HI all,
we just got our Mini Cooper Clubman yesterday in Mocca/Chocolate Metallic brown with the silver roof, mirror and lines on the hood/bonnet. It looks great. It looks much better than on pictures. We had a yellow Cooper with white roof before, which we also found quite nice. A bit more sporty. The brown Clubman makes it look a bit more "Grown up" and very stylish. With the combination of brown Lounge seats and brown trim on gear lever and handbrake, I find it can be compared to many larger and more expensive luxury cars. The brown is so much more alive than the normal grey plastics. We also considered the cream colored leather and plastics, but with our dog, scratch marks and dirt would show too quickly.
The car itself runs smoother and more like a BMW 1 or even 3 series. Just the handling I find is much better and the engine is more lively. BUT the engin is also a bit rough for a 1600 petrol engine. I find our old Mini Cooper engine noise was not so intrusive. The gear shifting is smoother and the absorption of bumps on the road is much better. I must rather also agree with other buyers that some of the plastics look cheap. Unless you upgrade like we did, but you pay for every little thing. At the end we are glad we did upgrade as we feel it justifies paying €30 000 for such a small luxuary car. I feel they could at least inprove the final details like plastics and edges for basic models. Especially the middle console where the radio and airflow controls are, seems to be made of very cheap looking plastics.
Overall it is still a unique/timeless car and has lots of safety standards other small cars do not have. And of course it is FUN to drive. So as long as there is a demand, suckers like us will pay for it!
Keep well
Kobus
