Wednesday 22nd March 2023

Mini Clubman set to bow out with Final Edition

Ridiculed at launch, the wagon now seems almost as quirky as Mini intended. Here's (maybe) your last chance to grab one

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I’m not convinced this is a good buy, but it is news. The Mini Clubman is about to die and isn’t coming back. At least that's the expectation (we did ring Mini and they said it’s not confirmed just yet). Although given this special edition model is called the Final Edition, it does rather suggest that this will be among your final chances to buy a box-fresh Mini wagon. My reticence about its value proposition is that the Final Edition is £37,000, which is a lot. For that, I was expecting it to be based on the top-spec JCW model and come with many interesting features thrown in - but that’s not the case.

It turns out it’s based on a Cooper S, which has a healthy if not explosive 178hp, in Exclusive trim. Now, according to the configurator, if you were to buy a regular Copper S Exclusive it would set you back £32,290. From what I can make out, the only spec uplift here comes from the inclusion of the £1,800 Premium Plus Package, which throws in various things such as heated front seats, a rear camera, folding door mirrors, a Harmon Kardon sound system, keyless entry and a panoramic sunroof. If my maths is correct, that would take the price to just over £34,000.

What else do you get to account for the rest of the £3,000 uplift, then? Well, some Final Edition badges on the back of the car and inside – on the sill plates and steering wheel – and a special copper finish on the lower doors and the 18-inch alloys. Those alloys are unique to the Final Edition and, if I am being honest, don’t look anywhere near as nice as the standard wheels. You might think they’re wonderful, though, in which case keep reading. The seats are leather, but they would be anyway on the Exclusive trim, but here they’re finished in a special dark maroon colour with contrasting stitching and have anthracite fabric inserts. That really is about your lot.

It will be exclusive at least. To commemorate the original Clubman’s launch in 1969, there will be only 1969 Final Editions produced worldwide. Of those, just 100 will be coming to the UK. I might be wrong, but I am not sensing there will be a stampede to be one of the 100 owners of this particular limited-run model. Of course, we might be underestimating just how popular the outgoing Clubman really is - perhaps Mini anticipates a lengthy queue forming behind the model's faintly annoying rear doors. But I'd wager not. 

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• Mini John Cooper Works review
• Bulldog Racing Mini John Cooper Works

[HorneyMX5]

I owned an R55 clubman and rate it as one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Small, nimble, frugal and practical. The suicide door was quirky and it handled better than the hatch IMO.

The Gen 2 Clubman lost its way. It’s massive compared to the hatch and just looks all kinds of wrong.

Not sure where MINI sit in the electric future of BMW, but this suggests small estate cars are not it.

[PBCD]

HorneyMX5 said:

Not sure where MINI sit in the electric future of BMW, but this suggests small estate cars are not it.

As far as I am aware, the Clubman will eventually be replaced by the (EV only) Aceman:

https://www.mini.co.uk/en_GB/home/mini-news/aceman...

[Motospook]

Hmmm, I was born in 1969 and love (proper) Minis. I have fond memories of the school run in my Mum's original Clubman (minus seatbelts of course) until rust and woodworm got the better of it. That said, no amount of fond memories would make me fork out an extra £3k (let alone the base £34k) for the steaming pile that this car is. Yet another indication that BMW has sadly lost the plot.

[Wadeski]

HorneyMX5 said:

I owned an R55 clubman and rate it as one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Small, nimble, frugal and practical. The suicide door was quirky and it handled better than the hatch IMO.

The Gen 2 Clubman lost its way. It’s massive compared to the hatch and just looks all kinds of wrong.

Not sure where MINI sit in the electric future of BMW, but this suggests small estate cars are not it.

You know its getting replaced with an SUV, that will look even more wrong...

[Adam911T]

HorneyMX5 said:

I owned an R55 clubman and rate it as one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Small, nimble, frugal and practical. The suicide door was quirky and it handled better than the hatch IMO.

The Gen 2 Clubman lost its way. It’s massive compared to the hatch and just looks all kinds of wrong.

Not sure where MINI sit in the electric future of BMW, but this suggests small estate cars are not it.

Also love my R55 Clubman.

Rear door is next to useless in RHD markets, and it’s not exactly cavernous inside, but it’s quick, handles brilliantly and is just a little bit different

[twokcc]

Like the colour but cant see me changing my 2018 Cooper S for one of these.
Could never understand why the frameless front doors disappeared on 5 door/clubman etc

[Robertb]

I’m probably in a minority but I think that has lots of character… I like it!

[Court_S]

That’s a lot of money for not a lot.

