Compare the2023 Chevrolet EquinoxVS 2023 MINI Cooper Clubman

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Equinox are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Equinox LT/RS/Premier offers an optional Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cooper Clubman 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 Equinox’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 Clubman 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 Equinox’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 Clubman doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Equinox and the Cooper Clubman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and daytime running lights.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Equinox the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 233 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cooper Clubman has not been tested, yet.

Warranty

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Equinox 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper Clubman. 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 Clubman 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 Equinox’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Equinox first among compact suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Cooper Clubman isn’t in the top three in its category.

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.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Equinox FWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Clubman (14.9 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Equinox AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Clubman (15.6 vs. 13.2 gallons).

The Equinox 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 Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

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

Brakes and Stopping

The Equinox stops shorter than the Cooper Clubman:

	Equinox	Cooper Clubman
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	169 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	123 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Equinox’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Clubman (235/50R19 vs. 225/45R17).

The Equinox 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 Clubman doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Equinox’s wheelbase is 2.2 inches longer than on the Cooper Clubman (107.3 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Equinox’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56% to 44%) than the Cooper Clubman’s (58.4% to 41.6%). This gives the Equinox more stable handling and braking.

The Equinox Premier AWD handles at .86 G’s, while the Cooper Clubman pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Equinox has a 2.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Cooper Clubman (7.9 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the Equinox to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Equinox uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Equinox has 10.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Clubman (103.2 vs. 92.5).

The Equinox has 2.5 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 5.6 inches more rear legroom and 2.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Clubman.

Cargo Capacity

The Equinox has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat up (29.9 vs. 17.5 cubic feet). The Equinox has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat folded (63.9 vs. 47.9 cubic feet).

The Equinox’s cargo area is larger than the Cooper Clubman’s in every dimension:

	Equinox	Cooper Clubman
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	34.9”/67.4”	28.9”/60.8”
Max Width	53.7”	n/a
Min Width	40.7”	40”
Height	31”	30”

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Equinox LT/RS/Premier’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Equinox’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Cooper Clubman’s two swing out doors impair rear visibility, need a lot of clearance, and can block loading in tight quarters.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Equinox (except LS) offers an optional power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or on the Equinox Premier, by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a power cargo door, so its cargo door has to be closed manually.

Towing

The Equinox has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The Cooper Clubman has no towing capacity.

The Equinox can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Equinox can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Cooper Clubman can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Equinox uses the StabiliTrak® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Ergonomics

The Equinox 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 Clubman doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Equinox Premier’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Equinox’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Cooper Clubman has neither an oil pressure gauge nor a temperature gauge.

The Equinox’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 Clubman’s standard power windows.

The Equinox’s standard power window controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Cooper Clubman’s available power window controls are down in the center of the dashboard, away from the windows and mixed with controls for unrelated features.

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

Keyless Access standard on the Equinox allows you to unlock the doors, cargo door and start the engine all without removing a key from pocket or purse. This eliminates searching for keys before loading groceries, getting in the vehicle in bad weather or making a hurried start to your trip. The MINI Cooper Clubman’s Comfort Access doesn’t unlock the trunk.

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

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

When the Equinox Premier is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Cooper Clubman’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Equinox and the Cooper Clubman offer available heated front seats. The Equinox Premier also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Cooper Clubman.

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

The Equinox (except LS) offers an optional 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 Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Equinox owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Equinox will cost $2185 to $6735 less than the Cooper Clubman over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Equinox is less expensive to operate than the Cooper Clubman because typical repairs cost much less on the Equinox than the Cooper Clubman, including $9 less for a water pump, $104 less for a starter, $189 less for front struts and $551 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Chevrolet Equinox will be $6670 to $12234 less than for the MINI Cooper Clubman.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Chevrolet Equinox, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Chevrolet Equinox outsold the MINI Cooper Clubman by almost 86 to one during 2022.