MINI Clubman review - Interior, design and technology
Unique inside and out, the Clubman still offers something different to the norm
From the A-pillars forward, the Clubman is identical to the five-door hatchback on which it's based. From that point backwards, the love-it-or-hate-it shooting brake body style is unique. It looks like an estate but proportionally it’s the size of a hatchback and is designed to look far more mainstream than the old Clubman model with its rear-hinged ‘club door’ on one side of the car.
Inside, the dashboard is pure MINI and it gets a unique design over the standard hatchback to mark it out as the more premium model, these include an LED trimmed centre display and fighter jet-style toggle switches.
Below the centre console is a handy storage compartment, two USB plugs and two large cupholders ahead of the gearstick. The centre armrest can be folded up out of the way and can also be specced with an integrated mobile phone compartment.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
As MINI is owned by BMW, this means that it can take advantage of the iDrive infotainment system. This system is used in the Clubman and is operated via an intuitive swivel wheel on the centre console.
The lack of a touchscreen isn’t as frustrating as it may initially seem, though, as this system is easy to use and doesn’t suffer from fingerprint smudges on the screen. All models get an 8.8-inch screen, serving as a display for infotainment, phone and navigation functions. Apple CarPlay is included but there's no support for Android Auto.
