Mini One D ClubMan

First came the Cooper, Cooper D, Cooper S and Cooper SD and ALL4 Clubmans. But we’ve just spent some time with the one that MINI told us wouldn’t be built – the entry-level One D.

- Martyn Collins

Just when you thought the latest, largest MINI couldn’t get more frugal and green, we have the model they said wouldn’t happen at the new Clubman launch the entry-level One D.

So how come we’ve now got this model when it was deemed unnecessary just last year? Well, the Clubman D is designed primarily to keep business and fleet customers happy, with 99g/km emissions and capacity to achieve 74.3mpg on the combined cycle from the smaller 1.5litre Twinpower diesel engine.

Admittedly it doesn’t sound much, but this is an improvement of 5.4mpg and 10g/km over the 2.0-litre Cooper D we recently spent seven months with. Most importantly for business users, it dips just below the all important 100g/km emissions.

A year on and I can’t deny the Clubman’s maxi dimensions have softened in my eyes. I’m not the only one, as they are becoming increasingly popular on the roads and dual carriageways of the UK. Entrylevel or not, the good news is that at first glance, the One D doesn’t look any different from the more powerful and expensive 2.0-litre Cooper D.

ENTRY LEVEL SPEC