Compare the2025 Mercedes CLAVS 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes CLA 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.

The CLA’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The CLA offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The CLA has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CLA has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Active Brake Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. MINI charges extra for Cross Traffic Warning on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

Both the CLA 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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The Mercedes CLA weighs 405 to 538 pounds more than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.

There are almost 4 times as many Mercedes dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CLA’s warranty.

The CLA’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 60 more horsepower (221 vs. 161) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 184) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The CLA’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 20 more horsepower (221 vs. 201) and 37 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 221) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The CLA has 1.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (13.5 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

An eight-speed automatic (SMG) is standard on the Mercedes CLA, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

For better traction, the CLA has larger tires than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (225/45R18 vs. 215/45R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CLA has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door. The CLA’s optional 19-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the CLA can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

The CLA’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CLA’s wheelbase is 6.3 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (107.4 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the CLA is 4.5 inches wider in the front and 4 inches wider in the rear than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The CLA has .4 inches more front legroom, 3.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.6 inches more rear legroom and 4.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the CLA’s trunk can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors optional at extra cost in the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, the CLA has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The CLA’s standard easy entry and exit feature glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. An easy entry system costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The CLA’s standard Keyless-Go allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. start/stop switch standard on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the car.

The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The CLA’s optional 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.

The CLA 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 4 Door doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

To keep a safe, consistent following distance, the CLA offers an optional Active Distance Assist Distronic, which alters the speed of the vehicle without driver intervention. This allows the driver to use cruise control more safely without constantly having to disengage it when approaching slower traffic. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer an adaptive cruise control.

Compared to the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, the Mercedes CLA eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its standard integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Mercedes CLA has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.