Are you talking petrol or diesel Peter? I had a Cooper 1.6d clubman as my dog carrier. It was well built and fun to drive.
Petrol 3 door, the new 3 cylinder 1500cc motor has a lot of very positive reviews in the Cooper form.
The hatch is needed to allow the Finance director to carry horse stuff... (no the Porsche was never a serious option!)
As a 2+2 or 2+ luggage it looks perfectly viable.
