My wife has an 8 month old MINI Clubman and absolutely loves it. It actually has some pretty good cargo capability, and serviceable rear seats if the passengers are not too large.
I couldn't convince her to get a manual so it has an automatic, but with the standard non-supercharged engine she averages 33 mpg in mixed driving. Of course she really likes the attention it garners.
It seems there is a large MINI enthusiast community, but we have not really gotten in to it yet, lots of waves from other MINI drivers though.
I think some people see it as a cheap way to get into a BMW. Some aspects of it are a little cheap, but it really is a unique car for today's market. One thing I've noticed is the engine makes some cheap car noises, especially at start up. It doesn't sound smooth when first fired up, it's a little hard to explain. However we've had absolutely no problems with it, and the dealers have been great as well.
For us it came down to buying a unique, cute car. We looked at some other cars, but if you're looking for a MINI because it is a MINI nothing else will do. We looked at a new Focus which felt like a very good car, maybe better than the MINI, but it just wasn't a MINI if you know what I mean.
A big thumbs up from my wife so far, hopefully we'll have no regrets years from now.