MINI Clubvan road test - smart businesses need smart vans

MINI Clubvan road test – smart businesses need smart vans

All the style and presence of the MINI has been carried into the van version of the MINI Clubman. Perfect for image conscious businesses.

G By Glynn Williams

22 February 2013 4 min read

MINI Clubvan 1.6 Cooper D

What is it?

The van version of the MINI Clubman estate car, the new MINI Clubvan expands the range of small, usable car-derived vans at a stroke, joining the likes of the Fiesta Van, Corsavan and Punto Van. There are three models, two petrol and one diesel.

The two petrol Clubvan models are the One 1.6 with 98hp; and the Cooper 1.6 with 122hp. But the model we’re testing here is the most popular – the diesel Cooper D Clubvan, the four-cylinder 1.6 diesel producing 112hp. But power is not what you need to worry about: the Cooper D Clubvan’s torque is a really handy 270Nm. That means the Cooper D Clubvan is something of a pocket rocket, those great reserves of torque sending it speeding down the road, but perhaps more importantly, providing excellent around town drivability. The MINI Cooper D Clubvan costs £13,600 ex VAT. For a contract hire business lease, MINI Business Partnership has a lease rate of £225 a month.

What’s hot

Those great looks – far better than the donor Clubman car
Longer wheelbase of Clubman means better ride quality; ours had 17 inch optional alloys with winter tyres, which meant the ride was sportily firm, but still compliant
MINI’s point and squirt fun nature transferred successfully to the Clubvan; you can’t help smiling when you drive this van, helped by precise six-speed manual gearbox (just don’t get carried away by the handling when you’ve got a load in the back!)
The ‘suicide’ door comes into its own in the Clubvan – making the long load bay more accessible
‘Suicide’ door on driver’s side – criticised on the Clubman – actually provides quick access to the load area to grab jackets, bags, and so on
Rear doors swing open 90 degrees for easy access to rear load area
Additional overhead lighting, two 12V power sockets in the rear and six load rings give the Clubvan useful practicality
860 litres of load space in the rear
Exceptional 72.4mpg beats Fiestavan (64.2mpg) and Citroen Nemo (62.8mpg) – we saw 47.3mpg recorded during our test
103g/km CO2 emissions with auto stop/start fuel saving
Great specification: standard bulkhead (mesh at the top with aluminium lower section), DAB digital radio, 15 inch alloy wheels, air conditioning
Plenty of signwriting potential to advertise your business
Premium nature of MINI brand can enhance your business status