I FINALLY saw a Laser Blue MINI in Fort Smith today, and lo' and behold...it's a Clubman.

My first Clubman sighting too.

About 3 hours ago, after roughly 5 months of researching, I was ready to place an order for an R56S La/B... But after actually seeing a Clubman in person...

I...really like it. And in Laser Blue, it just looked....perfect. I thought it'd be big and bulky, and...well, ugly really, but in person, wow, it's so pretty. And wow, it just solidifies Laser Blue for me too.

For those of you who were set on just getting a hardtop, what were your reasonings for getting a Clubman?

 

Kids. Primary reason.

But now that I have it, other people can sit in the backseat too. I know there are some passionate hardtoppers out there, but when I sat in a hardtop my driver's seat touched the back seat. I don't want to be the guy whose friends say, "Well, er, why don't we just take my Tahoe?"

 

I was getting rid of my envoy and my 7 year old daughter just loved having a little door to open.. Plenty of space for her and thats what was important!!

 

Dogs!



Also: latent MINI lust. Always loved them and my wife always joked that a MINI cabrio should be my and Haggis' mid-life crisis car. But for reasons of space and practicality, it was not to be. The first week of July I was passed by a Clubman on my way home from work - I had no idea they even existed up to that point. I was emailing my wife pictures the next day. Less than two weeks later we'd had two MINI test drives and a deposit down.

 

I've been kind of itching for the cabrio too, but the whole absolute lack of anything other than two front seats (exaggeration, yeah, but still)...eh. And the whole "rattling" thing...meh.

I don't have kids. My husband and I are going to be the only two people in the car, so I might even take out the rear seats to use as a bunch of extra space. (We go fishing, etc, a lot, and a lot of extra room would be super.)

How different is the driving experience? I'm hearing something like it's a lot smoother, it's a lot...slower/sluggish?

I have a black Labrador Retriever too, but right now she's tiny. Of course, that's going to change a lot in the next...few weeks even.

Practicality isn't really an issue, since any groceries I buy are usually on an "as-we-need-it" basis, and I'm used to never using the trunk or even the backseats in my current Pontiac 2-door GrandAm for groceries anyway.

I want to go test-drive, but the closest dealership is in Oklahoma City, and they have NOTHING right now.

 

As much as I wanted a hardtop, (for almost 7 years) I could not get one due to my 3 Labradors. There simply was not enough room.

When I heard about the Clubbie, I knew I would be getting one, just didn't know when, as I was going through some major changes in my life at the time.

I've had LadyG since 6/21, and can wholeheartedly say that I have never loved a car as much as I love my Clubman. She's everything I've ever wanted, and more!

 

I chose the Clubman because it will be my primary car and just need the additional room just in case. Also, the looks of the dual exhaust in the back just can't be compared to the R56S.

 

I really like the look of the dual exhaust too...

And my husband actually likes it. He says the regular R56 looks like a poop chute. And a while later, we drove by a parked R56S, he didn't like it either. Said it looked like two poop chutes...yeah.

But he walked all around the LB/B Clubman today, and just kept repeating, "...Nice..."

LadyGodiva: Your dogs are adorable!!! Beautiful MINI as well...gah, you guys are making me run through the configurator again. ...For the 374398274932th time...

 

LOL ... your husband has good taste!

the Clubman is so much better proportioned than the R56 which has a large butt and looks too high off the ground.

But to answer your original question ... the little bit of extra space was #1 for the upgrade and #2 were the looks over the R56.

 

I needed to haul 3' X 4' paintings (four at a time fit in the clubmanS) and haul our new labs.

 

Had already owned two regular MINI Coopers and loved them but once I sat in a Clubman and realized that it could finally be our main vehicle due to the extra room for other family and friends to sit in the back seats w/o my having to have my knees under my chin - decision made.

Whoever it was above who was concerned that the car was "more sluggish" or "slow" - I don't know how you got that impression because it's anything but! The Clubman does have a somewhat smoother ride - but still takes any turns the Coopers do and can run with the best of 'em.

P.S. Barley, what handsome Cairns you have there!

