Compare the2023 Toyota Rav4 PrimeVS 2023 MINI SE Countryman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 Prime 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 SE Countryman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 Prime 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 SE Countryman doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

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 Rav4 Prime as “Superior.” The SE Countryman scores only 3 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Rav4 Prime XSE offers optional Parking Assist with Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Rav4 Prime XSE offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The SE Countryman only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Rav4 Prime’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 SE 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 Rav4 Prime’s standard 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 SE Countryman doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Rav4 Prime and the SE Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 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 Rav4 Prime the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The SE Countryman last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Rav4 Prime 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the SE 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 SE Countryman 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 Rav4 Prime’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 Rav4 Prime’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 81 more horsepower (302 vs. 221) than the SE Countryman’s 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Rav4 Prime is faster than the MINI SE Countryman:

On the EPA test cycle the Rav4 Prime running on electricity gets better mileage than the SE Countryman running on electricity (105 city/84 hwy vs. 74 city/72 hwy MPGe).

On the EPA test cycle the Rav4 Prime running its gasoline engine gets better fuel mileage than the SE Countryman running its gasoline engine (40 city/36 hwy vs. 29 city/30 hwy).

The Rav4 Prime can travel with zero emissions on electricity, only, on a full charge for 42 miles. The SE Countryman has to start its internal combustion engine after only 18 miles.

The Rav4 Prime has 5 gallons more fuel capacity than the SE Countryman (14.5 vs. 9.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Toyota Rav4 Prime higher (7 out of 10) than the MINI SE Countryman (3). This means the Rav4 Prime produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the SE Countryman every 15,000 miles.

The Rav4 Prime 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 SE Countryman doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Rav4 Prime’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the SE Countryman are solid, not vented.

The Rav4 Prime stops much shorter than the SE Countryman:

For better traction, the Rav4 Prime XSE’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the SE Countryman (235/55R19 vs. 225/50R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Rav4 Prime XSE has standard 19-inch wheels. The SE Countryman’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Rav4 Prime has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the SE Countryman; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Rav4 Prime is 1.4 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than on the SE Countryman.

The Rav4 Prime XSE handles at .83 G’s, while the SE Countryman pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Rav4 Prime XSE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the SE Countryman (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Rav4 Prime SE’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the SE Countryman’s (36.1 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Rav4 Prime SE has a 2.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the SE Countryman (8 vs. 5.8 inches), allowing the Rav4 Prime to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Rav4 Prime XSE’s minimum ground clearance is 2.4 inches higher than on the SE Countryman (8.2 vs. 5.8 inches).

The front grille of the Rav4 Prime uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Rav4 Prime has 3.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the SE Countryman (98.9 vs. 95.4).

The Rav4 Prime has .6 inches more front legroom, 3 inches more front shoulder room, 2.5 inches more rear headroom, .2 inches more rear legroom and 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the SE Countryman.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Rav4 Prime’s rear seats recline. The SE Countryman’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Rav4 Prime has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the SE Countryman with its rear seat up (33.5 vs. 17.2 cubic feet). The Rav4 Prime has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the SE Countryman with its rear seat folded (69.8 vs. 47.4 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Rav4 Prime. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Rav4 Prime has a 2500 lbs. towing capacity. The SE Countryman has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Rav4 Prime uses the Vehicle Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Rav4 Prime has a standard 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 SE Countryman doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Rav4 Prime has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the SE 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 Rav4 Prime’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the SE Countryman’s headlights are rated “Marginal” to “Poor.”

The SE Countryman’s optional cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Rav4 Prime XSE’s optional 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.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Rav4 Prime has standard extendable sun visors. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Both the Rav4 Prime and the SE Countryman have standard heated front seats. The Rav4 Prime also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the SE Countryman.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Rav4 Prime XSE keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Rav4 Prime XSE offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The SE Countryman doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Toyota Rav4 Prime, based on reliability, safety and performance.