Maybe this comes as little surprise to some, but there have been some negative remarks regarding the design of the MINI Clubman.

Key criticisms of the new MINI Clubman have included the simple fact it’s too big to be a MINI, the quirk that it only has one suicide door rather than two, and that it’s just not like the MINI (Traveller) Concept. However none of these criticisms mean that people are flatly against the introduction of the new model to the MINI range or even dislike the way the Clubman is shaping up.

In this poll on the MINI2 forums, asking the simple question “like it or not”, the results at the time of writing are a pretty conclusive 75% to 25% in favour of those who like the MINI Clubman. Obviously this is a completely different question to “would you buy one” or “do you prefer it to..”, but the results must be encouraging for those at MINI none the less.

As a comparison, a similar poll in 2004 asking if people preferred the updates seen on the Convertible or the “old” pre-facelift looks of the hatchback of the time, the results were almost the complete opposite, with 76% of MINI enthusiasts saying they favoured the outgoing design of the original MINI over the modified appearance of the soft top MINI.

Both polls were based on picture evidence alone.