Used 2023 MINI Clubman

The 2023 Mini Clubman subcompact wagon is a wonderful anomaly. Not only is its body shape out of the ordinary, but it also has some serious driver appeal, occupies a space between mainstream and premium cars, and comes with unmistakable Mini charisma.

Part of the overall Mini attraction is the way you can personalize it with a choice of stripes, colors, contrasting roofs, and different wheels. For 2023, the Mini Clubman, in Signature and Iconic trim, can be ordered with a multi-tone roof in blue, white, or red. The Clubman also has a dimension of practicality, with space for four adults, a useful luggage area, and available all-wheel drive.

For those whose attitudes and tastes don’t run on the same tracks as everyone else, anomalies like the 2023 Clubman are always welcome.

Although the purest iteration of Mini driving thrills is the Hardtop 2 Door — with its smaller, shorter body — the 2023 Clubman still has plenty of goods to deliver. There’s certainly nothing lacking in the 189-horsepower Cooper S engine, despite the greater thrills coming in the John Cooper Works version.

There’s a certain way the steering responds to driver inputs, quick and precise, that is archetypal Mini. It’s always a pleasure, enlivening the commute and turning chores into joys. Those who need more interior space than a 2 Door Mini can provide, and are happy to forgo that final degree of amusement, will find the Clubman both useful and entertaining.

Having all-wheel drive in the Cooper S could be good for people who live in areas that usually have bad winters. Otherwise, a front-drive version will be fine.

It makes sense for the John Cooper Works car to drive all four wheels as standard, however. The effective application of 301 horsepower to the road requires more rubber than just the two front tires.

Up front, the 2023 Clubman has all the typical Mini attributes of aircraft-style switches, a thick-rimmed steering wheel, and the larger circular screen in the center of the dashboard. It’s spacious enough for adults of up to average size, and achieving an ideal driving position doesn’t take long. The Clubman’s reason for being, though, goes on behind the front seats.

Because the Clubman is longer than the Mini Hardtop 4 Door, there’s more rear legroom, 34.3 inches, an advantage of a couple of inches. Again, it’s completely bearable for those of average size. It also has seating for a total of five people, vs. the four of the 2 Door models.

Then there’s the extra cargo-carrying capacity. The usual luggage area measures 17.5 cubic feet. With the rear seats folded, that expands to 47.9 cubic feet. Mini offers the option of splitting and folding the rear seats in a 40/20/40 configuration, while the standard arrangement is 60/40.

The new Untold package includes sage green leather upholstery that complements the exterior paintwork.

Like the interior, it’s all the usual Mini fare in the front portion. Beyond the middle pillar is when the car becomes the Clubman. It has a pair of rear passenger doors, plus a wagon-esque rear end that helps with headroom and cargo capacity alike. The side-hinged double rear doors are flanked by taillights bearing a British flag (Union Jack) design.

This year sees the 2023 Clubman become eligible for Mini’s multi-tone roof option. As well as offering a top in a contrasting color, the company has a feature where three bands of colors go across the roof.

Most of the Untold package consists of particular exterior treatments, such as exclusive 18-inch alloy wheels, sage green paint, and brass highlights.

BACK DOORS
These are what make the 2023 Clubman special. They open out in a “barn door” manner rather than opening in the upward direction via a roof-mounted hinge. It’s a little homage to the Clubmans of old when a British company owned mini, and the electrical systems never worked properly. Ah, happy days. Actually, this way makes perfect sense — otherwise, users might bash their chins if it was a conventional tailgate.

DYNAMIC DAMPER CONTROL
Most buyers of the John Cooper Works models will like the fact that its model-specific standard sport suspension is firm enough for cornering shenanigans. But for those who’d like the best of both worlds, this optional adaptive suspension allows drivers to switch between sporty and comfort settings.

All three 2023 Clubman models (Cooper S, Cooper S ALL4, and JCW) come in Signature and Iconic trim levels.

A front-drive Cooper S in Signature trim has 16-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic moonroof, heated seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, an 8.8-inch touchscreen, a 6-speaker audio system, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. As an Iconic model, the Cooper S Clubman gets a choice of 16- or 17-inch alloy wheels, premium leather upholstery, touchscreen aviation, Apple CarPlay, wireless smartphone charging, a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, a head-up display, and a premium Harman Kardon sound system.

A Cooper S Clubman ALL4 model in Signature trim gets all-wheel drive, 16-inch all wheels, a panoramic moonroof, heated seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, and ambient interior lighting. In Iconic trim, the Cooper S ALL4 comes with 16- or 17-inch alloy wheels, premium leather upholstery, upgraded touchscreen navigation, a head-up display, a wireless charger, and the premium 6-speaker Hardon Kardon stereo.

As a John Cooper Works Clubman ALL4 in Signature trim, this Mini wagon gets 16-inch wheels, a panoramic moonroof, additional paint colors, heated seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, and ambient interior lighting. Iconic trim means the availability of all possible paint colors and contrasting roofs, plus a selection of premium leather upholstery, 16- or 17-inch alloy wheels, Apple CarPlay, a head-up display, wireless smartphone charging, and a heated steering wheel covered in Nappa leather.

Advanced safety features are not that advanced for an almost-premium new car in 2023 — just forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, and lane-departure warning.

The infotainment system is based around an 8.8-inch touchscreen, bringing Bluetooth, satellite radio, and six speakers. Apple CarPlay is available, but not Android Auto.

Options on the Cooper S in Signature and Iconic trim include a 40/20/40 split rear seat, roof rails, an anti-theft alarm, a space-saver spare tire, and all-season tires. You can also order various bonnet (hood) stripes and a premium package that includes power front seats, power-folding mirrors, and a universal garage door opener.

On the Mini Cooper S Clubman ALL4, the options are similar to those on the standard Cooper S, but you can also get a Driver Assistance package that includes a head-up display and a parking assistance program. Leather upholstery also is available as an option on the Signature version.

The same options, apart from the black headliner, are available on the John Cooper Works Clubman models. But the JCW also can be ordered with the Driver Assistance package that includes a head-up display and a parallel parking aid. You can also order an upgraded navigation system and a richer grade of interior leather on the JCW.

Note: The Driver Assistance package now consists of just the head-up display and parking assistance, no adaptive cruise control. This means the Driver Assistance package now can be ordered with the manual transmission. Adaptive cruise control, which used to be part of the package, is now an individual extra offered on variants with automatic transmissions. Blind-spot monitoring isn’t even on the options list.

A turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine propels every version of the 2023 Clubman. Starting with the Cooper S, there’s 189 horsepower and 206 lb-ft of torque going either to the front wheels (FWD) in standard form or to the optional all-wheel-drive (AWD) system.

A 6-speed manual transmission is standard with the FWD setup in the Cooper S, with a 7-speed automated transmission offered as the 2-pedal option. With the AWD system, an 8-speed automatic is the sole transmission.

All-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic transmission are both standard in the John Cooper Works ALL4 version, whose engine deploys variable valve lift, generating 301 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque.

Premium gasoline is recommended for both engines. The fuel economy estimates for the Cooper S from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relate to 2022, but we don’t expect any changes for 2023. The fuel economy figures for the JCW model are correct for 2023.

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 (Cooper S)
189 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
206 lb-ft of torque @ 4,600 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 23/33 mpg (FWD, manual), 25/35 mpg (FWD, auto), 23/32 mpg (AWD, auto)

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 (John Cooper Works ALL4)
301 horsepower @ 6,250 rpm
331 lb-ft of torque 4,500 @ rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 23/31 mpg