Over the past few weeks, the Mini has been earning its keep as a runaround for our excellent PH tech team. It appears to have been in a cycle of attending Sunday Services and visiting DIY stores, which is probably to be expected from a PH van. How has it fared? Read on to find out...
A hard-working member of the PH team, yesterday
"I really have used the Mini in the most hellish of places... B&Q on a Saturday. The trip confirmed a few things. Anything stored in the back, be it bags of plaster or whatever, will roll around move back and forth and slam into the mesh divide separating the cabin under slight (alright, heavy) braking. It also confirmed the modest length of the boot when my tiny stepladder could only be ferried by leaving the door open. Queue constant 'bong' reminders. Very annoying.
"Much more enjoyable was the Sunday Service at Rolls-Royce where the nice man took the keys and said he'd park it out front next to the Wraith and get it cleaned. Fantastic, except the latter was sadly a joke. I was rather looking forward to the finest RR wax-on wax-off treatment. To the car wash then..."
Shock horror - van doing ... van stuff!
"With the recent slew of PH Sunday Services I've had plenty of time with the Mini. It's a great drive, especially on the B-roads and even around Silverstone (thank you, Britcar), but the biggest challenge I've presented to the van is the all-important trip to Ikea.
"The rear space of the Clubvan is surprisingly small so I made sure to measure carefully the rear depth before making any large purchases. The rear space measures out at 3.5 size 12 loafers [an American unit of measurement for 'trunks' he tells us - Ed.] in depth, which means I just managed to squeeze a medium sized chest of drawers in the back along with a few other random bits. The trip was a success, though I could have done it just as easily in a regular Mini Clubman.
"I've found the Clubvan to be surprisingly impractical as it has only two seats and not much extra space or rear visibility. I suppose it fills a niche, but for my money I'd go with the regular model with extra seats and enjoy the simple pleasure of some rear windows."
The humble van in far from humble company
"In the last few weeks I've done a fair few miles in the Mini, including Sunday Services at Aston Martin and Vauxhall plus the Wilton House run.
"The Mini has served me well in the early mornings, the climate control able to fight off the worst advances of the mid-summer heat while also ridding me of that early morning chill.
"On the run down to Wilton House it kept up (just) with much faster machinery. Any avid PHer would be ecstatic to pass even one of the supercar convoy on the motorway, and I was more than happy to watch and listen with the window wound down.
"My ears were assaulted by Chris's Enzo. He pulled up alongside the Mini, gestured for me to drop the window and then grinned like a man who knew what was coming (and was wearing race ear defenders); he dropped a gear and floored it, unleashing a towering wall of sound ... My God. That car, under load, makes an absolutely unholy noise and I was laughing myself silly for the next few miles with that V12 still ringing in my ears. The huge grin on my face was only surpassed by the two chaps in the Morgan 3-Wheeler doing a fair rate of knots in the same convoy.
Objects in the mirror are ... not 1.6 diesels
"If you drive the Mini in a, err, committed fashion and spend a lot of time running up and down the gears you can string a series of small roundabouts together in a way which shouldn't be possible in a 'van'....
"And there's the sticking point. YH13UWD claims to be a van, but frankly my old daily MG BGT was more useful for load lugging. It is NOT a big van by any means. In standard form a Mini with seats you could fold down this job would have been a breeze, but not with the pseudo van. Rear visibility when reversing leaves a lot to be desired and would have been much improved by rear parking sensors, though I hope this is a spec issue rather than a model issue."
Next month, Editor Trent joins the PH hoi polloi and swaps McLarens for the Mini. Find out what he thinks soon!
Wilton House vid here
Fact sheet:
Car: Mini Cooper D Clubvan
Run by: Everyone!
On fleet since: June 2013
Mileage: 5,156
List price new: £19,575.50 (Basic list of £14,275 +VAT plus £400 for Midnight Black paint, £1,700 for Media Pack, £55 for Storage Pack, £50 for space saver spare, £105 for leather two-spoke steering wheel, £60 for velour floor mats, £45 for warning triangle and first aid kit and £30 for front passenger airbag deactivation switch. All options prices inclusive of VAT.)
Last month at a glance: Mini gatecrashes a party or two, not the end yet!