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Sometimes a MINI is just too mini. Plenty of car buyers lust after a MINI Cooper but find the cramped backseat and minimal cargo capacity too much of a drawback. A potential solution for these frustrated fans is the 2008 MINI Cooper Clubman.

This lengthened Cooper increases rear legroom by 2.5 inches, which is hardly limolike, but every bit helps. The Clubman also adds a passenger-side rear-hinged door to allow rear passengers to make more graceful entries and exits. The cargo area has also grown, with 3.5 added cubic feet of space along with a pair of nifty rear doors that swing outward like those on a cargo van. The visual result of this added length is a MINI that’s not quite proportional and even more quirky than its traditional brother. Plus, it’s the first car since the old Camry wagon to feature two rear wipers.

Despite its stretched body style (10 inches in total), the Clubman is still all MINI, retaining most of that trademark go-kart handling. The same Cooper and Cooper S trim levels are available, along with their respective engine choices, which are both a significant improvement over the mills they replaced in last year’s model redesign. Both are more refined, powerful and substantially more fuel efficient. The base engine is a particularly impressive improvement, and as such, many buyers might find the regular Cooper perfectly adequate for their daily driving needs. The excellent turbocharged engine in the Cooper S Clubman is practically overkill — it is prone to torque steer — but speed junkies will love the rush of power it provides.

Despite its larger size, the Clubman still competes with the same batch of compact hatchbacks as the regular Cooper. In fact, it actually competes better with cars like the Saturn Astra, VW GTI and Volvo C30 considering its greater amount of cargo and backseat space. Still, nothing can match the personality and character that drips from the surface of all MINIs. Even if its quirks occasionally work to its detriment (interior ergonomics, for example), they help create a car that is like nothing else on the road. And with 10 extra inches, two extra doors and one extra wiper, the 2008 Cooper Clubman goes one step further by being like no other MINI.

• 15″ light alloy wheels - 5-Star Spooler
• 6-Speed manual gearbox
• Automatic rear wash wiper
• Chrome-plated door handles
• Electric door mirrors
• Heated rear window
• Front and rear bumpers in body colour
• Third brake light
• Black side air inlets with integrated orange indicator
• Silver or black contrast roof and door mirrors
• Chrome-plated grille
• Chrome-plated tailgate handle
• Security locking wheel bolts
• Silver or black contrast C pillars

• Automatic start/stop function (MSA) (manual only)
• Brake Energy Regeneration (iGR)
• Switch Point Display (SPA) (manual only)
• 3 rear seats (2 rears seats as a no-cost option)
• 50 / 50 split folding rear seats
• CD changer preparation
• Aux In connection (3.5mm plug) for MP3 players
• Cloth Cosmos
• Cup holders front and rear
• Easy entry function (a seat release lever that moves the whole seat forward to allow easy access to the rear)
• Start/Stop button
• Electric front windows
• Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS)
• Height adjustable driver’s seat
• Steering column height and length adjustable
• ISOFIX child seat attachment on rear seats
• Radio BOOST with single CD
• Remote central locking and alarm (Thatcham CAT1)
• Glove box
• Rev counter with outside temperature display

The 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman comes standard with antilock disc brakes, front side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, corner brake control and stability control.

Safety

• Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
• Central locking, automatic at 10mph
• Corner Braking Control (CBC)
• Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) inc. Hill Assist
• Automatic Stability Control + Traction (ASC+T)
• Crash sensor
• Disc brakes all round - vented at front
• Electronic Braking Distribution (EBD)
• MINI Mobility System (MINI MS)
• Passenger airbag deactivation
• Tyre defect indicator
• Driver and front passenger front airbags
• Driver and front passenger side airbags
• Curtain head airbags
• Three-Point safety belts with pretensioners

The base Cooper Clubman is powered by a 1.6-liter inline-4 that produces 118 horsepower and 114 pound-feet of torque. The Cooper S raises the bar considerably, packing a turbocharged version of the base Cooper’s four-cylinder. It generates a robust 172 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque, and produces a 0-60-mph time of an estimated 6.7 seconds. Both engines come standard with a six-speed manual transmission, while a six-speed automatic with manual shift control is optional.

With the manual transmission, the base Clubman achieves 28 mpg city and 37 mpg highway, while the Cooper S gets 26/34 mpg. Opting for the automatic hurts mileage by about 2 mpg.

Click here to view the specifications.