A NEW MINI Clubman is on the way and it's more conventional than before with four side doors instead of the peculiar three door arrangement of its predecessor.

It will be on the road in the autumn and priced from £19,995 for a three-cylinder petrol model.

As the estate version of the popular MINI range the Clubman is big on practical features and now has a cargo capacity of 360 litres increasing to a maximum of 1,250 litres.

That's a third larger than the previous Clubman and almost 100 litres more than the boot on the five-door MINI hatch.

The new Clubman shares the same looks as the new generation MINI models launched last year but is some 10 inches longer than the hatch and about two inches wider with a wheelbase extended by four inches.

It retains the convenient double door tailgate with side opening doors but gone is the small ‘suicide' door on the driver's side which gave access to the rear seats.

Instead, MINI has gone for a more conventional four door arrangement and the new Clubman looks nicely stylish.

Three engines will be available with a diesel priced from £22,265 and a 2.0-litre petrol Cooper S version costing from £22,755.

MINI claims the diesel Clubman, now fitted with a 2.0-litre engine developing 150bhp, can average 68.9mpg with emissions of 109g/km while the three-cylinder petrol has a fuel figure of 55.4mpg. The Cooper S - which has a 0 to 60 time of 7.2 seconds - is rated at 45.6 to the gallon.

Sat nav is standard on all versions and the Clubman will also be the first MINI to be available with a new eight-speed steptronic auto gearbox which can be fitted to the diesel and Cooper S powertrains.

Another MINI first for the Clubman is the introduction of electric front seats which will be an option.

The original MINI Clubman joined the MINI line up in 2007 and ran until 2014. As before, the new model will be built at BMW's MINI factory in Oxford.