Compare the2022 Chevrolet BoltVS 2022 MINI Cooper SE

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 Cooper SE doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Bolt offers optional Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cooper SE 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 Cooper SE 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 rear 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 Cooper SE doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

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

The Chevrolet Bolt weighs 445 pounds more than the MINI Cooper SE. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.

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 174 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cooper SE has not been tested, yet.

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Bolt 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper SE. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Cooper SE 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’ 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.

The Bolt’s electric motor produces 19 more horsepower (200 vs. 181) and 67 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 199) than the Cooper SE’s electric motor.

On the EPA test cycle the Bolt gets better mileage than the Cooper SE (131 city/109 hwy vs. 119 city/100 hwy MPGe).

The Bolt’s maximum EPA estimated driving range is 259 miles on a full charge, over twice as far as the Cooper SE’s 114-mile range.

For better traction, the Bolt has larger tires than the Cooper SE (215/50R17 vs. 195/55R16). The Bolt’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper SE (215/50R17 vs. 205/45R17).

The Bolt’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cooper SE’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Bolt has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper SE.

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 Cooper SE 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 Cooper SE doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Bolt’s wheelbase is 4.2 inches longer than on the Cooper SE (102.4 inches vs. 98.2 inches).

The Bolt’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56.3% to 43.7%) than the Cooper SE’s (58.1% to 41.9%). This gives the Bolt more stable handling and braking.

The Bolt has standard seating for 5 passengers; the Cooper SE can only carry 4.

The Bolt has 13.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper SE (93.9 vs. 80.3).

The Bolt has 2.9 inches more front legroom, 4.1 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 4.8 inches more rear legroom and 5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper SE.

The Bolt’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children in the rear seat from operating them, but the driver can still raise and lower all of them with the lock engaged. MINI does not offer a locking feature on the Cooper SE’s standard power windows.

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 Cooper SE only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Bolt offers an optional center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Bolt has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer rear vents.

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