The rebirth of the MINI was much more successful than BMW originally envisaged at its 2001 launch.

BMW planned for 100,000 global sales per year, but sold 222,000 in 2007 - and production is now being ramped up to 260,000. The masses clearly love this vehicle.
 
But for those looking for a little more room in their MINI, here's the MINI Clubman, with a longer wheel base and body, and a rear-hinged door on the driver's side to give more access to the back row. That it's on the driver's side is a carryover from the left-hand drive markets, and there's been a bit of grumbling about the door opening into the traffic. But unless you're parallel parking all the time, it's probably not going to be an issue.

The Clubman is almost identical to the hard-top up to the A-pillar, but is 239mm longer and the wheelbase is stretched 80mm (which translates to 77mm more legroom).  Rather than the hard-top's gentle dome profile, the Clubman's roof has an upright line that runs to the spoiler lip above the rear doors, which have a contrasting sill colour that harks back to the wood-framing on the early MINIs.

The rear door is a split pair allowing you to get into the 260 litres of cargo capacity. That's 85 litres more than the hardtop, plus another 250 if you fold down the rear seats. There is an underfloor storage area where the wheel well would have been, as the Clubman is fitted with runflats across the range. Tail lights are attached to the body, so they can still be seen from behind when the doors are open.

To trumpet its grooviness, the newcomer brings a new colour to the range, Hot Chocolate, which is very much in fashion at the moment but runs the risk of being 'so five minutes ago' in about, ooh, five minutes. But there are the same brainfreezing number of paint and interior combinations and available on the other models. And, like them, the Clubman comes as either Cooper or Cooper S, with the additional choice of Chilli spec fit-outs for each.

The cabin is a chic as ever: groovy toggle switches spaced among their tiny 'roll bars', funky shaping to dash and trim, and a speedo the size of an entrée plate. We felt several shades cooler from the instant we slid in there.

As with the other body styles, the Clubman's drive trains are great for the job, but with the longer wheelbase and 80kg more weight - the equivalent of adding another adult - in the Clubman, they've got a bit of extra work to do. It shows up most in the combination of Cooper engine and automatic transmission, where you discover that fully auto mode is best left for urban traffic or relaxed highway cruising.

The sport and simulated manual modes wrung the required zip out of the engine - although the paddles, with their pull-up/press-down action, are more awkward than those where one paddle is up and the other down.

The longer MINI is not quite as nimble around the tight corners, and seems calmer over the rougher stretches. It still feels like a hot hatch, but the heat is less hellish.  It's not yet a family car, but it's as close as you'll get in a MINI.

AUTO SPECS
Price: $34,400 - $49,200
Transmission - 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic
Engine - 1.6-litre petrol, 1.6-litre turbo petrol
Power - 88kW, 160Nm; 128kW, 240Nm
Fuel - combined 5.8/100kms; 6.9/100kms
Good - great leg room and chassis
Bad - noisy cabin

By ANDREW KOCH