Murph, a couple of things to keep in mind about the Mini.
They do get very good mileage, but you have to remember they also require premium fuel which IMO brings their 'superior' mileage down to Mazda 3 levels(below a Civic for eg). I have no doubt the Mini is a fun ride, but the premium fuel requirement turned me off somewhat, compared to the competition.
The other MAJOR thing to consider is the running costs. Repairs on Minis are extremely expensive if required. There have been some complaints about bad trannys which can cost more than the car to replace(upwards of $10G!!). I'm not sure if this is BMW gouging or if they are using pure scandium gears in their trannys
or something. You might have seen on the news, over the last year or so, a woman (I think from Ontario)who had a problem with her Mini trans and BMW wanted more than $10G++ to replace it. OUCH!
The Mini has good resale value, but the running costs and premium fuel convinced me to look elsewhere in reg's to a smaller car. I am still driving my economical Z71 4x4 at the moment, and will probably drive it into the ground before getting something newer/economical.
