T HE original Clubman was launched in 1969 and probably wasn't a highlight of the Mini's development. Styled by Roy Haynes, it got an uglier face and indicators borrowed from an Austin Maxi.

Quite why BMW should have resurrected this badge seems odd, but at the time, they had difficulty securing the rights to the Traveller and Countryman names, but this latter day Clubman is a far smarter piece of kit than the original.

Arriving in dealerships in November 2007, the Clubman was initially offered in three guises, Cooper, Cooper D turbodiesel, and turbo-charged Cooper S.

The entry-level 1.4-litre Mini One Clubman arrived in March 2009 with the ripsnorting 208bhp Cooper S JCW edition at the end of 2009.

In 2010, the Mini One Clubman swapped its 1.4-litre lump for a cleaner 1.6-litre engine, while power output for the Cooper rose from 119 to 122bhp and the Cooper S model stepped up from 175 to 184bhp.

Summer 2010 saw a raft of design changes.

At the front, a new bumper with a lower air intake served not only to update the car's look but also to improve pedestrian protection. Revised fog lamps were fitted while the typical round Mini headlights got new light elements, with optional Xenon lamps.

The indicator featured a distinctive design of concentric circles sitting within the redesigned side gill housings.

At the rear, a revised bumper assembly was fitted as well as LED tail and brake lights. Integrated reversing and rear fog lamps were housed in the rear bumper.

The Clubman is a five-door car but the doors aren't exactly where you'd expect them to be. It's business as usual at the front, but access to the rear seating is through a single "suicide" door on the right-hand side.

Hinged on its rearmost edge so that it opens in the opposite direction to the front doors, it's positioned on the right-hand side of the Clubman and there's no equivalent on the left.

It means that rear seat passengers in right-hand drive markets like the UK are forced to exit into the road.

Mini recognises the problem but explains that shifting the rear door to the left would mean relocating the fuel filler cap, the costs of which would be "prohibitive".

At the back, there's more access fun and games.

The Clubman employs a pair of side-hinged doors reminiscent of the old Mini Traveller.

These are a key design feature of the car and the one that does most to differentiate Clubman from Mini.

You'll need around £8,500 for the first of the 2008 model year Clubman One 1.4 models with £8,000 landing you a 1.6 Cooper on a 2007 57 plate.

A 2008 08-plate Cooper D kicks off at £10,000 with around 43,000 miles on the clock although you might well find some much higher mileage vehicles for significantly less.

£10,000 is enough to get you one of the first Cooper S Clubman while you'll still need £15,000 for a tidy Cooper S JCW.

Many of the teething troubles that afflicted the previous generation Mini have been laid to rest with the latest car. The 1.6-litre petrol engines, built in the UK at Hams Hall and shared with Peugeot, are some of the best in their class and have proven a good deal sturdier than the 1.6-litre powerplants of the older car.

Likewise, interior quality has moved on leaps and bounds.

Where the old car would often twitter like the queue for a Girls Aloud gig, the latest car seems to be built of sterner stuff.

Customer reliability indices suggest that owners are happier with this generation model as well.

Check for uneven tyre wear on the Cooper S and JCW models and also make sure that the rear seats fold without the catches sticking.

Cheap servicing plans mean that the Clubman should have been serviced on the button. Choose carefully and you will get a very well engineered car that's great to drive, and has proven very reliable.