Compare the2022 Chevrolet BoltVS 2021 MINI SE Countryman

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Bolt are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Automatic Emergency Braking optional in the Bolt as “Superior.” The SE Countryman scores only 3 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

The Bolt’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

The Bolt offers optional Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The SE Countryman only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Bolt’s optional blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Bolt’s optional cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

The Bolt has standard OnStar®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Bolt and the SE Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, rear impact and roof-crush tests, with its optional front crash prevention system, its “Acceptable” rating in the new passenger-side small overlap crash test, and its headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Bolt the rating of “Top Pick” for 2019, a rating granted to only 160 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The SE Countryman was last qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2017.

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Bolt 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the SE Countryman. Any repair needed on the motor, lithium batteries, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the SE Countryman ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 25 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bolt’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 33 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked 16th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 12th in reliability, above the industry average. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked 17th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Chevrolet 6 places higher in reliability than MINI.

On the EPA test cycle the Bolt gets better fuel mileage than the SE Countryman running on electricity (131 city/109 hwy vs. 74 city/72 hwy MPGe).

On the EPA test cycle the Bolt gets better fuel mileage than the SE Countryman running its gasoline engine (131 city/109 hwy MPGe vs. 29 city/30 hwy).

The Bolt’s maximum EPA estimated driving range is 259 miles on a full charge. The SE Countryman can only travel about 17 miles before it has to start its internal combustion engine.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Chevrolet Bolt higher (10 out of 10) than the MINI SE Countryman (3). This means the Bolt produces up to 36.3 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the SE Countryman every 15,000 miles.

The Bolt stops much shorter than the SE Countryman:

The Bolt has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the Bolt can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

For better maneuverability, the Bolt’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the SE Countryman’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The Chevrolet Bolt may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 pounds less than the MINI SE Countryman.

The Bolt is 6.6 inches shorter than the SE Countryman, making the Bolt easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bolt has .2 inches more front headroom, 3.9 inches more front legroom and 1.6 inches more rear headroom than the SE Countryman.

The Bolt has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the SE Countryman with its rear seat folded (57 vs. 47.4 cubic feet).

The Bolt has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Bolt has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the SE Countryman only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Bolt’s headlights were rated “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the SE Countryman’s headlights are rated “Marginal” to “Poor.”

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Bolt has standard extendable sun visors. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

On extremely cold winter days, the Bolt’s optional heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Bolt was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” in 2017. The SE Countryman has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Bolt was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” in 2017. The SE Countryman has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Bolt as the 2017 North American Car of the Year. The SE Countryman has never been chosen.