Compare the2025 Chevrolet TraxVS 2024 MINI Cooper Clubman

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 Trax 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 Trax’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 Trax’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 Trax 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available rear parking sensors.

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Trax 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 Trax’s warranty.

The Cooper Clubman’s redline is at 7000 RPM, which causes more engine wear, and a greater chance of a catastrophic engine failure. The Trax has a 6000 RPM redline.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 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 above average in initial quality. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is rated lower.

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.

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

The Trax 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.

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

The Trax stops shorter than the Cooper Clubman:

For better traction, the Trax RS’ optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Clubman (245/45R19 vs. 235/35R19).

The Trax 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Trax’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the Cooper Clubman (106.3 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Trax ACTIV handles at .84 G’s, while the Cooper Clubman pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Chevrolet Trax may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 550 pounds less than the MINI Cooper Clubman.

The Trax 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.

The Trax has 5.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Clubman (98 vs. 92.5).

The Trax has .5 inches more front legroom, 1 inch more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 4.4 inches more rear legroom and 1.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Clubman.

The Trax has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat up (25.6 vs. 17.5 cubic feet). The Trax has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat folded (54.1 vs. 47.9 cubic feet).

The Trax’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.

The Trax 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 Trax can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Cooper Clubman can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Trax 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 Trax’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 does not have an oil pressure gauge.

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

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

The Trax was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024. The Cooper Clubman has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.