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With the introduction of the new 2016 MINI Clubman (and of course the cancellation of the old model a long time ago), there was a huge jump in Clubman sales for the last month of 2015:

Sadly, none of them were my new car which, according to the MINI USA Owner’s Lounge, remains “awaiting transport“! I find it very hard to believe that a newly built car has been sitting at the Southampton docks for more than two weeks, but there’s no other information available – even calling 1-866-ASK-MINI gave me nothing, since their computers were down today.
The VIN doesn’t show on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen tracking website which means either it IS still at the docks, or it’s sailing with a different company (like K Line) that doesn’t provide any tracking.

Over the years, I’ve mostly given up reading Motoringfile; it’s gone from an excellent personal MINI blog to an ad-laden website with frequent typos and a lot of simple regurgitation of MINI USA (and even BMW) press releases.

But I’m happy to say that their Clubman article today is a better read, and offers praise that furthers my looking forward to when my next car arrives …

Motoringfile review of new Clubman

A few quotes from the article:
“… The Clubman is as much a natural in the corners as it is hauling from Ikea. The rear seats are truly worthy of long trips for adults and the front seats are dramatically more comfortable than what MINI offers in the Countryman. And that boot. For a MINI, it’s huge …”
“… the Clubman is rewarding to drive and easy to live with. But the more immediately impressive thing about MINI’s new four door is how it looks and feels the moment you sit in the driver’s seat. MINI has made an effort to describe all of its cars (from the 2001 launch onward) as premium products. However the new Clubman may be the first model to truly live up to that word (or at the very least redefine it) …”
“… The Clubman is a gentleman. But more importantly it’s still a MINI. The Clubman feels carefully crafted with its own character befitting of a new segment and a new set of customer needs …”