I'll add one more recent opinion. I was not in love with the Nav, compared to my dedicated Magellan units, but I've very much switched camps after a recent run up from Richmond to New Jersey and back the next day this past weekend.

Traffic and weather were predicted to be nasty and did not disappoint. But the Nav constantly alerted very early to traffic problems and offered intelligent and extremely effective detours. On one near DC, it told us to get off at an exit, and traffic was moving just fine, so we hesitated, wondering if the data was maybe old, but decided to take the exit and follow the detour. Only one other car exited with us, a newer BMW, with presumably the same Nav. We paralleled the interstate for about a mile and could see that it was still moving fast. It then directed us over a bridge over the interstate to a different road on the other side. From the vantage point on top of the bridge we could easily see about a quarter mile further down a sea of tail lights and all traffic stopped. Our detour took us about 8 miles down to the next interstate entrance where we got back on with no heavy traffic and moving briskly at 75-80mph. We were very impressed. Between both trips we were given 6 detours and never were stuck in bumper to bumper. The heavy rains slowed us to a crawl in Maryland Sat night. Not far from where the flooding occured. The split screen worked fabulously and was very clear with more than adequate preparation time. The ease of zooming in and out with the idrive allowed us to see the traffic reported congestion. I loved it!

For fun we switched to the building 3d view in DC when we had to detour down New York Ave, and it was accurately cool. Useless, but very cool. All in all the high res large screen with the split screen on it, was superior to our 5 year old (but with updated maps) Magellan. The voice is much easier to understand as well. We were able to switch to the USB stick where I had uploaded all our CDs with album art, and randomly select and skip songs, with the descriptions that then auto switched to album art in the left half of the screen while the right hand half continued with Nav directions. Very impressed.

Plus we averaged 37mpg.

 

I've never wanted nav in any car. I've always liked and miss traditional controls (*****, buttons switches, etc...) and even prefer the rotary thumb dials of heated seats (old school Audi/Vw) over the push button nowadays. But your adventure you described has me wondering. At least the MINI has some cool toggle switches. Which way do you toggle the ENGINE START switch?

Here's one: don't you ever get a nasty glare on your speedometer with how they don't have the traditional glare shield or hood of the dashboard over them like "normal" cars? Our Grand Cherokee's Speedo and tach protrude out somewhat, setting up an annoying glare to where I can't read my speed most afternoons. The Clintons looks like it would be pretty bad too. Or is this one of those things you just don't notice?

 

The switches are fun. I like the toggle start more than the push button start. I haven't noticed any glare on the dials, but there is an annoying reflection on the windshield from a shiny piece of trim that runs the length of the upper dash. An incredibly stupid design flaw. I find it also inexcusable that they STILL do not have oil pressure and water temperature as a minimum available to monitor. It also takes about 3 minutes to measure the oil level. I hate that.

 

I'd consider keeping it and banking the compensation when/if the emissions fix arrives, IF the intercooler hadn't collected moisture due to poor design and then froze...and then remelted....causing near hydrolock on start. Stranded my wife in January. Not cool. This is a somewhat known issue in the forums and to VW, and even with an upgraded intercooler kit there is still a chance of failure. UNLESS.... you, the owner (not VW) go and drill a hole in it to let moisture/condensation drain. Ridiculous. If Apple said "You, the consumer, go drill a hole in your iPhone so you can make phone calls reliably because of our poor design," would you keep it? The week our TDI went in, the dealer had around 30 of these fails according to the tech - thankfully they put ours on the first parts backorder to be fixed.

So we feel kind of burned by VW due to both diesel gate and the intercooler shenanigans. Bummer, as I had a '98 Jetta TDI that ran very well through when I sold it with 170K on it.

 

Throwing my hat in here as well. I have ordered the 20017 Clubman S All4 and look forward to getting to know it better than just reading the available (older) owner's manuals. I know I've heard a few stories of problems, and never having bought new before I'm sure I'm overly sensitive, but I'm truly excited to get rid of my old XC90 beast and drive something more fun.

Dirk

 

I've got a Burgundy/Silver All4 on order. Any thoughts regarding the deal I should hope for? Glad to hear you're loving your car. What was the best price they offered you on Tire n Wheel Protection Package? Happy Motoring!

 

took delivery of my '16 S Clubman 8/8/16 (week +1 day)
I really, really love this car! the ride - comparable or better than my bride's '15 MB C300.
Fit and finish equally comparable to the Benz.
I'm glad I went 6MT as well. just more fun.


