You could make a case for Mini's Clubman being an ideal small-business/delivery vehicle. It's large enough to carry bulky office items, small enough to park, stylish enough to be seen in, and gets decent fuel economy. One of the biggest criticisms of the Clubman, though, has nothing to do with its practicality- it's that the bigger Mini doesn't quite live up to the brand's hard-earned performance heritage. That's going to change, however, with the launch of the 2015 Mini Hybrid Clubman.
Using a system similar to the one used by Volvo in its XC60 and V60 hybrids, the electric power train in the 2015 Mini hybrid models is expected to send power directly to the rear wheels. The "modular" approach here would make tooling up easier, and allow the unit to be used in other BMW/Mini properties like the recently-released, front-wheel drive BMW X2.
Up front, the 2015 Mini hybrids will make use of the company's existing 135 HP, 1.5-liter three cylinder turbo engine. According to LeftLane News, the new car "may, effectively, act as a rear-wheel-drive platform if driving in electric-only mode. Under hard acceleration the system would switch to all-wheel-drive mode." If that's true, the arrangement should make for a fun little runabout- especially with the expected 190 total HP!
What do you guys think? Is 190 HP and all-wheel drive enough to make the Clubman a Mini a worth successor to the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally winning Mini Cooper, or is all this just an excuse to ramp up economies of scale for BMW's i Brand? Let us know!
Originally published on Gas 2.
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
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