Mini oil crisis

ALL engines use oil. It's the rate at which they use oil that can cause concern. VW engines have a reputation for using oil. There have been warranty claims from people running their engine low on oil and causing serious engine failure. They assumed modern engines don't use oil so didn't check the level. At 250ml/1000km I wouldn't be concerned, but I would be if it were using 1 litre/1000km. The point about the 15,000km service intervals is a good one. At the rate of 250ml/1000km your engine will consume almost four litres of oil between oil changes, which is close to a full engine fill. At 1 litre/1000km you would go through 15 litres between oil changes. Makes you wonder why you'd bother changing the oil.