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"Imagine," we would say, "some bloke in a Ferrari would pull up next to you and think: 'I’m going to blow this Mini away,' but then you’d floor it and leave him in the dust. Yeah. Brilliant." Well, that is exactly what Mini has done with the Cooper S Clubman.And, to be honest, it is pretty brilliant.

That is the right order, by the way. Mini Cooper S Clubman - a rather long name for a "funny little car", as my young daughters dubbed it, or "Jimmy Cranky’s hearse", as one wag suggested. Decked in black and grey with tinted windows, as the press car was, and with its extended "estate car" roofline, I could see his point.

Not everyone will like the looks, and it is not as cute as the normal Mini, but the very gawkiness of the Clubman is appealing. It attracted less attention than I had expected but then I had envisaged people waving and smiling at me on every corner as they fell in love with little car and its aspirations towards carrying a grown-up load.

The Clubman’s bullet-like profile is also reflected in its performance. My definitive Mini experience was, again, from school days when a mate used to take my bus money in exchange for a breakneck, suicidal-overtaking-manoeuvre lift to school accompanied by screaming 80s hip-hop. Such thrills are hard to beat, but the Clubman does retain some of this chuckable, excitable quality while feeling like a very solidly built, tiny BMW at the same time. The tiny wheels can easily be made to squeak their tyres with joy, as you put too much power through them with some hard acceleration, but the performance is still delivered at a very efficient combined mileage of 44.8 mpg.

Most satisfyingly though, the Clubman has inherited the original Mini’s spirit of innovation. From its clever reverse-opening door, offering excellent rear access, to the automatic start-stop system that saves fuel and emissions in traffic jams, it boasts some smart ideas. Amazingly it also seats a driver of at least 6’4” and ferried my family of four to the zoo comfortably for the day. The question is: given the extra practicality, why would anyone buy a normal Mini?

Top speed: 139 mph

0-60 mph: 7.9 seconds

Engine: 1.6 litre, 4 cylinder, 16 valve, twin-scroll turbocharged

On the road price: £17,220