I have a regular Mini Cooper S. It's a 2005, so mine is supercharged rather than turbo'd. There is some torque steer, but it is not by any stretch unmanageable. I think the review you read was vastly exaggerated. That same reviewer would probably complain about the Crossfire smoking tire too easily. I would go for the S. The added power will really make the car so much more fun to drive. As is, mine is a little under powered in the low RPMs - off the line. But it is quite a lot of fun over 3,000 rpm.

But the best advice I can give is: go drive a base model and an S model. See for yourself. You'll love either one.