Ever since BMW took the reigns at Mini the designers have been able to keep the looks of the original Mini Cooper but at the same time deliver a breath of fresh air with each redesign. All the familiar lines are still there: the rounded instrument cluster, the rounded head lamps, etc, but yet, each time the model receives an update it seems to get prettier and prettier but is still endowed with a sense of familiarity.
The latest generation of the Mini Clubman has received the John Cooper Works(JCW) treatment and is scheduled to make an appearance at this year’s Paris Motor Show. Mini is touting this as their flagship model and say that it will offer the best combination of practicality and fun. In terms of practicality the Mini Clubman as standard has seating room for five adults and a boot volume of 360 litres. This can be enlarged by lowering the back row of seats to gain additional space and stretch the boot volume to 1250 litres. As an option the rear seats can have a 40:20:40 split meaning that each seat can be lowered down individually to suit the need.
The 2.0 litre engine on offer produces 170kw(231hp)of power between 5000-6000rpm and has a torque output of 350Nm between 1450-4800rpm. This is able to deliver a 0-100kph time of 6.3 s in both the manual and automatic and a top speed of 238kph.The engine is coupled to a six speed manual gear box as standard or the optional 8 speed steptronic gear box. All wheel drive is standard to ensure all weather ability.
The JCW Clubman comes as standard with a Brembo braking system, 18 inch alloy wheels and a sports exhaust. Exterior changes include a John Cooper Works rear spoiler, a JCW logo on the front radiator grille,side scuttles and on the rear end. The body is finished in Rebel Green with black/red body stripes available as options.
The JCW has a claimed fuel economy of 7.4 litres/100km for the manual and 6.8 litres for the automatic.
