well I have just got a new GTI, the last car was a R53 mini cooper s works (210bhp 05car) , and while that car was fun and had a real sense of occasion, in comparison to the golf though it was harsh, noisy and had to be rev'd hard to extract the performance. Rattles, build quality etc was dreaduful. Fuel consumption was awful too! I liked the looks but the new cooper s's and the clubman are really rather puffer fish like from the front, there are still build issues, the turbo engine is fast, and better on economy, but torque steer is now an issue and even then the clubman is not a practical car like the golf!
comparing a mini clubman with a GTI is not like for like, and I would not consider the 2 in the same light if I was buying a car!
minis are good cars, but I have had my fix and the Gti is a great car to trade up too.
