Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2022 MINI Countryman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Bronco Sport 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.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Ford Bronco Sport 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.

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 Bronco Sport are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The 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 in the Bronco Sport 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 Bronco Sport. But it costs extra on the Countryman.

The Bronco Sport’s 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 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 Bronco Sport’s standard 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 Bronco Sport and the Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.

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 standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Bronco Sport its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 101 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Countryman last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

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

There are almost 29 times as many Ford dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco Sport’s warranty.

The Bronco Sport has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Countryman doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport third among small SUVs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Countryman isn’t in the top three.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 1 place higher in reliability than MINI.

The Bronco Sport has more powerful engines than the Countryman:

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Bronco Sport (base engine) is faster than the MINI Countryman (base engine):

As tested in Motor Trend the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Countryman S 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

The Bronco Sport has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Countryman doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Ford Bronco Sport higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the MINI Countryman (3 to 7). This means the Bronco Sport produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Countryman every 15,000 miles.

The Bronco Sport stops much shorter than the Countryman:

For better traction, the Bronco Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Countryman (235/65R17 vs. 225/55R17).

The Bronco Sport offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Countryman; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare or run-flat tires, either of which has mileage and speed limitations.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Bronco Sport is 1.7 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the average track on the Countryman.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a 1.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Countryman (7.8 vs. 6.5 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 2.3 inches higher than on the Countryman (8.8 vs. 6.5 inches).

The front grille of the Bronco Sport uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Countryman doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Bronco Sport has 8.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Countryman (105.7 vs. 96.9).

The Bronco Sport has 1 inch more front headroom, 2 inches more front legroom, 5.4 inches more front shoulder room, 3.4 inches more rear headroom and 10.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Countryman.

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Countryman with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 17.6 cubic feet). The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Countryman with its rear seat folded (65.2 vs. 47.6 cubic feet).

An optional locking center console keeps your small valuables safer in the Bronco Sport. The Countryman doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Bronco Sport’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Countryman’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Bronco Sport Badlands offers up to a 2200 lbs. towing capacity. The Countryman has no towing capacity.

Optional Trailer Sway Control on the Bronco Sport uses the AdvanceTrac® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Countryman doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Bronco Sport (except Base/Big Bend) offers a 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 Countryman doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Bronco Sport’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Countryman doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Bronco Sport has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the 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 Bronco Sport’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the 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 Bronco Sport has standard extendable sun visors. The Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Bronco Sport Outer Banks/Badlands/First Edition has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Countryman doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Bronco Sport will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Bronco Sport will retain 59.2% to 61.37% of its original price after five years, while the Countryman only retains 48.25% to 51.18%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Bronco Sport will be $4188 to $10156 less than for the MINI Countryman.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Ford Bronco Sport and the MINI Countryman, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport first among small SUVs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Countryman was rated second.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the MINI Countryman by almost 13 to one during the 2022 model year.