Ive had 4 and currently have a new clubman JCW.
Cooper F56, Cooper S F56, Cooper S R56 and now F54 Clubman JCW.
Non of the cooper S got more than 40mpg and my clubman jcw struggles to get 30 and round town its awful my 4 mile commute usually records 8mpg
but on the motorway it seems to lap the miles up with 40mpg, it is still running in tho so hopefully will get better. The cooper wasn't any better IMO so I would have the Cooper S as the cooper just doesn't have enough power. The F56 was my favorite, absolute hoot to drive the R56 felt bigger and heavier although the interior was so much better. The F54 clubman a close second with the 4WD and longer wheelbase I think its a more capable car than the hatch, there is no torque steer and in sport mode it turns into quite an A&B blaster and has room for actual people in the back seats and a boot big enough for the dog. It is as quick as the hatch JCW and is great as a practical family hack.
The worst one I had was the F56 it was one of the first off the line and had two engines in 12k, the crank shaft sheared twice and cars from early 14 into early 15 cars were problematic. They switched over to a BMW made engine instead of the french made Pug/Citroen engines. The first replacement was a straight swap and the second was the updated 15' BMW engine which seemed to solve the issues, by then I completely lost faith in it and got rid.
Ive always bought new Minis and have always had good returns they hold their value well and had almost no problems other than the R56 lemon. I had an drive shaft seal go very quick in my first R56 cooper which was a big job to sort but sorted under warranty. They just have so much personality than anything else you can buy, the tech level is also excellent. The packs are affordable and you get a lot with them they are essentially the same as the BMW packs but they are more expensive and the mini seems to get more stuff as standard.
With the sensible hat on the Golf R or a 330/335/340 would have been better choices than the clubman, being quicker, better MPG and similar price but they are just so boring inside and out IMO. Always loved mini's an will continue to. I have only seen one other Clubman JCW too whereas Golf Rs and 3 series seem to be 2 a penny everywhere.
TBH the cooper was a bit of a disappointment for me it just didnt have the power, the Cooper S is a far better car imo although as mentioned they arent cheap to run but what fun cars are? Also have to bare in mind they are not practical in the slightest the rear seats are suitable for kids not much more and the boot you will struggle to fit more than 2-3 bags of shopping.
Couple of pics of mine.