Remember back when the resurrection of the Mini in the form of the MINI was big news—mainly because it was so small? Nevermind that it was significantly larger than the classic Minis of yore—it was still a whole lot smaller than just about everything else on the market. And it was sporty! And thoughtfully appointed! And quirky, full of personality—and had more space inside than you’d expect!
Well, times have changed. The MINI has gotten slightly larger with each successive evolution, and the new MINI Clubman is something different altogether. A nice “something different,” but is it really, well…mini? It’s hardly an SUV (thankfully), but it’s definitely not…mini. The JCW packages are mostly nice-looking and sporty (although chrome bezels on absolutely everything that could be chromed in the Clubman is questionable), but they don’t really affect the overall size, although they do make a difference in aerodynamics.