Our new "big" car...

[darren 192]

After 9 years and 270,000+ kilometres, our Golf was still running great, but starting to exhibit those legendary old-German-car-electrical-gremlins. She was on the verge of needing some pretty extensive work to keep her and her occupants safe, so we decided it was time to let it go before it let us down. She'll be sadly missed, as she was a great little car and served us EXTREMELY well over the time we had her.

After considering a list of a few vehicles, including the Toyota Matrix and RAV4, the Honda CR-V, the Mercedes B200 and the Mazda 3, we traded her in towards a brand-new 2008 MINI Cooper Clubman a couple of months ago.

We can't say enough about this car. While we had some new car "teething" issues at first, it's settled in and is just fantastic. Not quite as roomy as the Golf in some dimensions, but plenty big enough for us and our golden retriever, occasional stuff and other passengers. There are all kinds of great little details that are really well thought out in the interior design. It's comfortable, quiet, and even with only 115 horsepower, the six-speed manual gearbox is a delight and the car is plenty peppy and drives like it's on rails.

The split rear doors and extra "half door" on the passenger side are perfect (we just wish there were another half-door on the driver's side).

We're also getting fantastic fuel economy. A 50-litre fillup will take us 750-800 km or more in mixed city/highway driving. Cruising on the highway, it's generally sipping around 4.3 L/100 km and cruising along Lakeshore at 60 km/h i can usually get it into the high 3's. (Why don't ALL cars come with real-time fuel consumption readouts?)

Loving this car! And it's really spoiled me for having a true manual transmission (took lessons and everything!). My only regret is that this is Laurie's car and i hardly ever get to drive it!

[Gent 1]

Nice!I really enjoyed test driving the Clubman!

[B Tisshaw 0]

NICE!

Now if you tell me that the interior is biscuit, fawn, ecru, chamois, or whatever color that light tan leather is called,

I will turn green with envy, right in front of your eyes.

BTW my 16 year old son fell in love with that exact color Clubman at the Montreal car show, "sweet ride" I think was the

term he used.

[MikeT 744]

Yes they are interesting, a MINI with a useful rear seat (I almost fit) and Peugeot-built engine. I would be curious about your lifetime fuel economy with that car, do you track it?

[ARTZ 0]

I think that is a great little car.

[Nextourer 1]

Congrats! I loved driving the Clubman at the MINI event. I love the piano black lacquer.

[Razorback 0]

Nice pictures. Do you live on a hillside?

[Dang 0]

Fantastic car!I came >< this close to buying one. Got taken with a used SLK instead, but really really liked the clubman. Enjoy the new ride (if you ever get to ride in it.)Cheers! Dang

[yolanda 0]

Nice car, I especially like the wheels on it, very lovely.

[deezle 0]

I love it---great color choice, too.I'd be much more inclined to buy one if the Canadian prices were inline with the U.S. ones. It seems that Canadians are being outright robbed of $5000--- which really pisses me off---enough to make me steer clear of the dealership and the vehicle.

[darren 192]

Yes they are interesting, a MINI with a useful rear seat (I almost fit) and Peugeot-built engine. I would be curious about your lifetime fuel economy with that car, do you track it?

Not with spritmonitor... just with the onboard computer, and by "how many km did we get on the last fill-up?". So far, we're very impressed.

[darren 192]

Congrats! I loved driving the Clubman at the MINI event. I love the piano black lacquer.

The piano black is nice when it's clean and new, but it's a magnet for dust, fingerprints and scratches. We went with the plain silver interior with some chrome accents.

[MikeT 744]

Not with spritmonitor... just with the onboard computer, and by "how many km did we get on the last fill-up?". So far, we're very impressed.

Beware the OBC; if I tracked my B 200's economy only with that, I would think it's actually doing a lifetime of 6.95 L/100 (actually it's 7.45).

[Nextourer 1]

The piano black is nice when it's clean and new, but it's a magnet for dust, fingerprints and scratches. We went with the plain silver interior with some chrome accents.

ahh I see... all the more to keep it shiny .ooh.. the interior chrome package right? (I forget what it's called). It looks spiffy.

[darren 192]

ooh.. the interior chrome package right? (I forget what it's called). It looks spiffy.

Indeed! Normally, i'm not a big fan of extra "bling" but the chrome package is subtle, adding just enough sparkle to keep things from being dull.

It adds a chrome perimeter and crossbar on the lower front grille (helps tie it in to the upper grille) and chrome "cups" around the fog/running lights. On the interior, it adds thin chrome rings around the air vents and gauge faces, and chrome trim on the shift knob and parking brake handle.

