Compare the2024 Hyundai KonaVS 2024 MINI Countryman

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Countryman 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 Countryman 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 Countryman doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist optional in the Kona as “Superior.” The Countryman scores only 3 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Kona’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Countryman 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 Countryman 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 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 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 Countryman doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Kona and the Countryman 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 Countryman has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Warranty

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 Countryman’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 Countryman. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Countryman 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.

Reliability

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.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the MINI Countryman turbo 3 cyl.:

	Kona	Countryman
Zero to 60 MPH	7.7 sec	9.3 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	17 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	89.2 MPH	79.6 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Kona gets better mileage than the Countryman:

			MPG
Kona
	FWD	SE 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	29 city/34 hwy
		SEL 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/35 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	26 city/32 hwy
	AWD	SE 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/29 hwy
		SEL 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/29 hwy
Countryman
	FWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	26 city/32 hwy
		S 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy
	AWD	JCW Countryman 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/30 hwy
		1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy
		S 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy

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

Transmission

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 Countryman doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The Kona stops much shorter than the Countryman:

	Kona	Countryman
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	138 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Kona N Line/Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Countryman (235/45R19 vs. 225/55R17).

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Kona is .8 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Countryman.

The Kona Limited AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Countryman ALL4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Kona Limited AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Countryman ALL4 (27.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Kona’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Countryman’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Kona has a 1.6 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Countryman (8.1 vs. 6.5 inches), allowing the Kona to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Kona N Line’s minimum ground clearance is 1.8 inches higher than on the Countryman (8.3 vs. 6.5 inches).

Chassis

The Hyundai Kona may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 400 pounds less than the MINI Countryman.

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 Countryman (.32) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Kona get better fuel mileage.

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

Passenger Space

The Kona has 4.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Countryman (101.2 vs. 96.9).

The Kona has 1.3 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear legroom and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Countryman.

Cargo Capacity

The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Countryman with its rear seat up (25.5 vs. 17.6 cubic feet). The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Countryman with its rear seat folded (63.7 vs. 47.6 cubic feet).

Ergonomics

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 Countryman doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 Countryman 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 Countryman 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 Countryman 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 Countryman’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

Recommendations

The Hyundai Kona outsold the MINI Countryman by over six to one during 2023.

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