Well, after about a month of research, I pulled the trigger on a Countryman build tonight.

We have a Clubman S now, which is an amazing car. We love it. LOVE it. I have no complaints about it whatsoever. But we have two kids, 17 months and 3.75 years approximately, and after taking a Countryman as a loaner a few times, we were pleasantly surprised at how much our older loved getting in with her own door, and how much easier it was on us to get the younger in, with his rear facing seat. We had the opportunity to take the CM on a long road trip, and we really noticed the benefit of the additional space here and there. It's just a LITTLE more in every direction over the Clubman. Yet, the loss of 'MINI' feel with the CM was less perceptible than we anticipated, coming from first an R53 and then the Clubman. However, it was a base model automatic, which isn't apples/apples with the Clubman S Manual. I took a CM S Manual out for a test drive and was really pleased with the only modest compromise. That's not to disparage CM and owners who love them....as I am about to join them. It's merely comparative. Coming from my old R53, even an R56 felt less 'go-karty'...

Anyway, it was a pretty painful decision, as we are very attached to our Clubman. I installed the Minidomore concealed hitch (my install notes can be found in the Clubman forum, with photos, for interested parties; it was the first to be installed on a 2011, as I understand it) so it's a different animal from either of our other MINIs, where they replaced non-MINIs and were the sources of much excitement and anticipation.

Well, I worked out a great deal, especially for my part of the country, and committed tonight to a fresh CM build.

Pretty stoked about it though. I look forward!
Now to sell the Clubman!

 

Congratulations. Now the wait begins. What dealership did you go with?

 

MINI of Marin
Very good experience
Things are not as they were in the past
All dealerships want the business here and MOM sweetened it. Plus they are my local shop and I'm glad to have them so close.

 

Yeah, thinking I should have shopped around the Bay Area for the CM as I might have gotten a better deal. Several years back we bought the R53 from East Bay MINI. At the time they were the only dealer that did not have a markup and paying sticker was getting a good deal in the Bay Area. Times have changed.
Congrats and hope you get it delivered soon.

 

That's funny, I was in almost the same position. I had a 2005 Cooper S Hardtop, with a 4 year old and an 18 month old. Everyone fit OK in the MINI, but it was pretty tight and kind of a pain (although I did like the way that, once you got the kid in, you could sit your butt on the back of the folded-down front seat while strapping them in).

So I started looking at the Countryman, and eventually purchased a CMS All4 in Dec 12. Yes, the CMS is not like the hardtop but, to me, it's even more fun to drive. I like the feeling of solidness; it just feels more robust, yet still handles like a MINI. (I don't track it, or drive near the limits; I expect if I did, I might have a different attitude).

Anyhow, we are really enjoying the CM, and it's the perfect size for me and my family, as a second car.

 

Its in some ways even more sensitive when its your only car because you're balancing the swiss-army-knife do-everything desire for that one vehicle against the desire to drive a fun MINI. In fact, after our first child was born and we were feeling some back and arm pain getting the baby seat in and out of the R53, we actually jumped to a Honda Element for that versatility: a larger vehicle that could carry kids, strollers and bikes. It was a cool ride in many ways, and I still love them in general as utility vehicles, but being a 4-seater, using dual suicide doors, and having poor visibility were real issues for a family car. Looking at the Clubman afterwards we felt we made a huge mistake, and went back to MINI.

With the Countryman, we're hoping that the leeeeetle more room in the cabin and the inclusion of 4-doors along with the bench seat will make the one MINI last a lot longer for us as a one-car solution that's fun to drive solo, but useful with everyone on board...

 

I agree with this so much! I used a CMS as a loaner a couple weekends back and was surprised by how solid it felt. I'm planning on selling my MCS for one pretty soon here

 

As an update, mine is still chiilin at the dock waiting for a ship. But the Clubman was sold. So we have MINI withdrawal...

 

Congrats on selling the clubman. That's one of the good thing about MINI's, they sell quick and hold their value.

 

Thanks! Sold far earlier than anticipated, so we've got a month to kill...