Video: 2008 Mini Cooper

We're gonna compare the Cooper S to the Clubman and the Clubman S and tell you which one is the best one for a suburban dad. So I know what you're thinking. Mini Cooper is a family car, I don't think so, but it's not that bad. Now, I will say I took the Mini Cooper S the smaller version on the road from Chicago to Milwaukee, with a teenager and 11 year old in the back seat and I have to say in the end, they weren't so comfortable. But I took the Clubman, which has two and a half, three inches more in the back seat we took another couple out to dinner with us for a decent length ride and everyone was quite comfortable. So cargo, believe it or not, it's not really a problem, especially in the Clubman It's got the swinging door and then it's not very difficult to lower the second row to get a lot of space. If you're like me, this would be your second car, which you use to get to the train station or for little errands. And so this much cargo space can be pretty useful. When you're talking about the Cooper, of course, the crux of the matter is how does it drive? And for me, the clear winner between the three is the Clubman S. Now the regular Cooper S is a blast, it's a lot of fun to drive and that lack of room in the back seat is really a hindrance, especially if you want to use it as family car in some way at all. The Clubman, the regular Clubman is not bad. It's got a decent six speed transmission, but it seems a little pokey, and it seems actually a little heavy for its size. So finally, I drove the Clubman S with a Shiftronic, and that was a lot of fun. It gave me all the power I needed, and I had never felt underpowered and being able to shift when I wanted to gave me all the control I needed. For additional information on this car, or any other go to cars.com and our blog KickingTires.