So we’ve seen the outside, we’ve seen the inside once through the windows, and then through the doors. But there’s still questions nagging many would be MINI Clubman owners and interested MINI enthusiasts.

For example on the MINI2 forums some members took to calling the suicide door a “courtesy door”. Well, you may be intrigued to know the “suicide door” has been dealt a less deathly name thanks to the bods at MINI, it’s called “the Club Door”, and there’s some very nifty mechanics involved in arranging the third rear seat safety belt, which is exclusively for smaller passengers (those weighing less than 50kg) but we’ll come to that later.

Obviously, extra MINI means extra weight. Our sources have revealed the Clubman Cooper Diesel weighs in at 80kg more than it’s hatchback brother, the Cooper S puts on 75kg in Cooper S form, whereas the base Cooper at 1220kg also gains 80kg. These are all based on a 75kg driver and 90% tank of fuel.

In terms of performance, the Cooper is .7 seconds slower in the 0-62mph drag, whereas the Cooper S and D are impressively only half a second slower, this despite the extra bulk. This means the Cooper S remains under 8 seconds 0-62 mph, even in with an automatic transmission.

Speaking of size, the Clubman wheel base and overall dimensions are, of course, larger than the MINI. The track remains the same, but the wheelbase is universally increased by 80mm to 2547mm. The great news here is the luggage capacity is also increased by 100 litres to 260 litres, and with the seats folded this increases to 930 litres, a full 250 litres more than the hatchback.

Also revealed to MINI2, the Clubman will include an adjustable load base which sounds like a useful piece of kit, sitting on the floor of the boot area, above the tool kit and optional compact spare tyre. All this seems quite an improvement considering the car still looks small in regular traffic, as this YouTube video demonstrates.

Our latest information also confirms that both barn doors open “fully”, including the area surrounding the rear lights (the c-pillars remain in place) to give as wide a load area as possible. This should also mean no more cursing and grazed knuckles if and when you need to change a light bulb!

While at the rear of the vehicle, the Clubman will also be available with a factory fitted tow hitch and power point with detachable ball head, as well as beefed up rear springs to deal with load-lugging duties.

When the first interior spy shots appeared, it lead to some debate and confusion over the central “seat”, how could the anchorage points work, and wont that “lump” be a little uncomfortable?

The answer apparently lies in another bit of unique packaging MINI have devised for the Clubman. The Clubman does have three rear seats, but as stated previously the rear seat is for lightweights only. The buckle arrangement seems a little complex, locking away in it’s mount in the roof, it pulls down, into one buckle, then across to the other creating a three point middle harness. The odd thing is it seems the buckles for the main seatbelts remain almost in their “regular” MINI location, putting them between the mounting points for the middle belt. Could be an uncomfortable ride?!

We hope that’s given a little further insight into the intriguing world of the MINI Clubman. Coupled with the previously shown photos and videos we’re very close to a complete picture ahead of the official public unveiling at the Frankfurt Motorshow in September. All that really remains to be seen is how well the Clubman actually drives and handles. Rumour is that it’s a winner in that department, but we’ll just have to wait and see a little longer yet…