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| PASSPORT MINI SPECIAL OFFERS: Purchase a 2012 MINI Cooper Clubman with 0.9% APR financing! |
If you haven’t walked into the MINI showroom in a while, prepare yourself. It’s getting a bit crowded with all the new models. The 2012 MINI Cooper Clubman, the car that, before the Countryman, Coupe and Roadster models, “expanded” the very essence of MINI-ness, knows how to stand out among its siblings.
What started out with one MINI body style a decade ago has grown to six distinct models, each with their own variations. The surprise baby came along in the second generation when MINI launched the Clubman. Today, the Clubman itself offers three variants including the Cooper Clubman, Cooper S Clubman and the wild one of the bunch, the John Cooper Works (JCW) Clubman. The 2012 MINI Cooper Clubman starts at an MSRP of $21,900.
When the first MINI Clubman arrived, the people it was meant for knew, right away, that it was meant just for them. Here was a MINI with all the Cooper style, fun and handling with more backseat room, more cargo room and the coolest trio of extra doors you ever saw. Don’t call the Clubman a hatchback because it has no hatch. Instead, this unique model provides cargo access through dual side-opening “barn doors.” To get passengers into that roomier rear seat, a cleverly hidden right side Club Door opens to the rear.
Best of all, the MINI Clubman models share all the chassis and powertrain bits with the Cooper hardtop models. That means it also shares the MINI go-kart handling.
The MINI Cooper Clubman gives zippy performance from a 121-hp 1.6-liter engine while the even friskier turbocharged “S” version raises the driver’s pulse with a rousing 181 hp. Both engines come with your choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, and the “S” model adds paddleshifters with the automatic. Stick shift drivers get their own special feature, Hill Assist, which makes you look like a pro when pulling away from a stop on an incline.
The biggest kick from a Clubman comes from the John Cooper Works model, which brings a 208-hp engine and special chassis tuning to the party. You can also deck out a JCW in exclusive color combinations.
You probably won’t find more fun per gallon, either, as the MINI Cooper Clubman and Cooper S Clubman both deliver 27 mpg city and 35 mpg highway. Even the mighty JCW Clubman squeezes out an impressive 33 mpg on the highway.
With all that in mind, the 2012 MINI Clubman would like to remind you that, if you don’t need as much extra size and room as is found in the new Countryman, it has plenty of its own to offer. Specifically, the Clubman is nine inches longer than the hardtop with just over three of those inches planted in the wheelbase. That’s where you get the extra rear legroom.
If you love the MINI Cooper and plan to carry friends or kids often, the Clubman probably makes a better choice for you. The rest of the added inches landed in the back, giving the Clubman more cargo room behind the rear seat (9.2 cubic feet versus 5.7 for the Cooper hardtop). Fold the individual rear seatbacks down and access 32.8 cubic feet, compared to 24 cubic feet for the hardtop. The Clubman does a better job at carrying longer things than the hardtop, too.
You might recall that the MINI Cooper line received a plethora of upgrades for the 2011 model year including more powerful engines, new exterior and interior design features and spiffy new options. For 2012, there are even more spiffy choices. You can opt for the lower section of the rear pillars painted in body color when you choose Laser Blue, White Silver, British Racing Green II, Eclipse Gray or Pepper White.
With the new-for-2012 MINI Yours program, you can select from among more premium and even very exclusive options for upholstery, trim and exterior colors. Such premium customization follows a British tradition that has normally been reserved for the luxury models. The MINI Soda Packages include special paint colors, wheels, mirrors, upholstery and exterior tattoos for example. Get them all together and there’s a package savings, too. The Cross Check Cloth/Leather combo in Polar Beige is a knockout to see and sit in.
Come in and fight your way through the hoards of new MINI models to take a closer look at the roomy 2012 MINI Cooper Clubman.
