Although it will by now be obvious which way the vote went, there was some doubt in the CARkeys office as to whether we should review the MINI Clubvan at all, since, unlike the sort of thing you usually see on these pages, it's classed as a commercial vehicle.This is not a new idea. It actually dates back to 1960. But the Clubvan is the first "new" BMW-owned commercial MINI and it represents yet another attempt to force the original hatchback into a niche market where a few more sales may be found.It's an understandable policy, but not one which I feel always produces results that were worth producing. If the Countryman, for example, had never been invented, well, I think that would have been okay.I like the Clubvan, though, partly because it's amusingly quaint and partly because it can also be quite useful. It has no rear seats at all (which is to say that it's about as suitable for four people as the hatcback is) and its load volume is 860 litres, which may well be as much as you'd ever need.MINI suggests that owners of small businesses needing to carry a certain amount of stuff but not too much (caterers, event planners, photographers and whatnot) are in the Clubvan's target market, along with adventure hobbyists who with equipment to carry and no intention of transporting more than two people. In this case, I think MINI has got it spot on.But MINI is not quite playing with a straight bat when it says that the Clubvan has five doors. Strictly speaking, it does, but two of them are, as on the Clubman, very small, and while they're as cute as get out they're more fiddly to use than a single door, or perhaps a tailgate, would be.Another one is even smaller. This, as on the Clubman once again, is the Clubdoor, which offers access to the front of the luggage compartment. Not a bad idea, except that it's on the right-hand side of the car, which is completely wrong for the UK market.Hyundai has a single rear door on the Veloster coupé, and it goes to the trouble of putting that door on the correct side for right- and left-hand drive markets. MINI doesn't, leading to the bizarre situation that the Clubdoor is wrongly positioned for the country in which the vehicle is built.Practicality is not helped, either, by a load sill a few inches above floor level, betraying the Clubvan's non-commercial origins.Still, if someone wanted a really practical van they'd buy a Transit or something of that sort. And it probably doesn't hurt that this MINI doesn't feel especially vannish. It definitely doesn't sound it - you might expect a lot of tinny echoing from the rear, but upholstery and other coverings on the floor, walls and roof mean that the Clubvan isn't noticeably louder inside than any other MINI (and substantially quieter than the Coupé).It feels very much like a MINI to drive, too. It's not quite as precise as the hatchback, but there's no shortage of the familiar front-end sharpness - nor, less pleasingly, of the tendency to skip around when the road surface gets bumpy.Reasonably enough, MINI isn't building high-powered versions of the Clubvan. The Cooper D tested here is the only diesel, and it uses the rather mild 110bhp engine which, however, seems good enough for the job.The Cooper D is also the most expensive model, with an on-the-road price of £17,055 (owners of VAT-registered companies will know that they can reclaim the VAT element).That's assuming you don't go for any optional extras. The test car had quite a lot of these, and they brought the price up to £22,310. Your local dealer will have all the information about this, but I ought to mention the Media Pack (including satellite navigation, full Bluetooth preparation and voice control) at £1340, the Pepper Pack (including air-conditioning, front foglights, less comprehensive Bluetooth preparation and a trip computer) at £975, black leather upholstery at £920 and - definitely not for me, these - 17" black alloy wheels at a not inconsiderably alarming £1130. Engine 1598cc, 4 cylinders Power 110bhp Transmission 6-speed manual Fuel/CO2 72.4mpg / 103g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.2 seconds Top speed 122mph Price £17,055 (including VAT) Details correct at publication date
Our Rating
