So, these Cooper Evolution tires didn't get rave reviews for wet handling. Today it rained here in Sunny SoCal (a rare event indeed). We drove down a section of Pacific Coast Highway that is prone to flooding and then did some surface street motoring in Sport Mode. All with wet streets. Ride continues to be smooth and quiet -- particularly noticed the absence of water noise coming from the tires. Toward the end of our run, with no other cars in the immediate vicinity, I made a hard right at a fair clip. Zero loss of grip; the Clubby tracked perfectly. Now this is Southern California where light drizzle turns our freeways into bumper car amusement rides, so, no, rain here ain't a real world weather event. But, for our climate here, so far, the Coopers are workin' for us, rain or shine. And, besides, I think its cool to have "Cooper" on the tires of my MINI Cooper.

The other thing I am noticing about the 2020 Clubman S All4, as compared with our former 2017, is how much smoother and tighter the 8-speed auto tranny is. Shifts are absolutely seamless and happen at just the right point. Also, the 2017 would sometimes hesitate for a nano-second, trying to find the right gear and throttle adjustment. On the 2020, everything happens just as it should. These subtle improvements definitely are moving these cars closer to the "premium" brand status MINI thinks it needs to occupy. For those of us who migrated to MINI from other high-line vehicles, this is a good thing. For Old School, hard core Miniacs, maybe not so much. Enter the GP and the new JCW Clubman.