I've had it a little over a week now and love it as a daily driver. I'm almost done with the first tank of gas and the computer is showing 33.1 mpg. The average mph is 28.3, so this is mostly non-highway driving. It's significantly better than the 27-28 mpg I averaged with my 2003 R50 Mini.
The climate system is the same as my ex-BMW M235i. Annoyingly does not sync between passenger and driver side (my Camaro has a separate sync button), but otherwise is terrific. Oddly, like both the BMW and Camaro, when the system is in Auto mode, the A/C button is lit. I don't think the A/C is actually on when it's sub-freezing temperatures, but the light is always on. Why is it like that?
Obviously I am an enthusiast, and would have preferred a Cooper S over the base Cooper, all else being equal. But the upgraded luxury interior, upgraded technology with iDrive/MINI Connected and Navigation, premium stereo, manual transmission, color, condition, and price were all what I was looking for. I first test drove it on Oct 5 and liked it, but continued to look in CarGurus and AutoTrader. When I didn't find anything better after a month of looking, I came back to this car and negotiated the price down $1500 and got the dealership to throw in a free Navigation map update (worth $500 according to them), and am very satisfied with this deal and the car. Like I said in the original post, it's like a BMW-lite.