Compare the2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUVVS 2023 MINI Cooper SE

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Chevrolet Bolt EUV 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 SE 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 Bolt EUV are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Bolt EUV Premier has a standard Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cooper SE 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 Bolt EUV’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 SE 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 Bolt EUV’s optional Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Bolt EUV and the Cooper SE have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.

The Chevrolet Bolt EUV weighs 537 to 572 pounds more than the MINI Cooper SE. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Bolt EUV 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper SE. 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 SE ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 28 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bolt EUV’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked 13th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in long-term dependability. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, MINI is rated lower.

The Bolt EUV’s electric motor produces 19 more horsepower (200 vs. 181) and 67 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 199) than the Cooper SE’s electric motor.

On the EPA test cycle the Bolt EUV gets better mileage than the Cooper SE (125 city/104 hwy vs. 119 city/100 hwy MPGe).

The Bolt EUV can travel longer on a full charge than the Cooper SE (247 miles vs. 114 miles).

For better traction, the Bolt EUV has larger tires than the Cooper SE (215/50R17 vs. 195/55R16). The Bolt EUV’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper SE (215/50R17 vs. 205/45R17).

The Bolt EUV’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cooper SE’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Bolt EUV has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper SE.

The Bolt EUV has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the Bolt EUV can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Bolt EUV’s wheelbase is 7.1 inches longer than on the Cooper SE (105.3 inches vs. 98.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Bolt EUV is 1.1 inches wider in the front and .7 inches wider in the rear than on the Cooper SE.

The Bolt EUV has standard seating for 5 passengers; the Cooper SE can only carry 4.

The Bolt EUV has 16.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper SE (96.5 vs. 80.3).

The Bolt EUV has 2.9 inches more front legroom, 4 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 8.3 inches more rear legroom and 4.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper SE.

The Bolt EUV’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children in the rear seat from operating them, but the driver can still raise and lower all of them with the lock engaged. MINI does not offer a locking feature on the Cooper SE’s standard power windows.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Bolt EUV has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Cooper SE only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

While driving with high beams on, sensitive light sensors standard on the Bolt EUV detect other vehicles which could be blinded and automatically switch to low beams. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer automatic dimming high beams.

Both the Bolt EUV and the Cooper SE offer available heated front seats. The Bolt EUV Premier also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Cooper SE.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Bolt EUV keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Bolt EUV offers an optional 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 SE doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Bolt EUV has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Cooper SE doesn’t offer rear vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Chevrolet Bolt EUV has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Cooper SE Iconic offers wireless charging.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Bolt as the 2017 North American Car of the Year. The Cooper SE has never been chosen.