Mini Clubman ride & handling

It operates with handling responses that are likely to be much more in tune with most people’s frequency of inputs – and that’s probably the Mini Clubman’s biggest dynamic success.

Drive above everyday speeds, hard through a few corners, and you’ll find that it’s game and sprightly, hanging onto the road fairly hard and communicating grip levels quite well through its controls.

It generates less lateral grip in outright terms than other hatchbacks because of its stiff rear end and its inability to roll – and therefore falls victim to roll-understeer more than you might expect. But not before it has amused you with its initial agility.

Could the car ride better? Of course it could. Shortness of travel in the suspension makes the ride quite reactive over a choppy B-road – or at least it did on the standard passive damping of our test car. The firmer damper settings of Mini’s variable damper system may help it there, however. Similarly, smaller rims and non-run-flat tyres might take a bit of the apparent edge out of the car’s often thumpy secondary ride.

The Clubman takes to hard driving with an eagerness and zeal similar to that found in any of its range-mates. Shunning body roll for immediate steering response just off centre, it tucks in to corners in super-keen fashion but differentiates itself by flowing from turn-in point to apex with much more of a natural progression than shorter-wheelbase Minis, in turn allowing you to feed in steering angle gradually and get a feel for the grip level underneath you.

The stiffness of the car’s suspension prevents it from rolling hard enough to create extremes of lateral grip, instead creating roll-understeer in the car’s handling and pushing the front wheels wide in tighter corners. For that reason, patience in reapplying power on the corner’s exit is advisable — although the Clubman’s DSC and DTC systems prevent any unseemly scrabbling from the front end.