)
Confusingly, Mini says the automatic Cooper S Clubman ALL4 does zero-to-100 km/h 0.2 seconds quicker than the front-drive version (which also gets the eight-speed). Mini says the latest version of its AWD system is “particularly compact and weight-optimized,” but we doubt they’ve found a way to make all AWD car lighter than an equivalent FWD model; all we can figure is the ALL4’s extra traction eliminates wheelspin off the line.
Watch for our first reviews of the new Clubman in the coming weeks.
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