[darren 192]

Beware the OBC; if I tracked my B 200's economy only with that, I would think it's actually doing a lifetime of 6.95 L/100 (actually it's 7.45).

We don't feel the need to track it in great detail. Having real-time fuel consumption data in the instrument cluster helps us manage our driving style, and as long as we're getting relatively consistent mileage per tank, we know things are all within spec.I've stopped tracking the mileage on my smart, because no matter how many tanks i add to spritmonitor, it doesn't really seem to alter the lifetime fuel consumption numbers at this point. I entered every tank for long enough to see the patterns and have everything average out over a few seasons, but i think i've learned what i needed to from the exercise.

[Nextourer 1]

Indeed! Normally, i'm not a big fan of extra "bling" but the chrome package is subtle, adding just enough sparkle to keep things from being dull.

It adds a chrome perimeter and crossbar on the lower front grille (helps tie it in to the upper grille) and chrome "cups" around the fog/running lights. On the interior, it adds thin chrome rings around the air vents and gauge faces, and chrome trim on the shift knob and parking brake handle.

mmm subtly... I like that.

[Steve C. 0]

hey darren...congrats on the new ride !! thats 2 cool cars in the driveway now!! ive mentioned it before on here, the mini is by far one of the most beautifully designed interiors of any car ive ever seen. from a design standpoint, its a fantastic dash, very modern and high-tech looking. i love it. i considered the convertible mini in that burnt orange colour before getting a second smart instead. post a few pix of the dash if you get a chance. now i'll look for a smart or a clubman at canadian tire next time i'm there (case we run into one another again). steve.

[smartzuuk 167]

Totally cool. I like the Clubman. If the price was a bit closer to the US price, I'd probably get one. In BC with a 6 speed, you save $1000 on PST now too, plus the federal $1000 rebate.

[drewfuspx 0]

My wife and I are still hardcore into the smart car idea... but we're seeing what else is around that 20,000 dollar price range and some of the Mini's fit into that category. I'm stoked to take a ride in one of them!

[Gent 1]

If I was in the market now with the CDI and/or Brabus turbo smarts unavailable, I know I'd have a tough choice. I like several cars across different price points, The mini line, the Honda Fit sport - all appeal to me for different reasons.

[Steve C. 0]

well, we just picked up a new car also, our "big" car should also be our last gasoline vehicle. the lease on our echo was up, and toyota offered us plenty of incentive to stay with them (paid the last 2 lease payments for us, the first new payment, got 2.9% financing on a brand new 08 yaris, and basically we are paying only $20 month more than we were before, for a 4 year newer car, so all in all a good deal).i was considering a 3rd smart vehicle (im on my second, this could be jackies first), talking jackie into the fold as it were, and having matching smarts in the driveway. so lame, next it would have been matchy sweaters at xmas...no thanks !!so, we decided also to just lease instead of buy, our original intention. not only is it about $100month cheaper, but in 4 years time, we hand back the keys, the car, say thanks, and walk away...straight into an EV. i figure 2010 looks like the big year for electric vehicles, and by 2012 with the bugs worked out, and longer battery life, this should be our last gasser. finally, the end is in sight. we will get great gas mileage from our little yaris, we loved the echo hatchback we had, room for 4, cheap to operate, and the yaris is a more modern version of it, more rounded and compact. i cant wait for 2012 to see what our choices will be for an EV by then. Edited October 3, 2008 by Steve C.

[Duck 16]

Great stuff, it'll serve you well! It's a good car.-Iain

[steveyfrac 73]

well, we just picked up a new car also, our "big" car should also be our last gasoline vehicle. the lease on our echo was up, and toyota offered us plenty of incentive to stay with them (paid the last 2 lease payments for us, the first new payment, got 2.9% financing on a brand new 08 yaris, and basically we are paying only $20 month more than we were before, for a 4 year newer car, so all in all a good deal).i was considering a 3rd smart vehicle (im on my second, this could be jackies first), talking jackie into the fold as it were, and having matching smarts in the driveway. so lame, next it would have been matchy sweaters at xmas...no thanks !!so, we decided also to just lease instead of buy, our original intention. not only is it about $100month cheaper, but in 4 years time, we hand back the keys, the car, say thanks, and walk away...straight into an EV. i figure 2010 looks like the big year for electric vehicles, and by 2012 with the bugs worked out, and longer battery life, this should be our last gasser. finally, the end is in sight. we will get great gas mileage from our little yaris, we loved the echo hatchback we had, room for 4, cheap to operate, and the yaris is a more modern version of it, more rounded and compact. i cant wait for 2012 to see what our choices will be for an EV by then.

My big car is an Echo too! It's got over 100k on it, it's never skipped a beat, just keeps trucking. Amazing little vehicle.