# Labrador and mini clubman - good idea?



## muz (Sep 17, 2012)

Does anyone out there drive a mini clubman (with the two doors opening at the back) and have a lab sized dog?

I have been hunting for a small car with fold flat (really, truly flat!) back seats so that my lab and his friends have room to lie down. Very limited choice (Honda Jazz, Peugeot 2008, Hyundai 1x20) and was getting depressed then I was shown a Mini Clubman and made the mistake of sitting in it! 
It brought a smile to my face, but wonder what it's like to own when you have dogs in the back. 
Also, would a lab puppy crate ever fit in? Not that I'll need to use one for a few years, I hope.

Any comments from Clubman owners welcome.

p.s. I am downsizing from a Landrover Freelander1 - one extreme to the other!


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## Squeeze (Nov 19, 2009)

Take your dog with you and ask if you can check that the dog fits...


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

Seat Ibiza have back seats that go flat, or at least they do in mine, I have no idea about the clubman but it's blinking huge as the one I parked next to today dwarfed my car.


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## muz (Sep 17, 2012)

Thanks for your replies. 
I went to look at the Seats, and the Ibiza ST was the only version I was shown with fold flat seats. It was a bigger car (longer and wideer) than I'm after. Maybe it's only the brand new versions of the Seat where the seats are not flat. 
Can't help the fact that sitting in the Mini made my spirits lift - an unexpected reaction as I normally go for practicality over everything else.
(The Clubman stopped being made last year - the only reason I can even begin to think about buying one as brand new would be too expensive.)


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## BoredomBusters (Dec 8, 2011)

I have a friend who owns a Clubman and a Toller if that helps. No idea on set up as I've never seen the dog in it...


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## Siskin (Nov 13, 2012)

Not quite the same, but we have a Toyota iQ and a golden retriever, even had two of them in the back for a while. Have to say though, it's not our main car, but we have it for towing behind the motorhome and for nipping about locally. The rear seats are next to useless for passengers anyway and have been folded flat since we had it.


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## cavmad (Jan 27, 2009)

My first car was an old mini clubman estate and I managed to fit a Leonberger , labxwhippetx? and cav it was a brilliant car until my Dad drove it told me it was a death trap so got me another car








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## foxiesummer (Feb 4, 2009)

They used to make a mini clubman estate, I owned a few over the years. Only trouble was there wasn't a custom made grill to separate the dogs from the cab. All the ones I tried they seemed to get through. I now use a Combo van.


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## steveshanks (Feb 19, 2015)

Can't seeing it being a problem, I have a friend that has a Saluki and a rough coated Dachshund in a standard mini, Steve


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## Gemmaa (Jul 19, 2009)

Ohhhh...for some reason I thought Mini Clubman was some kind of exotic breed of dog :Facepalm.


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## Firedog (Oct 19, 2011)

It put me in mind of that joke.....How do you get to Wales in a mini....one in the back and one in the front.


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## muz (Sep 17, 2012)

Thanks, everyone, for your help. My lab is a titch compared to some, so I think that I'll go and track down a mini. (No doubt my next post will be to let you know that I've bought some HUGE car instead!)
(LOVE the idea of a golden retriever in a Toyota IQ!)

Muz xx

p.s. Found this last night - a very long link for page of photos of dogs in (mostly) mini boot.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=d...r-clubman-pics-stories-welcome-6.html;600;448


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## Stellabelly (Jul 11, 2009)

Oh dear my post went without anything on it . What I intended was to say my whippet (and he's quite a large whippet and he's been mistaken for a small greyhound once or twice) and my jr happily sit in the back seat of my Cooper S (with bergan harnesses and in a hammock that fits over rear and front headrests to stop hairs). And we all go on holiday in it. 2 adults, both dogs and human and dog luggage. It's surprising what you can fit in a mini!!


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

I used to have a standard Mini & got 2 big dogs in the back (with the seats folded down) easily


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## muz (Sep 17, 2012)

I am going to test drive a clubman as soon as I can - not much choice around me but I'm sure that I'll find one!


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

I loved my Mini & always fancied a Mini Clubman but when I get a third dog I had to look for something a bit bigger


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## shamykebab (Jul 15, 2009)

I used to have a standard Mini and could fit two Labs in there very easily (dog hair was a nightmare to get out of the upholstery though!).


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## muz (Sep 17, 2012)

Oh shamykebab now you've got me going - I had a yellow lab so like yours, along with my little black one, until a couple of years ago. Your two look stunning, never mind the car!


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## shamykebab (Jul 15, 2009)

Aw, thanks! That photo was taken about 5 years ago so they're both a bit greyer round the edges now!


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## Dave S (May 31, 2010)

The Honda Jazz is a superb and under-rated car. With the back seats folded down there is ample space both length and height for large dogs or dogs in cages.
Model year 2012 and 2013 did an Si version with body kit and special interior and wheels, manual gearbox only and in 4 colours - Pearlescent white, black, non metallic red and a mid to dark blue. The suspension was stiffened a bit and it drives like a roller skate, great fun.
Current new Jazz have good offers on as the latest and different Jazz will be in showrooms soon and as you are downsizing from a Freelander perhaps consider the new Honda HRV coming out soon which is a bigger than Jazz and more like a scaled down version of the CRV.


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## muz (Sep 17, 2012)

Thanks, Dave S. We had a Jazz in the family until the end of last year, and I know how fantastic they are. Trouble is that the person who owned the car is no longer with us and I can't bring myself to go to a Honda just yet. Daft, I know.


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## missnaomi (Jun 4, 2010)

We had a Mini Clubvan - it's like the Mini Clubman but it doesn't have any seats in the back, just a big area ideal for the dogs! It was awesome! We don't have it now, as my boyfriend (who was the actual owner) traded it in for an estate car because he wanted back seats AND an dog boot... but it was the best! Wish we still had it


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## missnaomi (Jun 4, 2010)

Oh yeah... and if you're not set on a mini or want something cheaper, many small cars have a "van version" also!


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## Kirsten Newman (Aug 2, 2020)

Hello did you ever get the Clubman as about to embark on same shopping expedition for me and my Labrador!


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## Smalldogs (Sep 11, 2012)

Have you looked at the Renault Kangoo? I drove one for years and thought it the best dog car ever. The seats fold flat to create a van-like space. Usually I just stuck dogs on the back seat (harnesses attached to seat belt clip), but when I moved house I put the seats down and transported four dogs in the back in a large (Bull Mastiff size) crate which fitted perfectly. When the Kangoo reached old age, I passed it on to a friend with a Labrador and he has found it ideal. His Lab rides on the back seat with one of those hammocky-shaped covers and seat belt harness.


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## MissKittyKat (Jan 23, 2016)

Kirsten Newman said:


> Hello did you ever get the Clubman as about to embark on same shopping expedition for me and my Labrador!


If it's just you and your lab and after a small car, I have a fiat 500 that woody Lab fits on the back seat fine. Use one of the hammock type covers and a seat belt and he's been fone on all our adventures.


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## Magyarmum (Apr 27, 2015)

I get two (soon to be three) Miniature Schnauzers on the back seat of a small Suzuki Swift. All my groceries, baggage etc fits in the boot. My son and I have twice travelled from North Eastern Hungary to Cornwall and back with 2 dogs, a cat in a crate on the back seat and every available space packed with luggage. 

My car is 17 years old and is so reliable and apart from new tyres and a battery plus being serviced once a year has cost me virtually nothing to run.


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