  2009 Mini Cooper Clubman JCW. Click image to enlarge |
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2009 Mini Cooper Clubman
Oshawa, Ontario – I remember being at the Toronto Auto Show when BMW brought out the all-new model that would once again wear the venerable Mini name. The introductory press days are a great opportunity to see the behaviour of Automobilius Journalati in its natural habitat: the species often feigns disinterest, lest it be mistaken for a “newbie,” or someone who hasn’t already scoped out the auto in detail on spy-photo websites. But when the presentation was finished, there was a cavalry charge to the stage, with everyone fighting for a chance to sit in the little coupe.
I was one of them, and I’ve never lost my taste for this little gadabout. And for my first time out with a Clubman model, the BMW/Mini folks provided me with a John Cooper Works (JCW) model, which ups the ante on the turbocharged Mini S to 208 horsepower and 192 lb-ft of torque, compared to the regular S’s 172 horses and 177 lb-ft.
It also increases the price, and this is where Mini loses those who think cars should be priced by weight and volume. They aren’t inexpensive cars in any form, with the naturally-aspirated Clubman starting at $26,400. The turbocharged Clubman S starts at $31,500, but the JCW Clubman begins its ascent at $39,990. My tester was further optioned to a total of $45,530 – far more than I would have paid for it, as much as I liked driving it, but that’s what makes this a relatively exclusive brand.
A new model introduced for 2008, the Clubman is meant to be reminiscent of the Mini Traveller, Countryman and Clubman Estate models of the 1960s. Its wheelbase and overall length are longer than the Mini Cooper; it’s also taller, but not wider. It has a single door on the driver’s side, while on the passenger side, a small secondary door provides easier (but not necessarily easy) access to the second-row seats.
 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman JCW. Click image to enlarge |
It has no exterior handle, and can only be opened if the passenger’s front door is open and the seatbelt is not in use. In the back, the Mini Cooper’s one-piece, top-hinged hatch is replaced with two small “barn doors,” which swing out independently. The taillights remain attached to the body, with the doors cut out and sealed around them. Inside, the instrument panel and controls are shared with the Cooper models.
All Mini models use a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine that’s turbocharged on the S and JCW variants. A six-speed automatic that can be added to all others is verboten on the JCW, which strictly comes with a six-speed manual. Put your foot into the accelerator and hang on tight, because even with the Clubman’s extra weight (80 kg over the Cooper S), the turbocharged powerplant gets you where you’re going in a hurry. It’s officially rated at 6.8 seconds to get to 100 km/h, a mere 0.3 seconds more than a Cooper S with the JCW package.
