Of the 1 568
MINI cars sold in
South Africa in 2019 so far, about 40% are
Clubman and
Countryman. These are two of
MINI’s three cars with
5 doors, including the
MINI 5 door. The
Clubman has now been updated as well as uprated, while the
Countryman received a hotter version as well. So we are here to tell you about the updated
MINI Cooper Clubman,
MINI Clubman John Cooper Works and
Countryman John Cooper Works.
John Cooper Works (JCW) is basically what M is to
BMW; a high-performance brand for the
MINI range that adds a bag of spices to what many already consider the performance benchmark in its class. So
Clubman is a
5-door MINI with a unique
fifth door system that splits in the middle and opens outward. Like a truck trailer. Some of the new highlights include
LED headlights with
Matrix for the
high beam,
standard LED rear lights (optional
Union Jack design), new
light alloy wheels –
16 to 18-inch -, new exterior colours and of course a new
front grille.
Much of the interior centres around the
infotainment system with its large
16.5cm touch screen which can also be accessed via the
rotary knob at the centre console. The standard
sound system comes with
6 speakers,
USB port, and
Bluetooth connection. Buyers can opt for the bigger
22.3cm screen with
satellite navigation and
wireless charging for compatible smartphones.
The
Clubman JCW comes with extras like
19-inch alloy wheels in two-tone colours, a more rigid,
sportier chassis,
John Cooper Works logos on the
front grille,
side sills and
rear end. The
front grille itself takes on a
honeycomb pattern, while the
headlights and
rear lights sport a new design. Buyers can also opt for the
contrast paintwork in red for the
roof and
side mirror caps. These apply to the
Countryman JCW as well, but of course that car sits higher than the
Clubman because it is designed as a
crossover/
SUV.
Sports seats and the
JCW multifunction steering wheel are a treat in these cars; both are adjustable to suit the driver’s needs and offer a really sporty feeling.
I experienced exactly this sporty feeling when I drove both cars in
Mpumalanga during what felt like an endless ribbon of roads.
Mpumalanga really needs to fix its massive pothole problem though, and two of my colleagues learned this the hard way when their cars got punctures along the road.
Fortunately nobody got hurt. Otherwise the cars handled themselves with exceptional aplomb. I was especially impressed by the improved
Countryman JCW, which is now more powerful and feels lighter, more agile around fast curvy roads.
Baseline Cooper Countryman comes with a
3-cylinder, 1.5-litre turbocharged engine that produces
100kW of power, a claimed
9.2 seconds over the 0 – 100km/h sprint, a
top speed of 205km/h and
average fuel consumption of 5.4 litres per 100km. The
Cooper S Clubman makes
141kW from its
2.0-litre turbo engine, is said to
sprint from standstill to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds,
top off at 228km/h and
average 5.6 litres per 100km. Both cars are driven by a
standard 7-speed double-clutch automatic transmission through the front wheels. Of course there is also the
Clubman John Cooper Works and
Countryman John Cooper Works. These two use the same
2.0-litre turbo motor to produce
225kW and 450Nm each. Both come with
a
slick 8-speed automatic gearbox. In addition to that,
MINI has installed
All4 all-wheel-drive into these cars to maximise grip. It works. The result is that the
Clubman JCW can dash from
0 – 100km/h in 4.9 seconds, while the
Countryman JCW does the same in
5.1 seconds, according to
MINI’s own figures.
Both can reach
250km/h. Impressive figures all round. Where they disappoint is in the aural pleasures. Sure the
twin exhaust tailpipes emit some nice standard sounds, but they fail to ignite the senses when changing gears. No snap, no crackle, no pop. Essentially no
vrrrrrrr pha. Hopefully the upcoming
MINI GP will deal with that shortcoming decisively.
