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My 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman (manual trans) was fun to drive and I found it to be quite practical for travel and local transport of stuff. One note is that when I pushed it hard, I often noticed the turbo lag but besides that, the car is quite responsive and handles well enough to be quite fun on twisty roads. I would have loved to have kept it but alas didn't have any space available in the garage once the 2019 C2S showed up.
I don't think it's a silly question. I have a 17 Clubman All4S with a manual (I just won't drive anything without a manual). It's my "practical car." While I need at least one car that I can actually carry stuff in (I also installed a hitch and use it to tow my dirt bike), I just can't drive a boring car. The Clubman is a really fun car to drive. I also have a 15 435xi manual coupe. It has the M-sport package and all the performance enhancing options, but it is no where close to being as fun to drive as the Mini. In fact, I'm replacing the 435 with a 992. I've had a couple of Mini loaner cars that were FWD. I am not a fan of FWD cars, and have never driven one the I could live with. But my Clubman with the AWD is really fun and tossable. The shifter is so much more precise than the longish, sloppy one in the 435. My Boxster S has ruined me for most other cars, but I can step out of it and right into the Mini (a freaking station wagon!) and still think the Clubman is a fun, engaging car. On the other hand, every time I drive the 435, I just think about replacing it (but it is a very elegant, pretty car compared to the goofy-cute looks of the Clubman).
I don't think it's a silly question. I have a 17 Clubman All4S with a manual (I just won't drive anything without a manual). It's my "practical car." While I need at least one car that I can actually carry stuff in (I also installed a hitch and use it to tow my dirt bike), I just can't drive a boring car. The Clubman is a really fun car to drive. I also have a 15 435xi manual coupe. It has the M-sport package and all the performance enhancing options, but it is no where close to being as fun to drive as the Mini. In fact, I'm replacing the 435 with a 992. I've had a couple of Mini loaner cars that were FWD. I am not a fan of FWD cars, and have never driven one the I could live with. But my Clubman with the AWD is really fun and tossable. The shifter is so much more precise than the longish, sloppy one in the 435. My Boxster S has ruined me for most other cars, but I can step out of it and right into the Mini (a freaking station wagon!) and still think the Clubman is a fun, engaging car. On the other hand, every time I drive the 435, I just think about replacing it (but it is a very elegant, pretty car compared to the goofy-cute looks of the Clubman).
This is essentially my "problem", Denny--a first world problem, for sure. My 991.2 C2 has spoiled me for my "practical car," a BMW F10 M5 with manual transmission and Competition Package. Especially the M5's steering just feels so imprecise and dumb compared to the 911. I wish I could put four adults (even three) and their ski gear in the 911 but, alas, they would probably hurt themselves trying. Hence consideration of a Clubman S with manual transmission as a more fun to drive car than the M5 but still practical...by the way, keeping the 911. The one thing that put me off regarding the manual transmission Mini I drove was the lack-luster exhaust note. Both my 911 with PSE and M5 with Comp Pac make wonderful exhaust sounds.
Yeah, I agree with you on the exhaust note. It kind of sounds like a polite fly. There are options for improving it, but I always thought they sounded even worse so I just ignore it. It makes me appreciate my 981 more (which is orders of magnitude superior in every way except for it's ability to haul crap). And after all, if the Mini was as good as the 981 in every way, that just wouldn't be right. You can't have everything! I personally don't know of a better option if you want a manual. I'd check out the VW options too, but I don't think that anything with a 4 is going to have decent sound. It's a travesty what BMW has done to the steering in their cars. I dislike the non-defeatable rev matching on the Clubman...but again, you can't have everything I guess...
Yeah, I agree with you on the exhaust note. It kind of sounds like a polite fly. There are options for improving it, but I always thought they sounded even worse so I just ignore it. It makes me appreciate my 981 more (which is orders of magnitude superior in every way except for it's ability to haul crap). And after all, if the Mini was as good as the 981 in every way, that just wouldn't be right. You can't have everything! I personally don't know of a better option if you want a manual. I'd check out the VW options too, but I don't think that anything with a 4 is going to have decent sound. It's a travesty what BMW has done to the steering in their cars. I dislike the non-defeatable rev matching on the Clubman...but again, you can't have everything I guess...
Thanks, Denny. There is a JCW exhaust option for the Clubman S that might sound better but I have no way to hear one that I know of. Very expensive but you also get a somewhat more powerful motor..and a lot cheaper than a complete JCW package. Also, I think you can defeat the auto rev matching by turning off the stability control...I'm not an auto rev matching fan, either.
03-30-2019, 09:14 AM
There are options for improving it, but I always thought they sounded even worse so I just ignore it. It makes me appreciate my 981 more (which is orders of magnitude superior in every way except for it's ability to haul crap). And after all, if the Mini was as good as the 981 in every way, that just wouldn't be right. You can't have everything! I personally don't know of a better option if you want a manual. I'd check out the VW options too, but I don't think that anything with a 4 is going to have decent sound. It's a travesty what BMW has done to the steering in their cars. I dislike the non-defeatable rev matching on the Clubman...but again, you can't have everything I guess...