I wanted to thank several posters on this thread.. some fairly comprehensive posts and reviews.. thank you folks.


I dropped mine off Saturday 8/13, at the dealer, Mini of Wesley Chapel for window tinting.. Service guy actually said the car was recommending Oil change? only 600 miles...? interesting.. free, so, sure. my Sirius / XM wasn't displaying ESN and not working... well.. turned out they kept the car, it's Tuesday.. they still have it.. =( Mini Of NA is working with their techs to solve it.. if this last Software fix doesn't solve it... then they are replacing the Head Unit. While I'm not thrilled to be without my car, at least I have a loaner, and they are determined to make it right.

 

I'm looking forward to my new Clubman S All4. Can you offer any insight into the deal you did? How close to invoice? Did you buy any extras like Tire n Wheel? Thanks.

 

Congratulations, and great to know about the C300 ride comparison - I considered but never test drove those before getting my 17 ALL4 6MT.

I'll venture this here rather than posting in a separate thread - overall I love the car but feel the stock S engine is a bit outmatched by the extra weight - my wife's 09 S hardtop 6MT with a slightly less powerful engine is 800 lbs lighter and a whole lot quicker around town.

I did something last week that most folks here would probably forego - I had the dealer add the new Dinantronics Sport piggyback module recommended (but not warrantied) by the MINI service guy. Increased the torque around at 2.5-3k RPMs by about 20%, and the drivability and fuel economy have been the the same. I plan on keeping this installed until a JCW tune comes out (if ever.) Although it's not a true ECU reflash, I figure it's just doing what the B48 engine already does in the BMW X1....

 

wow..that is VERY Interesting... thanks for sharing about that. going to search that out. I agree, my Cooper S Clubman isn't quite as quick as my 13 hardtop S, attributed it to the extra weight, bigger car. I'm ok with it, its a commuter car DD, but a lil extra pep would be nice too! Again, thx for the head's up on this...

if you could post or PM the specific info, that would great. thanks! I searched Dinan and wasn't finding it

 

I'm surprised at how mum BMW/MINI have been on the JCW tune on the F54. I've never been the tuning type, but this engine feels like it is throttled on the top end for no reason other than to sell the JCW tuning kit. So, shut up and take my money, BMW/MINI!

 

Wow, I'm on Dinan's website now looking at something for the B48. Of course, they have the dyno charts and I can see the power improvements, but what knocks me for a loop are the factory specs (189/207) vs their measured results on a stock B48: 210/229. That's stock! Now BMW underrating their engines a little isn't a surprise, but that much...at the wheels? I wonder how uniform that anomaly is over their production line? Wonder what output at the crank is too...

 

Power output is different between the X1 and Clubman S despite being the "same" engine. We are purposely throttled at the high end, IMO. There is no way this car makes 210hp at the wheels. It runs out of steam way too much at the top end to make that kind of power. Dinan is probably showing the X1 torque curve.

 

Interesting questions. some of which will more than likely require sometime to mature for better understanding.

as my Clubman is only 2 weeks old, Im not quite ready to mod too much yet.. but I will be in time. a simple 20HP bump would be most excellent, although the Dinan price is a bit steep for me to bear atm.

 

Here's the link BTW - not intuitive when navigating the site; it's under DPT - much lower cost than their standard warrantied tunes:

http://www.dinancars.com/product/d44...?series=&mid=/

For me, the torque bump was definitely worth $300 after spending $40k+ on the car!

 

OH! well, what I was looking at before.. was 2999.00 or such...

obviously, I must have been looking at the wrong thing. this is what you did, for $299? and definitely saw an increase in performance?

 

Definitely an increase in performance, but it's just adding a fixed boost amount (3 psi in the Dinan Sport+ setting, no difference in power across the 3 MINI driving modes btw) to whatever boost is already being delivered by the stock ECU based on throttle, gear, RPM.

The iOS bluetooth app isn't out yet for this so I haven't experimented with the modes to switch between stock and the other settings to revisit the differences, but hope to once it's available.

This is my first BMW/MINI, but I have had more aggressive tunes on other cars (Customized Cobb for Subie Legacy GT, Malone stage 2 for Passat TDI) and had no issues for 50k+ miles each, so didn't hesitate to pick this up.

 

kick ***! Ill definitely check it out!

