Compare the2023 Audi A4 AllroadVS 2022 MINI Countryman

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 Allroad have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The MINI Countryman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The A4 Allroad’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Countryman doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 Allroad are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The MINI Countryman doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the A4 Allroad and Countryman have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 Allroad has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Countryman’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The A4 Allroad has a standard Audi Backguard System, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Audi Backguard System moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Countryman doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Pre Sense Front in the A4 Allroad as “Superior.” The Countryman scores only 3 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A4 Allroad. But it costs extra on the Countryman.

The A4 Allroad Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard Top View Camera System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The 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 A4 Allroad’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 and moves the vehicle back into its lane. The 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 A4 Allroad’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 Countryman doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

Both the A4 Allroad and the Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the A4 Allroad the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 155 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Countryman last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

There are almost 3 times as many Audi dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the A4 Allroad’s warranty.

Reliability

The Audi A4 Allroad’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Countryman’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 9 places higher in reliability than MINI.

Engine

The A4 Allroad’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 127 more horsepower (261 vs. 134) and 111 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 162) than the Countryman’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder. The A4 Allroad’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 72 more horsepower (261 vs. 189) and 67 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 206) than the Countryman S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the A4 Allroad’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Countryman:

	A4 Allroad	Countryman
Front Rotors	13.3 inches	13 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	11 inches

The A4 Allroad’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Countryman are solid, not vented.

The A4 Allroad stops much shorter than the Countryman:

	A4 Allroad	Countryman
70 to 0 MPH	152 feet	157 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	138 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A4 Allroad has larger tires than the Countryman (245/45R18 vs. 225/55R17).

The A4 Allroad’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Countryman’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A4 Allroad has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Countryman.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the A4 Allroad’s wheelbase is 5.8 inches longer than on the Countryman (110.9 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The A4 Allroad Premium Plus handles at .81 G’s, while the Countryman ALL4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A4 Allroad Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2 seconds quicker than the Countryman ALL4 (26.3 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The A4 Allroad has .9 inches more front legroom, 4 inches more front shoulder room and 9.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Countryman.

Cargo Capacity

The A4 Allroad has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Countryman with its rear seat up (24.2 vs. 17.6 cubic feet). The A4 Allroad has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Countryman with its rear seat folded (58.5 vs. 47.6 cubic feet).

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the A4 Allroad’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Countryman doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the A4 Allroad. The Countryman doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

The A4 Allroad has a 3968 lbs. towing capacity. The Countryman has no towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the A4 Allroad is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Countryman. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

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 A4 Allroad’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Countryman’s headlights are rated “Marginal” to “Poor.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A4 Allroad Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Countryman doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A4 Allroad has standard extendable sun visors. The Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the A4 Allroad to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Countryman doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The A4 Allroad has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the Countryman. The A4 Allroad Prestige also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Countryman.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the A4 Allroad (except Premium) keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Countryman doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The A4 Allroad has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Countryman.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi A4 Allroad and the MINI Countryman, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Audi A4/S4 outsold the MINI Countryman by 71% during the 2021 model year.