Compare the2024 Subaru ImprezaVS 2024 MINI Cooper Clubman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Impreza have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The MINI Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Impreza 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 Impreza 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 Impreza has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Impreza. But it costs extra on the Cooper Clubman.

The Impreza (except Base)’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 Impreza (except Base)’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 Impreza and the Cooper Clubman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 Subaru Impreza achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Cooper Clubman has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Impreza 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 over 6 times as many Subaru dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Impreza’s warranty.

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

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

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

The Impreza has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Clubman (16.6 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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

The Impreza 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 Impreza’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 Clubman are solid, not vented.

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

The Impreza has 8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Clubman (100.5 vs. 92.5).

The Impreza has 1.5 inches more front legroom, 2.1 inches more front shoulder room, 2.2 inches more rear legroom and 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Clubman.

The Impreza has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat up (20.4 vs. 17.5 cubic feet). The Impreza has a much larger trunk with its rear seat folded than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat folded (56 vs. 47.9 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Impreza easier. The Impreza’s trunk lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Cooper Clubman’s liftover is 27.2 inches.

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

The Impreza 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.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Impreza 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.

The Cooper Clubman’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Impreza’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.

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

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Impreza and the MINI Cooper Clubman, based on reliability, safety and performance.