I'm sure you've heard this one before. Chap is walking through unfamiliar countryside and stops a local to ask how to get to Banbury (or wherever it might be). "Banbury?" says the local. "Well, if I was going to Banbury, I wouldn't start from here."The MINI Clubman reminds me of that joke. If your starting point is that you want a smallish estate car, this is probably not the one for you. It's not especially practical, it has too many fussy design elements, and at over £15,000 it's way too expensive, even if MINI residual values are so strong that you're likely to get a lot of that back at resale time.If, on the other hand, you begin the process by wanting a MINI of some sort but need more space than the hatchback provides, this is exactly the car you want.You may or may not consider that the styling involved in creating the Clubman from the more conventional MINI has been successful. During this test I asked several people what they thought about the car's looks, and their replies ranged from "I quite like it" to "God, that thing looks foul".Be that as it may, there's no doubt that the transition has been a big success in terms of interior space. The Clubman is 24cm longer than the hatch, and all the extra room is provided from the centre of the car back. Unlike the hatch, the Clubman is at least worth considering if you need to carry four adults (though legroom in the rear is still quite limited), and luggage capacity of 260-930 litres, depending on whether or not you fold down the rear seat, is outstandingly better than the hatch's 160-680 litres.One feature which seems particularly cute is the so-called Clubdoor, a rear-hinged door allowing access to the back seat from the right of the car only. For UK buyers, right is wrong in this case, since you're obliged either to park on the far side of the road to allow passengers to enter and exit from the pavement or to put them at the mercy of traffic in the middle of the highway. This is just tough luck, since it would be far too complex and expensive to put the door on the left (the fuel tank is in the way) and MINI ain't going to do that.Speaking of doors, there are two in place of what would be a tailgate on any other modern estate. This actually follows the practice of the original Mini estates from the 1960s, but the problem is that there isn't much glass area, and the resulting large central blind spot removes what minimal visibility is left over once you've peered through the three headrests.Nevertheless, things like this serve as talking points and are therefore likely to appeal to MINI fans. And the Clubman also has several aspects which are unique to MINI, such as the quite extraordinary handling.The suspension had to be considerably rethought to take into account the possibility of extra loads being carried, and this has made a world of difference to the ride quality, which is not usually a MINI strong point. Some of the perkiness has been dulled as a result, but even in this form you get fantastic turn-in and excellent balance through corners.There's not much you can do to disturb the handling if you pick the Cooper D tested here. Its 1.6-litre turbo diesel engine (developed by BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen, and in this case assembled in the UK from parts created in France) produces 110bhp, and the chassis handles that with ease.As with other MINI diesel models, this one has a bit of a problem with noise suppression. The engine sounds clattery in gentle driving, though by the time you get beyond 50mph the dominant noise has become the rumble from the tyres.None of this is terribly intrusive, though, and if you do find your ears are starting to hurt you can always console yourself by thinking about the fuel economy. On one long run involving motorways and twisty A-roads the trip computer informed me that I'd averaged almost exactly 60mpg, and I'm always happy when that happens.Later on I became involved in a monster traffic jam and took nearly an hour to cover five miles. Fuel consumption should have been catastrophic, but in this case it wasn't thanks to the Stop/Start system which shut down the engine every time I came to a halt and restarted it as I pressed the clutch pedal.This is one of several features introduced to the MINI range last year which have seen the brand's fuel economy and CO2 ratings improve dramatically. You might not regularly match the combined figure of 55.4mpg (certainly not if you push hard enough to experience the car's handling to the full), but the official 109g/km CO2 emissions mean that you won't spend more than £35 annually on Vehicle Excise Duty for at least the next couple of years. Engine 1560 cc, 4 cylinders Power 110 bhp @4000 rpm Torque 192 ib/ft @1750 rpm Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 68.9 mpg / 109 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.4sec Top speed 120 mph Price From £15726.00 approx Release date 10/11/2007
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