Compare the2023 Toyota GR86VS 2023 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door

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 GR86 as “Superior.” The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The GR86 Auto has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The GR86 Premium’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 Cooper Hardtop 2 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 GR86 Premium’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 Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the GR86 and the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems, rear parking sensors and driver alert monitors.

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 GR86 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 126 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door has not been fully tested, yet.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the GR86 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper Hardtop 2 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 2 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 GR86’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 GR86’s 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 94 more horsepower (228 vs. 134) and 22 lbs.-ft. more torque (184 vs. 162) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder. The GR86’s 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 39 more horsepower (228 vs. 189) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Toyota GR86 is faster than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (manual transmissions tested):

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the GR86 lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

The GR86 has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (13.2 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the GR86’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

The GR86’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 2 Door are solid, not vented.

The GR86 stops much shorter than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

For better traction, the GR86 has larger tires than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (215/45R17 vs. 195/55R16). The GR86’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (215/45R17 vs. 205/40R18).

The GR86’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 2 Door’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GR86 has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the GR86’s wheelbase is 3.2 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (101.4 inches vs. 98.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the GR86 is 1 inch wider in the front and 2.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The GR86’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (55.3% to 44.7%) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s (62.3% to 35.1%). This gives the GR86 more stable handling and braking.

The GR86 Premium handles at 1.00 G’s, while the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The GR86 Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.2 seconds quicker than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (24.7 seconds @ .76 average G’s vs. 26.9 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

The design of the Toyota GR86 amounts to more than styling. The GR86 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .276 Cd. That is lower than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (.3 to .34). A more efficient exterior helps the GR86 go faster and keeps the interior quieter. It also helps the GR86 get better fuel mileage.

The GR86 has .1 inches more front legroom, 3 inches more front shoulder room and 3.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The engine in the GR86 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The GR86 Premium Auto 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 Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The GR86’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children from operating them. MINI does not offer a locking feature on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard power windows.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the GR86’s exterior PIN entry system. The Cooper Hardtop 2 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 GR86’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The GR86 Premium’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 GR86 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Toyota GR86 and the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The GR86 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023 and 2 more times in the last 11 years. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

The Toyota GR86 outsold the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door by 18% during 2022.