Compare the2023 Toyota Corolla HatchbackVS 2023 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Corolla Hatchback 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.

The Corolla Hatchback has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats (WIL), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WIL 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 System in the Corolla Hatchback as “Superior.” The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

The Corolla Hatchback’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 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 Corolla Hatchback’s optional rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Corolla Hatchback and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Corolla Hatchback the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door has not been fully tested, yet.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Corolla Hatchback 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 almost 12 times as many Toyota dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Corolla Hatchback’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, MINI is rated lower.

The Corolla Hatchback’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 35 more horsepower (169 vs. 134) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Corolla Hatchback gets better mileage than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door:

The Corolla Hatchback has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (13.2 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Toyota Corolla Hatchback higher (7 out of 10) than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (6 to 7). This means the Corolla Hatchback produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door every 15,000 miles.

The Toyota Corolla Hatchback comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Corolla Hatchback has a standard 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.

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

For better traction, the Corolla Hatchback has larger standard tires than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (205/55R16 vs. 195/55R16). The Corolla Hatchback’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (225/40R18 vs. 205/45R17).

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Corolla Hatchback’s wheelbase is 2.8 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (103.9 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Corolla Hatchback is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Corolla Hatchback’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (59.4% to 40.6%) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s (61.5% to 38.5%). This gives the Corolla Hatchback more stable handling and braking.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Corolla Hatchback a Compact car, while the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door is rated a Subcompact.

The Corolla Hatchback has .6 inches more front legroom, 2.7 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom and 4.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Corolla Hatchback has a much larger trunk than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door with its rear seat up (17.8 vs. 13.1 cubic feet).

The Corolla Hatchback’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The Corolla Hatchback’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.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Corolla Hatchback has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door 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 Corolla Hatchback’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The Corolla Hatchback 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 Corolla Hatchback XSE has standard rear a/c vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer rear vents.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Corolla Hatchback is less expensive to operate than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door because it costs $409 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Corolla Hatchback than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, including $218 less for a water pump, $123 less for a muffler, $57 less for front brake pads, $71 less for a starter, $158 less for a fuel pump, $25 less for front struts, $172 less for a timing belt/chain and $834 less for a power steering pump.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Toyota Corolla Hatchback and the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Toyota Corolla outsold the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door by almost 68 to one during 2022.