(Im from Quincy originally btw, now in Tampa, FL Area)

 

But does it void the warranty?

 

MINI won't pay for any repairs if they deem root cause was the Sport module, but it doesn't void the warranty per se. I guess I will see how much of an advocate the dealer will be if I encounter an issue while the powertrain warranty is still in effect.

 

I just purchased a new Clubman S All4 last Saturday.

While for obvious reasons I've yet to really experience the vehicle, a couple of days of driving a loaner was enough to convince me to purchase the All4 variant.

Not only was the All4 a more practical choice for me as someone who lives in New England, but the AWD system definitely felt more balanced and "directed" than my previous front-wheel drive MINIs - especially regarding the pronounced torque steer that came along with both of them. (2008 Cooper Hardtop S and 2012 Clubman S)

I'll report more on my experience once I start driving the vehicle regularly. But, my initial impressions suggest that the new Clubman is a quantum leap forward in terms of refinement and sophistication over any other MINI to date - while still possessing that "go-kart" feel.

 

We've driven Jags and Range Rovers. Never considered Mini. Drove the Clubman S All4, the dealer ordered our custom build and said if we like it we buy it, if we don't he'll sell it to someone else. We took delivery on Saturday. Most fun we've had with a new car since my 1989 Jag V12 convertible. My wife did her market run today in the new Clubman, while her beloved Jag sedan sat in the garage.

We love this Mini. It is refined yet at the same time full of driving fun. And the deal was exceptional, as was the entire purchase experience with the dealer. And how often can one say that about a car dealership experience??

I'm in my 60's, not exactly the target demographic. But the Range Rover Evoque, which was a lovely utility vehicle, went back to the Land Rover dealer and the Clubman is now parked where the Evoque used to be.

Love our Mini so far.

 

Would love to see some photos, Johnny Danger and 2017All4. The All4 is gaining a large following.

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

We ordered a Clubman All4 (lapis blue with silver roof, black wheels) to replace our soon-to-be-bought-back diesel VW sportwagen. We'd owned subarus in the past (terrible quality issues) and are now sworn off VWs for good, so our market options for small wagons are getting thinner by the day. We test drove a few other things (Ford C-Max, Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade, Mazda CX-3 and CX-5) but none had that "glued to the road" feeling of the mini.

Test drove an automatic (all they had available) but ordered a stick because that's how we roll. Am hoping the clutch is not too heavy - it can't be any more so than the one in the VW! The test model was an All4 and it was raining at the time, so we got to have some fun on pull-outs from side roads with that . We went with the clubman rather than the S, primarily because we don't need a lot of power, and it's more economical (both the initial cost and the fuel mileage). Also ordered it with the panoramic roof, which seemed to make the interior of the car feel a lot bigger, especially in the back seats. Got roof rails too, and plan on getting a roof rack with a cargo box for extended trips. Not many electronic options - none of that Navigation or back-up camera junk, just the heated seats for the winter.

My only remote concern is having to put premium gas in it, but I plan on using 89, as I've done with every other car I've ever owned that "recommends" premium. No problems to date. I think I recall seeing somewhere that the base Clubman can use 89 without issues - the key wording in the manual is recommended vs. required.

Anyway, it should be here in late November. Ended up costing about $31k all in, so with about $21k from the diesel buyback that's not too shabby for a new car! First order of business will be to put a tint on the windows, and look into alternatives for the run-flat tires.

Oh, and this site has been VERY useful already - thanks to all those who post here!

 

I don't understand the 89 vs 92/93 mindset. All turbo charged cars nowadays have knock sensors and variable timing, so they can get more mileage out of more octane in most all cases, which means more miles from a tank of gas. If the cost per mile, is the same, vs the cost per tank, means less times filled and longer intervals, in addition to the better additives which are typically in Premium vs Mid, plus the added protection of less chance of detonation due to higher cylinder pressures, it's just not worth a couple of cents a tank on a $30k+ car. If I keep from having to perform one injector cleaning, or plugs last 20k miles more, or the extra miles in a tank prevent me from running out of gas even once, I consider the extra cents per tank money very well invested. Especially now that gas has dropped so low in price, that it is actually cheaper, with inflation than it was in say 1980. Paid $2.21/gal for premium at Costco last week. That's $0.75/gal in 1980. Costco doesn't have Mid, but Regular was $2.01/gal. So it cost $2.60 more for a tank of gas over Regular! Peanuts.