Mini Cooper gets DogCar friendly – Welcome to the club, man!
By Keith Turner
August 18, 2008
The marketing wizards at BMW’s Mini Cooper division must have been working overtime to come up with their latest campaign to help sell the eye-catching little European wanna be. They wanted to relate the Mini’s environmentally friendly, high-mileage aspects with the Cooper’s amazing ability to put smiles on the faces of everyone who sees it.
They call it Mini’s “Car Fun Footprint.” They even have a nifty little game on the Mini website that helps you calculate your own “Car Fun Footprint” by listing the make, model and color of your current vehicle.
Invariably, your current ride comes up way short in the “Car Fun” ratings, so the site offers you an alternative. You guessed it: The Mini Cooper.
But as dog lovers, we often have to give up on the fun component in order to make room for our pups and all they require. But not any more.
This year, Mini has come out with a new, longer version of the extremely popular Cooper, adding just under 10 inches in length and a set of nifty barn-type doors in the tailgate to turn the standard Cooper into a super Cooper.
The new, longer Mini model is called the Mini Cooper Clubman and it fills the needs of DogCar drivers who are looking to save on fuel while adding to their fun.
Lead DogCar reviewer Gina Spadafori recently drove the new Clubman across California and came away with some very interesting observations.
Read her full review here.
Who says you can’t have your dogs and be cool too?
The Clubman is a great vehicle. I just took delivery of mine last Friday. I was looking, specifically, for a dog-friendlier smaller car of high quality. The Clubman (mine, the “S” model) is a great find. High fun-factor.
Comment by Albert — August 19, 2008 @ 9:49 am
I have a Mini Cooper Clubman, and I love it. There’s just one problem — dog containment. My dog needs to be contained in the hatch area with the back seats in their normal place. I haven’t yet found a barrier that will keep her safely in the back that fits in the Clubman — possibly the 4 bar Euro barrier will, but I’m not sure, and I can’t find it locally OR anywhere with a good return policy.
All the Mini forums say to fold the back seats down or keep her in the back seat, and that _will not work_ for us. (We need to be able to put humans in the back seat.)
Ideas, anyone?
Comment by Laura V — October 12, 2008 @ 1:34 pm