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Next Mini Clubman nearly ready to haul

With the three- and five-door Mini Hardtop models successfully hitting the market and the pending arrival of the hot John Cooper Works model at next week's Detroit Auto Show, Mini can turn its eye toward another important model, in the form of its next-generation Clubman, which our spies have spotted testing on the roads of Germany. Aside from the rear barn doors, the next Clubman looks to have a lot in common with the new five-door Hardtop, which makes sense considering how much the current car has in common with the R56 that it's based upon. That similarity ends quickly once you take a look inside the cabin. The typically open Mini cabin is more dramatically segmented in the new Clubman, with a high transmission tunnel that separates the driver and passenger. In a worrying move for fans of parking lot shenanigans, Mini is moving to an electronic parking brake in its new model, although beyond that, the center stack is similar to the redesign Mini pushed through for this latest generation. As is the case with the current Clubman, the next-gen will likely share its engines and gearboxes with the Hardtop, meaning a base 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbo in the Cooper Clubman and a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder in the Cooper S Clubman. Six-speed transmissions, in both two- and three-pedal varieties, will likely also be offered. Check out our gallery of spy photos of the new Clubman, up at the top of the page.

Mini Hardtop Oxford Edition priced as the range's value champion

Mini has released pricing information for the 2022 Hardtop Oxford Edition, a value-oriented trim level positioned as the entry point into the range. Offered with two or four doors, it's surprisingly just as affordable as it was in 2018. The Oxford Edition is an evolution of the Classic trim, which was updated with a new-look design for 2022. It comes standard with 17-inch wheels, LED headlights, leatherette upholstery, heated front seats, an 8.8-inch touchscreen, a digital instrument cluster, and several electronic driving aids. It's the cheapest Mini, but it's clearly not cheap in every sense of the word. Buyers have six exterior colors to choose from, and they can select black or gray wheels. Oxford Edition models share their drivetrain with the standard Hardtop Cooper. Power comes from a turbocharged, 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine, which produces 134 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. It spins the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Light and nimble, the Cooper is close in spirit to the original Mini. Pricing for the 2022 Oxford Edition starts at $20,600 for the two-door model and $21,600 for the four-door, figures that include a mandatory $850 destination charge. In comparison, the 2019 models launched in 2018 cost exactly the same; even the destination charge hasn't increased, which is extremely unusual in the automotive industry. Mini notes the Oxford Edition represents a $6,150 value. Ordering a standard two-door with the aforementioned features would increase its price to $26,750 including destination, while a four-door would cost $27,750. Buyers willing and able to stretch their budget can order the Oxford Plus package, which bundles a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and a panoramic sunroof (two of the Hardtop's most popular options) for $1,500. While the first Oxford Edition was initially only for college students and recent graduates, and later also for military members and recent retirees, Mini told Autoblog the 2022 model can be ordered by all buyers regardless of where they work, if they work, and whether they go or went to college. It's available now across the nation.

Mini Clubman Concept throws open all six of its doors for Geneva

Coming in just over 10 inches longer and 6.5 inches wider than the 2013 Mini Clubman, the new Mini Clubman Concept that you see above is set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Let's get the maximum mini jokes out of the way right off the bat... Done? Okay, moving along.
Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, says that this Clubman Concept "shows how the Mini Clubman could be taken a step further: more interior space, a greater sense of high-end quality and yet still clever, bold and distinctive." And that extra interior space will be accessible through four real doors, eschewing the single-sided barn door approach of the current Clubman. Well, mostly - there's still the side-by-side barn door philosophy at the back instead of a more traditional upward-opening hatch. In fact, spy shots and early rumors pegged this more conventionally doored Mini as a new model selling under a new name, possibly Traveller. However, it appears that Mini will stick with the brand equity it has established with Clubman instead.
As you can see in the small image gallery above, the Clubman Concept is instantly recognizable as a Mini, though a somewhat more refined overall package than past efforts. The front headlamps still have a bit of a surprised look to them, but we think this concept's overall fascia, and its unique bright finishes, might be more successful than the latest Cooper's. At the rear, there are a set of rather large taillights dominating the view, and we note that the prevalence of air intakes and scoops at parent BMW have moved on down to the Mini line. We'll have to reserve final judgment until we see the Clubman Concept in person.