Just had one of these for a couple of days while my A4 was back getting some warranty work done and never thought I'd say this but I loved it. It was a 1.6 Cooper petrol with chili pack, I thought it looked ace and was really fun to drive, would love a go in a Cooper S or Works version.
It's a couple of years away form being anywhere near in my budget but I reckon it'll be a serious contender when we need another hatchback.
One huge minus point was the quality of the dash and trim, very cheap looking and sounding plastic but other than that a quality motor IMO.