MINI2

The official pricing for the UK MINI Clubman have been revealed by a few leading motoring websites, along with photographs, despite a supposed embargo for Sunday publication.

We can confirm that the Clubman in the UK will launch in November with a price premium of £1210.00 over the hatch.  The car will come in MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper Diesel and MINI Cooper S specification.

Prices are £14,235 for the Cooper, £15,400 for the Cooper D and £17,210 for the MINI Cooper S. 

So there you have it, despite the fact we’re still sitting on the full press release for Sunday (unless and until someone else publishes them ahead of the embargo) we now have 21 official photographs (in high resolution), some specifications and details, and UK launch prices!

AutoCar have broken the embargo (no surprises really) and published many images of the new MINI Clubman.

***UPDATE***

Thanks to MINI we now have the high-res versions of all the images that have already been published online, so we’re sharing those with you. Please be aware the large images are VERY big indeed and may take a few seconds each to appear once you click on the thumbnails.

An interactive MINI advert which appeared on a newspaper internet site has landed MINI in hot water with the ASA (Advertising Standard Agency) in the UK.

The animated promotional banner showed a close-up of a man sat at the wheel of a MINI, driving down the road - including instructions for surfers to “FLOOR IT” using an interactive pedal.

When users pressed on the pedal icon the car in the graphic accelerated until the driver’s face appeared to ripple with the G-Force caused by the speeding.

And the ad finished with the words:

NOW WITH EXTRA OOMPH THE ALL NEW MINI ONE MINI COOPER MINI COOPER S AND MINI COOPER D

The ASA said it accepted that the ad was only shown to people who clicked on the pedal and not those who were just browsing the site and also took into account the fact the ad was “surreal” and that a Mini could not get up to the speeds shown in the graphic.

However, it added:

We nonetheless considered that the ad encouraged users to interact with it and cause the man to be shown travelling at excessive speeds.
We considered that the ad made speed and acceleration the predominant message and could be seen to encourage speeding.

The ASA ruled the ad had breached the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code clause 10.1 about safety that states ads should not “encourage or condone unsafe practices”.

And the ad was also deemed to breach three motoring codes.

Ad agency Glue London, responding to complaints on behalf of BMW, claimed marketing campaigns were

aimed at people who enjoyed the Mini’s sense of fun and cheekiness.

And maintained that

speed and acceleration were not the predominant message of the ad,

but that it was intended to

generate interest in the launch of the new MINI range and to promote the new MINI engine, which had improved emissions and fuel consumption.

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…

MINI Ireland have announced record breaking sales in 2007.

By midday on Tuesday, 13th June 2007, MINI sales in Ireland had hit 1012 units.  Quite incredibly, this surpasses the previous sales record of 1001 units that was achieved in total in 2005!

Nicola Bissett, MINI Manager Ireland, is quoted as saying;

We are delighted to see the MINI success story going from strength to strength in Ireland. The launch of the All New MINI in November 2006 has greatly attributed to the success that MINI is enjoying along with the launch of a 1.4 litre MINI One launched in April of this year.

The MINI hatch model is available in four variants in Ireland: MINI One, MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper D and MINI Cooper S, which are being sold in 13 MINI Dealers across the country. Prices start from €21,950 on the road.

The Globe and Mail filed a report last week claiming BMW are considering bringing the MINI Cooper D to Canada.

The revelation is mentioned purely as an aside in an article focusing on senior auto industry executives’ desire for the federal government to establish a national fuel standard to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve standards in the industry in general.

The important quote reads:

“We need a clean diesel fuel in Canada,” said Lindsay Duffield, president of BMW Canada Inc., whose company will start selling diesel vehicles in Canada next year and is considering bringing in a diesel version of its Mini that now sells in Europe.

Whether or not this came from the horses mouth, or is pure speculation on the part of the Globe of Mail is left to us to decide. But it would be a good move for them to do so. And while they’re at it, why not ship it South of the border too, we’re sure it’s wanted.

MINI hatch models are to receive technological revisions later this year, resulting in jaw-dropping performance and efficiency figures.

Following on from Yesterday’s great news about the demand for the MINI Cooper D, Today’s press release from BMW (to follow), will no doubt push demand even further through the roof!

MINI hatch models are to receive technological revisions later this year, resulting in jaw-dropping performance and efficiency figures. Already BMW Group’s cleanest ever car, the MINI Cooper D will be capable of returning an astonishing 72.4mpg, with CO2 emissions of just 104 g/km.

When production of the revised models begins in August 2007, there will be no requirement for alternative fuel sources or hybrid technology to achieve these stunning stats. All model variants will instead be supplied as standard with high-tech engine tweaks, providing exceptional economy and minimal emissions without compromising the MINI driving experience.

Brake Energy Regeneration, Auto Start-Stop Function and Switch Point Display complete a package that will come at no extra cost to future MINI customers.

Continue reading 72.4mpg. 104 g/km C02. No batteries required.

As of August 2007, all MINI hatchback models with reduced fuel consumption and exhaust emission levels as standard.

As of August 2007, all MINI hatchback models with reduced fuel consumption and exhaust emission levels as standard - maximum efficiency in the new MINI Cooper D: 3.9 litres per 100 kilometres, 104 grams CO2 per kilometre.

Continue reading Increased driving pleasure, reduced fuel consumption: the new MINI in the model year 2008

A “Good Problem” for MINI as Cooper Diesel and special edition soft top demand beats expectations

We had a tip of from one of our sources inside MINI that there were plans afoot to increase production of the MINI Cooper Diesel and MINI Sidewalk Convertible. So a quick check with the press office at MINI, and we had confirmation that they are indeed doing better than expected (so much easier to get confirmation on this than rumours on future models, no surprise!).

Continue reading MINI Cooper Diesel, Sidewalk Convertible Exceeding Sales Expectations

The MINI Tries to be Fun, Yet Frugal. Can it pull it off?

We never quite got the MINI One D. As you can see in our report from the original launch, so the idea of the historic, racing pedigree name of Cooper being placed next to the now familiar MINI “D” logo did leave us with some doubts when rumours first began of this unholy matrimony.

Turns out though we really need not have worried, at least, not that much.

The first thing that impressed us about the original MINI One D was the noise. Or rather, the lack of noise. This, however was not the case with the new Cooper D. In fact if one criticism could be leveled at the new car it’s that the refinement we found with the original, less gutsy One D doesn’t seem quite as good.

Continue reading Exclusive: MINI2 Drives the MINI Cooper Diesel