Compare the2025 Toyota GR CorollaVS 2024 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota GR Corolla 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 2 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 GR Corolla are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The GR Corolla has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Injury Lessening 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 Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The GR Corolla has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The GR Corolla’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 2 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 GR Corolla’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 2 Door doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the GR Corolla and the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the GR Corolla 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper Hardtop 2 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 2 Door ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 13 times as many Toyota dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the GR Corolla’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota second in reliability, above the industry average. With 27 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked fourth.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. MINI is ranked third.

The GR Corolla’s 1.6 turbo 3-cylinder produces 166 more horsepower (300 vs. 134) and 133 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 162) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder. The GR Corolla’s 1.6 turbo 3-cylinder produces 111 more horsepower (300 vs. 189) and 89 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 206) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The GR Corolla’s 1.6 turbo 3-cylinder produces 72 more horsepower (300 vs. 228) and 60 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 235) than the John Cooper Works Hardtop’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Toyota GR Corolla is faster than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (manual transmissions tested):

The GR Corolla has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (13.2 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the GR Corolla’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

The GR Corolla’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 Hardtop 2 Door are solid, not vented.

The GR Corolla stops much shorter than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

For better traction, the GR Corolla has larger tires than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (235/40R18 vs. 175/65R15). The GR Corolla’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (235/40R18 vs. 205/40R18).

The GR Corolla’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GR Corolla has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 15-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the GR Corolla’s wheelbase is 5.7 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (103.9 inches vs. 98.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the GR Corolla is 3.8 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The GR Corolla’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (58.4% to 41.6%) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s (62.3% to 35.1%). This gives the GR Corolla more stable handling and braking.

The GR Corolla handles at 1.02 G’s, while the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door S pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the GR Corolla a Compact car, while the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door is rated a Subcompact.

The GR Corolla has standard seating for 5 passengers; the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door can only carry 4.

The GR Corolla has 4.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (84.6 vs. 80.3).

The GR Corolla has .6 inches more front legroom, .5 inches more front hip room, 3.3 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear headroom and 6.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The GR Corolla’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children from operating them, but the driver can still raise and lower all of them with the lock engaged. MINI does not offer a locking feature on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard power windows.

The GR Corolla has a standard Smart Key System that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door Signature/Iconic offers Comfort Access.

The GR Corolla has two rear doors to provide better access for cargo and rear passengers. The Cooper doesn’t offer rear doors.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the GR Corolla has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door 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 GR Corolla has standard extendable sun visors. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The GR Corolla has a standard 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 2 Door doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the GR Corolla has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer rear vents.

The GR Corolla will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the GR Corolla will retain 57.74% to 59.52% of its original price after five years, while the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door only retains 53.04% to 57.44%.

The GR Corolla was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.