Compare the2025 Nissan SentraVS 2024 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Sentra 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 Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Sentra 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 Hardtop 4 Door 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 Sentra are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door 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 Automatic Emergency Braking in the Sentra as “Superior.” The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sentra has standard Rear 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 4 Door doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Sentra SV/SR offers an optional Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door 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 Sentra’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 4 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 Sentra’s standard 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 Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Sentra and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available daytime running lights.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Sentra 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper Hardtop 4 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 4 Door ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 10 times as many Nissan dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Sentra’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Sentra second among compact cars in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is rated lower.

The Sentra’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 15 more horsepower (149 vs. 134) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Sentra gets better mileage than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Sentra uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Nissan Sentra higher (7 out of 10) than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (6 to 7). This means the Sentra produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door every 15,000 miles.

The Nissan Sentra comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Sentra 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 Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better traction, the Sentra has larger standard tires than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (205/60R16 vs. 175/65R15). The Sentra SR’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (215/45R18 vs. 205/45R17).

The Sentra S/SV’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door Classic’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Sentra S/SV has standard 16-inch wheels. Smaller 15-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door Classic.

The Sentra 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 Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Sentra’s wheelbase is 5.5 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (106.6 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sentra is 3.4 inches wider in the front and 3.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The design of the Nissan Sentra amounts to more than styling. The Sentra has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .29 Cd. That is lower than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (.29 to .32) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Sentra get better fuel mileage.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Sentra a Mid-size car, while the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door is rated a Subcompact.

The Sentra has 12.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (96.1 vs. 83.8).

The Sentra has 2.4 inches more front legroom, 5.2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.6 inches more rear legroom and 4.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Sentra (except S) 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 Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Sentra has a standard Push Button Start that allows you to start the engine without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door Signature/Iconic offers Comfort Access.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Sentra has standard extendable sun visors. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Sentra offers an optional center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Sentra is less expensive to operate than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door because it costs $218 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Sentra than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, including $157 less for a water pump, $86 less for a muffler, $35 less for front brake pads, $214 less for a starter, $76 less for a fuel pump, $190 less for front struts, $222 less for a timing belt/chain and $715 less for a power steering pump.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Sentra and the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, based on reliability, safety and performance.