Just got the Cooper S and am considering getting a bike rack. The roof rack option seems a bit more secure than a trunk rack. Anyway all suggestions are welcome. I would think the Mini base roof rack would be better since it is designed to fit the car, but not sure if I could mix and match Thule or Yakima.
Anyway, I'm open to any recommendations. Thanks in advance!

 

I've got the thule aeroblades, they keep the noise down and you can get them in black from rackoutfitters

really enjoying them - have have the base rack so they just snap on

easy to add bike racks from thule, I use them for surfboards though

 

I did a lot research on this as I use the rack at least twice a week to carry a mountain bike. I ended up with the mini fini sport link setup and then use a Kuay NV rack to carry the bike. This is a awesome setup just expensive. I can take rack off and on in about 2 minutes.
http://www.minifini.com/Shop.aspx

 

I mountain bike all year and at least three times a week so I also was searching for a good rack. The rear racks that looked robust all required the removal of the rear fender, not what I wanted to deal with. The rear mount had the advantage of being able to be removed easily and therefore not effect the gas mileage when the bikes were not on the car. I opted to investigate the roof rack option since the installation was more straight forward. Once done comparing Thule and Yakima I checked out Mini's option and found out that buying the Mini roof rack with two bike rails was about as much as the others when you considering you pay for towers, rails, locks etc when buying either Thule or Yakima. The Mini's main advantage to me was it was integrated into the roof and did not wrap around and latch onto the door gasket. The dealer installed for free since I purchased with car. It looks great, the bikes are extremely secure, I race the car around without a worry, however I did have one problem which was the 2012 S has a larger rear spoiler and when the door opened it hit the ends of the bike rails, not good. Mini wanted me to mount the rails in reverse, I could not believe they even suggested this option. The solution was to cut an 1 1/2" off the rail length and presto the hatch opens without hitting now. Mini also did this for free, which they should have. Bottom line the Mini after market roof rack is fabulous just be careful about the clearance issue. If you have the larger spoiler have them cut it down for you before you install it, but measure your bike's wheel span first to make sure both wheels still fit after you cut down the bike rails Oh, gas mileage does suffer and it is a little noisy but nothing too bad. I wish Mini made a fairing for the front of the rack, that would make mileage better and cut the noise even more.