I only drive 5000 miles a year. I just change the oil on the date I got my MINI. Next year will be the first time I change the oil rather than the dealer.
MINI brand oil, with my MINI club discount is the same as Mobil One at the auto parts store.
Since your car is still breaking in , 5000 miles to the first oil change is appropriate.
Being the old fart that I am, my old dinosaur oil and carburated cars got an oil change at 5000 miles or every six months, whichever came first. If a car can't last 100,000 miles (not kilometers) with that schedule, then it wasn't a very good car (ahem....Chevy Vega). But even the Chevy Vega lasted over 100K miles if you added steel sleeves in the cylinders...I digress.
New cars being fuel injected and heavily emissions controlled, as well as using synthetic oil, which does not coke as easily as regular oil should last double the regular intervals. I would say it's not a bad thing to go more than 5000 miles on a MINI but would change my oil at least once a year regardless of mileage and probably less than 10,000 miles. Just an opinion.
My MINI got it's first oil change on my own money at 3000 kms (about 2000 miles) and then annually unless I've been driving it a lot. Then more frequently. Certainly if I go over 10,000 kms between changes, I would go in and get an oil change. So I guess my oil changes are at about 8000 miles.
Oil changes are more expensive in Canada. There are environmental levies, oil disposal levies, recycle levies (oil comes in plastic bottles) and taxes tacked on top of the price of an oil change. They can advertise a special on oil changes at $40 or so, but you end up at about $70 out of pocket. Over $100 if you get it done at a dealership.
So I don't try to overservice my cars unless I absolutely need to.
