Clarkson on the MINI Clubman: ‘…it’s one of the worst cars in the world.’

Sometimes when we write here, at eGMCarTech, we try to keep a ‘Clarkson’ tone in our mind. But as much as we try we can never be as blunt and brutally outspoken about the cars we write about. We’ll just leave it up to Mr. Clarkson himself. In his recent review of the MINI Clubman, Clarkson does not hesitate to say that “Unfortunately, after a week, I have decided it”s one of the worst cars in the world. About as desirable as a packet of dung or a can of worms. Truthfully? I”d rather have a goat.” Could it really be that bad?

We had the chance to catch the Clubman at the LA Auto Show, and were pretty impressed by the design and functionality BMW built into it. However, Clarkson does point out some very good points.

Click through to read his view on the Clubman.

“The first problem is the single rear passenger door. It”s on the right-hand side of the car, which is fine if you live in Germany or America, where everyone drives on the wrong side of the road – pull up at the kerb and your kids get out onto the pavement. But here in Britain, where we do things properly, your kids are forced to get out into the traffic.

Then there”s the boot. Yes, access is good, and yes, you get 100 more litres of space than you do in the normal Mini. But it”s still pretty small. As that September review pointed out, the boot in a Honda Jazz is 100 litres bigger.

Furthermore, you can see out of the back of a Honda Jazz. You can see out of the back of most cars, in fact. Seeing out of the back is jolly useful and is one of the reasons the Lamborghini Countach was not a big seller. But you can”t see out of the back of a Mini Clubman. Glance in the rear-view mirror and all you can see is the pillar where the two doors meet.

It”s a good job that speeding is now monitored by civil servants in vans, because there”s no way you”d see a police car if it were on your tail. And it”s a doubly good job because the natural cruising speed of the Clubman S is 110mph.”

Head over to TimesOnline to read his full review.

 

2008 MINI Cooper S Clubman Gallery:

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Source: TimesOnline

[tags]Cars, Car, Auto, Automobile, Vehicles, Technology, Auto News, News, Automotive, BMW, MINI[/tags]