Compare the2024 Hyundai KonaVS 2024 MINI Cooper Clubman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The MINI Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona 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 Clubman 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 Kona 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Kona’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

The Kona Limited has a standard Surround View Monitor 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 Kona’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 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 Kona’s standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Kona and the Cooper Clubman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.

The Hyundai Kona has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Cooper Clubman has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The Kona comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Cooper Clubman’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Kona 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper Clubman. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Cooper Clubman ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 8 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Kona’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 25 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked 11th.

On the EPA test cycle the Kona gets better mileage than the Cooper Clubman:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Kona uses regular unleaded gasoline. The JCW Clubman requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Kona SE/SEL 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 Clubman doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Kona stops shorter than the Cooper Clubman:

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Kona is .9 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Cooper Clubman.

For better maneuverability, the Kona’s turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the Cooper Clubman’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Kona has a 2.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Cooper Clubman (8.1 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the Kona to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Kona N Line’s minimum ground clearance is 2.7 inches higher than on the Cooper Clubman (8.3 vs. 5.6 inches).

The Hyundai Kona may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 300 pounds less than the MINI Cooper Clubman.

The design of the Hyundai Kona amounts to more than styling. The Kona has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .302 Cd. That is lower than the Cooper Clubman (.33 to .35) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Kona get better fuel mileage.

The Kona has 8.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Clubman (101.2 vs. 92.5).

The Kona has .3 inches more front legroom, 2.1 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 3.9 inches more rear legroom and 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Clubman.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Kona’s rear seats recline. The Cooper Clubman’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat up (25.5 vs. 17.5 cubic feet). The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat folded (63.7 vs. 47.9 cubic feet).

The Kona’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 Kona Limited has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button or just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a power cargo door.

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

The Kona’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Comfort Access standard on the Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a sensor on the trunk.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kona 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 Kona has standard extendable sun visors. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Kona Limited 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 Kona Limited’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Cooper Clubman’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.