I recently bought a 2010 MCS, but I'm starting to feel that I should have bought a Clubman S instead. I'm find the boot being just to small to be useful and with a 3 year old in the back and a 13 year in the front it does't make for a lot of extra room and putting the 13 year old in the backseat so the entire family can take a trip just doesn't seem fair.

So, I'd like to hear from others that have owned a Cooper and a Clubman. Is the back seat and boot space a big enough change to consider selling a MCS and getting a Clubman S?

Also are the rims and tire sizes the same on both?

 

I guess I'll be the first to comment. There is no question that with the Clubman there is both more rear legroom and easier egress to the back seat. Even though the added legroom is only about 3 inches it makes a big difference. The trunk is also meaningly larger.

My 80 year old Mom has been driving a Cooper (Justa) for the past 5 years and loves the car but she freely admits it's a two passenger car except in a pinch. I've driven the car a fair amount and I also share her opinion that using the rear seats isn't the easiest thing.

We have 2 Clubman's an S driven by my 18 year old daughter and a JCW that I drive. I almost daily take 3 passengers to lunch two of which are BIG guys - 6'2" 250+ lbs who are 50+ years old so egress is important. I'm not saying it's as easy as a 4 door car to get into but I doubt that these people would want to fit into a MCS.

The bottom line for me is that the Clubman is the best MINI - why, because you still get the go cart handling you want but with just enough additional room the make the car a legitimate four passenger family car.

The only downside I see is you have a two year old car - no mater how excellent - which means that it has already lost a lot of value which will make any switch expensive.

 

If you are thinking about it, just do it!

I am onto my 2nd Cooper Clubman and I love it. insurance on an S at 23 in the UK is expensive.

As for size of the wheels and tyres, you can change these easily. A MINI Handles best on 16's. If they are 17" the tyres will be 205 45 17

 

I took my wife and ten year old son to look at a JCW MINI and they both fell in live with a Clubman S. After a couple of test drives the Clubman won hands down - the regular size MINI just felt too small for our family. Although it's only something like eight inches longer, the three inches in the back seat area and the five inches in the boot area feel much more than that. Now my wife and son always want to take our Clubman over our AWD Toyota Highlander - unless we're going up to Tahoe.

 

With a 3 year old you must be suffering through the car seat business... The clubman takes away that pain! That's really the best part of the club door, and is even better than a regular door as the swing allows you to face straight into the car seat when front facing.

Indeed as someone already answered to me the Clubman is the best MINI when kids are involved.

 

I had my 04 MCS with my son ( he was 2 ) and we had no real issues. You do have to be careful with what car seat you buy and what you bring with you on trips , etc... but it is doable. (FYI - MINI makes a car seat that fits perfectly in the back seat of a MCS but it is not available in the U.S.A. , you have to get it from the UK or other country and have it grey market shipped to you directly ).

Now I have 2 clubmans an S and a Cooper - I love the clubbies, they handle great and the extra room is awesome! All the engine mods that fit a MC or MCS will fit a clubbie of the same type. Plus if you go used they have been selling below blue book in most places ( I consider them a bargain ).

It's up to you - go drive one and see what you can do!!

 

Seconded! Having a child is why I went with a Clubman. It's honestly quite a lot easier to get my 3 year old into her seat in the Clubman than my wife's Subaru Outback. Flip the seat forward and there's a ton of space for entrance, egress, and wrestling the little monkey into her seat

 

I went for a Clubman S for the extra room. You can actually put passengers in the backseat, where with the regular MINI the backseat is pretty much for those under 8 or under 5ft tall. Additionally, with the back seats down on my Clubman S, I can haul a crazy amount of band gear when I go to gigs and still get 34 mpg - 4x10 cab, a couple of guitar heads, a couple of guitars, saxophone, monitors, mic stands, etc.

Being 6'2", I really like the barn doors on the Clubman, too. Nothing worse than trying to grab that guitar cab out of the back and then proceed to bang your head on the hatch! Not an issue with the barn doors!

It's amazing how much you can cram in the back of a Clubman!

 

I went from an S convertible to a JCW Clubman. I can attest that I now have a back seat that can actually be used for passengers rather than just a back stop for the front seats.

 

WE had an 05 MCS, sweet car, but needed more room with two growing boys. Ordered an '09 MCCS, best decision we made. Now the oldest got the car when he turned 16, nearly two years ago. There is plenty of room for our grown up family in the clubman when we go out to dinner or to run errands. Lots of back seat room, the wife and I ride in back and let the kids chauffeur us around.