Big fan of the original R55. It’s replacement whilst much nicer inside is big and doesn’t look quite right (although less wrong than the 5 door hatch). I don’t see many around, so I’m guessing that they weren’t a big seller.

[howardhughes]

The R55 Clubman was the by far the best shape compared to the new abomination.

[ballans]

I remember at launch the 3(.5) door clubman being panned by the critics but I’ve always thought it’s a great design. I think most of the criticism was for the rear door being on the wrong side and it being a blatant marketing exercise. I don’t have a problem with either of those so works for me.
The 5 door though, looks like stretched limo or ‘mini’ hearse making the proportions all wrong.
I like the colour combo of this special edition but I’m sure a bit of time on the configurator could achieve similar results for much less.

[cerb4.5lee]

I had a 72 plate Cooper(auto) version of these last week as a loan car. They have always been one of the most ugly cars on the road for me, plus the 3 cylinder 1.5 engine was utter crap and very nasty to use unless you just tickled the throttle to keep the revs really low.

I did however like it to sit in because it had the lounge leather seats, and they were really nice I thought and I liked the interior in general. What did shock me was that it had less bhp/torque than the Sierra XR4x4 that I was driving around in 30 years ago. It is crazy that you can still buy cars as slow as the Cooper version of these nowadays I reckon. You usually get progress over the years when it comes to engines/performance...but certainly not in this case though.

[GTEYE]

cerb4.5lee said:

I had a 72 plate Cooper(auto) version of these last week as a loan car. They have always been one of the most ugly cars on the road for me, plus the 3 cylinder 1.5 engine was utter crap and very nasty to use unless you just tickled the throttle to keep the revs really low.

I did however like it to sit in because it had the lounge leather seats, and they were really nice I thought and I liked the interior in general. What did shock me was that it had less bhp/torque than the Sierra XR4x4 that I was driving around in 30 years ago. It is crazy that you can still buy cars as slow as the Cooper version of these nowadays I reckon. You usually get progress over the years when it comes to engines/performance...but certainly not in this case though.

I’m not sure in which parallel universe a MINI Clubman and a Sierra XR4x4 were ever comparable?

[Mr Peel]

People slagging off a Clubman-badged Mini is nothing new. When the original came out in 1969 it was criticised for being a marketing exercise, ugly, expensive and so on...

Nowadays Mini geeks go mad for them, 1275GTs in particular. Could this one be lusted after in the future?

[cerb4.5lee]

GTEYE said:

I’m not sure in which parallel universe a MINI Clubman and a Sierra XR4x4 were ever comparable?

I was just comparing the engines/performance, and I was just shocked at how backwards things had gone that's all. These seem like expensive cars to me, but you don't seem to get a lot back for the money in my view.

[paulrockliffe]

£37,000. Black plastic ste everywhere. WTF.

[C.A.R.]

The earlier (R55) was a much cooler car, this is too bloated and the styling too fussy. The interior does look a lovely place to sit, though.

Trying to justify replacing our massive SUV with a Clubman now that we have an EV for 90% of family duties. Seems silly to be running a 2.0 diesel Tiguan for short trips. But on the odd occasion we need to get all 5 of us in, I think we'd struggle with the R55 Clubman?

[Jay_87]

HorneyMX5 said:

I owned an R55 clubman and rate it as one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Small, nimble, frugal and practical. The suicide door was quirky and it handled better than the hatch IMO.

Agreed, I love my Clubman Cooper S, was a great little car and I only sold it as a Golden Retriever doesn't look comfortable in the boot!

I've not worked out if I like the second gen Clubman yet, sometimes I think I do and others I really don't.

[TheOctaneAddict]

I ran an F54 Cooper S for a few years, they are a really nice car but lack any special feeling. They are very lardy and this blunts the whole experience, but as a daily driver that can carry people and luggage in comfort it was great.

[nickfrog]

Motospook said:

Hmmm, I was born in 1969 and love (proper) Minis. I have fond memories of the school run in my Mum's original Clubman (minus seatbelts of course) until rust and woodworm got the better of it. That said, no amount of fond memories would make me fork out an extra £3k (let alone the base £34k) for the steaming pile that this car is. Yet another indication that BMW has sadly lost the plot.

Born in 69 too so I can appreciate a bit of nostalgia. I however found the original MINI useless, I could never sit comfortably in it and I am only 6ft / slim.

For me the "proper" MINI are the modern ones as they are usable as everyday cars that don't rust. In fact they have become excellent cars that retain their value well and drive surprisingly neutrally. Yet another BMW success basically.

[Black S2K]

howardhughes said:

The R55 Clubman was the by far the best shape compared to the new abomination.

Perhaps someone aftermarket ought to offer a fibreglass squared-off flip front for these, like they did for old Minis way back then!