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Why you should buy the 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman S : You're extremely wealthy and like small cars. You never liked going around corners that much anyways. The most exciting thing that could possibly happen to you in the course of a day is spotting another Mini in exactly the same color and getting the driver of it to wave feverishly at you. You used to have a regular Mini, but now you have a small dog. Why you shouldn't buy this car: You consider value an important part of the car-buying process. You drive aggressively. You hate rear barn doors. You live near curvy roads. You hate suicide doors. You enjoy the way the MINI Cooper S handles. You realized you could buy a well-equipped Chevy HHR SS for half the price and without the waving. galleryPost('clubmanexterior', 6, '2009 MINI Cooper Clubman S, Exterior Details'); galleryPost('clubmaninterior2', 9, '2009 MINI Cooper Clubman S, Interior Details'); galleryPost('SuperClubman', 9, '2009...
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Exterior Design: **** The 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman S preserves much of the styling moxie possessed by the original while hiding much of the added heft. At a distance, it's nearly impossible to differentiate between the two variations, causing us to do more than one double-take. The only major giveaway is the 50/50 split rear barn doors with through-door tail lamps and the suicide door on the passenger side. But a front 3/4 view will make you swear you're looking at the original "S." Interior Design: *** The interior of the Clubman is mostly identical to its smaller brother from the cockpit-view forward. Rail-protected flight switches control much of the electrics while a delightfully gaudy speedometer dominates the center console. Every compartment, toggle and switch functions with the usual high level of BMW confidence. But don't even get us started on the Toys R' Us-grade plastic. In this price range, a buyer deserves a little better. Also, the color-selectable...
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As interns at Jalopnik , we've got a pretty sweet gig. Admittedly, there are occasionally humdrum duties such as cleaning the tire debris off of Challengers and Corvette ZR1s , but at the end of the day, the perks outweigh everything else. Heavily. When two of us were tossed the keys to a fully-fueled 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman S so fresh its interior plastics were still off-gassing, and the only spoken rule was that it had to be at the airport the next morning to meet the boss man with most of its important bits still attached, our minds ran wild. A full trunk of camera gear in tow, we did what anyone would when presented the keys to a MINI S. We went straight to Hell. galleryPost('SuperClubman', 11, 'Straight to Hell'); Hell, Michigan is a microscopic town just 15 miles outside of Ann Arbor. It was founded in 1838 by George Reeves and back then, Hell was actually bigger than it is now: It had both a general store and a mill. Only the general store — selling mostly...
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With Mini's product line set to expand faster than a midwesterner's waistline via the Tropicana buffet's bacon station, the UK's AutoExpress offers shots of the next addition lightly disguises. It's the Clubman-bodied Mini Monte, the BMW company's new SUV-like entry. We'll know it by its higher ground clearance and widened track, they say, along with a few grand's worth of a premium over the Clubman's sticker. It'll also sport BMW's Efficient Dynamics gear, including stop-start and power-saving components, like a system of larger battery and alternator that can disengage from the engine during acceleration. Expect to see one parked next to a jogging path near you by 2009. [ AutoExpress ]
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