I picked up my new clubman on 24 Nov.
I am really glad we made the trade from our 06 coupe to this 09 clubbie.
the utility is much improved. $150 groceries loaded and rear seats still up.
2 french horn cases ,folding stands music and the rear seats still up
it is a plausible family car. (our family: daughter in college, son in growth spurt- 9th grade) 18% more shifting fun -from 5 to 6 speeds. same epa ratings, 6 footers fit in the back, 1-touch-up windows etc etc.

BUT, there are some things i miss.

the doors auto-unlocking when i switch off the engine and remove the key.

the lack of rear seat reading lights in the much improved rear seating area seems a true oversight of design.
Anyone know of aftermarket solutions here?

the spherical shift ****

an engine temp gauge.

the ipod/attachment location no longer out of sight.
we got the factory bluetoothprep/ ipod,
not the dealer install on our 09.

the superior arrangement of the lock/unlock buttons on the 06 key. (the functional MINI insignia button, sigh)

I will have to remove the grille to install my trad. mount grille medallion.

Having to spend $200 to monitor the pressure in my steel mounted snows.
Now, this is not so bad. DSC and true pressure sensors on factory wheels for 09 is $1800 of now stock items that were not stock on my '06. so the value is certainly there.

Driving: the car feels deceptively slow. maybe because it is so much smoother and refined from the sporty growl of the 06. I have to keep looking at the speedo, since I tend to think I am going 30 and see it is actually more like 44. my wife loves this smoothness and the better road bump handling. I am liking the same grip in corners as before. Ill learn the new shift conventions before long.

My daughter thinks the hill hold brake feature is "cheating". she learned clutch on our primitive truck and the 06. Happily teaching the next gen of auto curmudgeons.

Wonder if MINI has given any thought to a coupe on the R55 wheelbase?
real room for 4, but a standard coupe Boot.

lars

 

It has been brought up many times that MINIs had to be made larger due to European pedestrian crash standards. I miss the smaller size of my '05 and the gokart feel. I still wonder why they couldn't add a water temperature gauge either. What's up with that? But overall, I am happy as can be with my Clubbie. Oh, I miss my smaller center speedo also.

 

I have an 09 Cooper Clubman. My former car was a n 06 Cooper.

The things that I don't like on the 09 compared to the 06 are,

Along with the afore mentioned items...

The 09 headrests have too much forward tilt to them, the $500 Hi-Fi upgrade was a disappointment, no big cup holder...BUT,

The things I LOVE about the 09 Clubbie outweigh the thing I miss like....

The secret compartment on the dash, 3 position seat heater instead of 2, radio reception is 10 times better on the 09, the seats and the adjusters have are better quality, the 6 speed tranny, only 5 speed in the 06, The digital display on the tach doesn't wash out in the sunlight..

 

We're lucky, we traded in our 05 MC Cabrio, for our Clubman S, but we still have our 03 Cooper, that has over 100k miles and going strong.

There are some goofy things like the auto door unlock not being there, the Bi xenon headlights make having the day time running lights on, pretty much the same as turning on the headlights. Not having a temp gauge IMO is a big oversight on MINI's behalf, probably be installing one in the spring.

But the things we love about the car FAR outweigh these issues.

Mark

 

I much prefer the dashboard design of my '05 R53 S (Looks/functionality) over the dash in the Clubman S, especially the center stack. The Harmon Kardon stereo in my R53 blows away the standard stereo in the Clubman.

The R53 has a more rough/visceral driving experience. The Clubman is much more refined and BMW like.

I could go on and on.

I love both cars the same.

 

I used to be very anti new-gen design (and still think the coupe's butt is too bloated) ... but after now 6 months driving the Clubman, I can say that I don't really miss anything about my old R50

 

Some of the things I miss in the Clubman from my R53:

Front height adjustable seat belts

Rear passenger reading/map lights

The headliner in the second gen MINI is ok for the most part but it is made of cheaper cardboard

The H/K stereo in my R53 is heads and shoulders above the standard stereo in the R56

I don't totally dislike the new dashboard design but I still prefer the better integrated, classic looking and more functional dashboard of the 1st gen cars. The center console is OK but needs work. It is shapely "inward" and not every ergonomic. Give me 3 dials for fan speed, temperature and air flow like I have in my R53.

The windshield/side windows in the second gen MINI are shorter than in the R53. You have more of an "enclosed" feeling.

The car is too silent in comparison to my noisy R53 S. No supercharger whine and almost no exhaust "farting" either. In the R53 you feel like driving a "rebellious" go kart with 170HP on tap.

Some details (int/ext) you could tell where BMW cut corners to save $$$

Having said all this, there is much, much to like about the Clubman so I am very happy with both cars. But there is "something" missing from the new cars when looking back at the R53. The new cars are more mainstream while the R53 you could tell was one of those rare ocassions where a mass produced car doesn't feel (and look) cookie cutter like anything else.