My sister has a 2002 Mini. The general consencious is that the 2002 was built cheap beacuse BMW didn't know if the car would be successful. But the new version and later years are built very well, because it is now one of the most desired cars. Which has done wonders for its resale value.
It's better than the honda or toyota
(Go to Mini's new car ranking site, "CarFun Footprint," The Mini is number 1 and the Boxster is number 2, which if you remove the Mini biass the Boxster is Number 1!)