Compare the2023 Subaru WRXVS 2023 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru WRX 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 Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru WRX 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 Cooper Hardtop 4 Door 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 WRX are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The WRX has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door 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-Collision Braking optional in the WRX as “Superior.” The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The WRX Limited SPT/GT has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The WRX has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The WRX Limited/GT’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 and moves the vehicle back into its lane. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door 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 WRX Limited/GT’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 Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

Both the WRX and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door 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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems and 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, with its optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the WRX its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the WRX 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door. 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 Hardtop 4 Door ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 6 times as many Subaru dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the WRX’s warranty.

Engine

The WRX’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 137 more horsepower (271 vs. 134) and 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 162) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder. The WRX’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 82 more horsepower (271 vs. 189) and 52 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 206) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the WRX lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

The WRX has 5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (16.6 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Transmission

The WRX offers an optional continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the WRX’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door:

	WRX	Cooper Hardtop 4 Door	Cooper Hardtop 4 Door S
Front Rotors	12.4 inches	11 inches	11.6 inches
Rear Rotors	11.4 inches	10.2 inches	10.2 inches
Opt Rear Rotors	11.8 inches

The WRX’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the WRX has larger standard tires than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (235/45R17 vs. 195/55R16). The WRX’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (245/40R18 vs. 205/45R17).

The WRX’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the WRX has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the WRX’s wheelbase is 4 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (105.1 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the WRX is 2.6 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The WRX’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (59.9% to 40.1%) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s (61.5% to 38.5%). This gives the WRX more stable handling and braking.

Passenger Space

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the WRX a Mid-size car, while the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door is rated a Subcompact.

The WRX has 15.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (98.9 vs. 83.8).

The WRX has 1.7 inches more front legroom, 5.5 inches more front shoulder room, 4.2 inches more rear legroom and 6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the WRX. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the WRX is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The WRX 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 Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The WRX Premium/Limited/GT’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the WRX Premium/Limited/GT’s exterior PIN entry system. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Assist eCall can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

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 WRX’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The WRX Premium/Limited/GT’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

The WRX Premium/Limited/GT has a standard 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 Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the WRX has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer rear vents.

Recommendations

The Subaru WRX outsold the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door by almost five to one during 2022.