Mini Clubman John Cooper Works review

Like a normal Mini Clubman in here - the main differences being tarty seats, a schporty steering wheel and various bits of trim. It remains, therefore, a car you buy in spite of its practicality, not because of it. 

Might look like a little estate, but it isn’t really. There are some clever touches in the boot, such as a deep under-floor storage compartment and a few pockets, but the overall capacity is still only 360-litres. That’s 10-litres smaller than the Mercedes A35, but bigger than the Golf or S3. 

And those doors are hopelessly impractical. They need a fair bit of clearance to pop open and when they do, spring out with such force they could knock a small child off their feet. Plus, it means rear visibility is compromised by the split in the rear-window. 

Space in the back is tight for taller adults, but the seats are comfy enough wherever you’re sitting. Quality is broadly fine, though you can find scratchy plastics if you actively look for them. 

The infotainment system, meanwhile, is a re-skinned BMW unit (and not its most recent one), operable by either touch or rotary controller on the centre console. It’s basically fine, but while Mini’s changes have made it much more interesting to look at, it’s no longer quite so straightforward to use. 

The rear seats get a couple of USB-C ports all to themselves. Remember your adapters...