I have a 2012 MINI hardtop manual transmission, S model. I installed (by myself! (ps I'm female)) MiniDoMore's hidden hitch made for this model. I love their instructions. Got their wiring kit too, for the same reason. I also, later, sprang for the tow bar with 2 rings welded to it, so I had a place to attach my chains (I forget; did that come from MiniDoMore too?).
I pull a Little Guy "Joey" trailer, which is a 4x8 stripped down teardrop, perhaps 4 ft tall. They have renamed it the Deuce on their website now.
http://golittleguy.comMine does have the cabinets and the battery installed for interior lights and a fan (a bit more weight), but this small model doesn't even offer a kitchen. Just a tiny table which pops out of the hatch at back. Other than that, it is a double bed (minus an inch or two) and that's all. It's a gear hauler, and if you leave enough room, a sleeper. I pack it fairly full; I have to move suitcases into the drivers seat when I stop to sleep, and then back into the trailer when it's driving time again. It is light enough that I move it around my garage by hand, though mostly when it is empty. I use a dolly thingy when it is loaded.
I've pulled it from the Chicago area to Pennsylvania and then Virginia 3 times now, 1800 miles round trip each time. Other than a slight hit on the gas mileage, I barely know it's there. Well, that and I can't see out of the rear view mirror cuz there's this trailer following me right on my bumper!
In PA this year, I was accosted by two guys who sprang from their fast food meal to follow me to my gas pit stop. "Where did you get that hitch? We need to know how to tow with a MINI Cooper!" Oh, and "Have you ever heard of TearJerkers? " I told them I was already a nominal member out here in Illinois, that I wouldn't be in town long enough for the campout the following week, though they invited me to it, and we parted on great terms!