 

I have wanted a Mini for at least 6 or 7 yrs, but could not justify spending the money on such a small car when I had a family of 5. Now, we have 2 sons in college and last son is 16 and going to college soon. We have 2 cars in the drive that are paid for and can haul the family and the family's stuff anywhere. My husband and I thought this was the time to buy a small car just for us and the Clubman was perfect. Just enough extra space and yet it still looks like a Mini. I love when people say "it looks a little different" or "something is different." We've had the Clubbie for only 5 days and already we are configuring out our next one! My 3 sons all want one now too. Incredibly fun cars.

 

I'm subscribing to this thread 'cuz now that I"ve gotten sucked in, I just HAVE to see how it ends,...and it makes me laugh !

Good luck with your very serious choice. Good thing you can't wear the configurator out, isn't it? (or I probably would've!)

 

I've always loved the regular MINI Coopers (and perhaps like their looks slightly better than the Clubman). I chose the Clubman because I didn't want to have to choose between luggage, my dogs, and my husband on road trips.

 

It's weird how much I like the rear of the R55... Since I've been so set on getting the R56S, I've been trying to think of ways to make the back actually look better! (*coughs* Without flooding it with a ton of bumper stickers and random vinyl.)

I've gone through the Post the R55s thread, but I can't seem to find the color combo that I saw yesterday. Laser Blue with Black, anybody?

 

sounds to me like you're getting a Clubman

 

Laser Blue Clubman...EXCELLENT choice!!! Mine is LaB/S, not black though.

My primary reason was my Dalmatian. I fell in love with the Mini back in 2002 when I was looking for a car...but once I saw it in person and realized how small it was I knew I couldn't make it work. This past February I paid off the Matrix I bought back then, and started thinking about what to get next...planning for a year or two down the road. I heard a commercial on the radio for the Clubman, went online immediately, went by the dealership two weeks later (first Saturday with no rain lol)...and placed my order mid-April lol. So much for waiting a year or two!!! But now I'm driving what I really love, and not something I had to settle for.

 

Always had a soft spot for the MINI, but since my "first love" has always been a convertible roadster of some sort (namely a Miata since their debut in '89), it just didn't work to have two "toy" cars (plus I remember thinking the body of the regular MINI looked a little short/chopped-off to us). When we finally decided to get rid of our full size van, we searched long and hard to find a fun, efficient replacement as our "big" car, our "people/dogs/stuff hauler". Over a two year period, nothing we looked at/test drove excited us enough to actually part with the money...until we heard the Clubman was being released to showrooms in mid-February. One look was all it took; but, of course, we went back several times as we dialed in on the Clubbie as the perfect choice for us! A little bigger, a bit more room, an extra door for easier access to the back seats, a flat-load floor, and still a blast to drive - it was made for us, and the rest is history! Still totally thrilled with it (and all our choices) nearly 4 months after delivery!

So glad you got a chance to see the Laser Blue in person rather than just in pictures and/or on the configurator. Like the Clubman itself, IMO, it's one of those colors that just doesn't photograph that well and is MUCH nicer in reality. I don't think you'll be disappointed! Good Luck with your decision!

 

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Largely the same reasons as those mentioned by others:

• Needed a car for the dogs (the Clubman replaced our old wagon)
• Needed space for hauling my wife's photography gear (lights, backdrops, etc.)
• Seats four comfortably for longer trips, as opposed to our Sidewalk, where the back seat is tolerable but loses its fun factor after an hour.

My Clubman is laser blue as well, so I have to agree about the color Truth be told, my wife was partial to the "hot chocolate", but I wasn't keen on it. Likewise, I am very partial to british racing green (my first MCS was BRG/white), but my wife didn't like it with a gray or black roof. We both liked the laser blue with gray, though. We love it.

 

That's it, I'm getting a Clubman!

Question: If I get the JCW Aero Kit, do the side skirts come body-color? I think the Clubman I saw at Sam's Club had it, but I was too much in awe at a live Laser Blue (+ Clubman!) that I didn't really notice. I know the bottom of the rear bumper was black, and I looked through the Show Me Your R55s thread, and apparently, that's the JCW kit.

...Uh, just went through the configurator again... Where is the JCW Kit?!