Compare the2025 Toyota GR CorollaVS 2025 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 standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The GR Corolla 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 2 Door’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the GR Corolla has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. MINI charges extra for Cross Traffic Warning on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

Both the GR Corolla and the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, 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 139 more horsepower (300 vs. 161) and 111 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 184) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The GR Corolla’s 1.6 turbo 3-cylinder produces 99 more horsepower (300 vs. 201) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 221) 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 15 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 280) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door JCW’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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.

An eight-speed automatic is included on the Toyota GR Corolla Premium Plus, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for 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.

For better traction, the GR Corolla has larger tires than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (235/40R18 vs. 205/45R17). The GR Corolla’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (235/40R18 vs. 215/45R17).

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 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the GR Corolla has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-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 3.6 inches wider in the front and 3.6 inches wider in the rear than on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

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

The GR Corolla has .6 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room, 2.7 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear headroom and 5.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The GR Corolla’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 Hardtop 2 Door does not have an oil pressure gauge.

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’s standard Smart Key System 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. start/stop switch standard on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the car.

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.

Compared to the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, the Toyota GR Corolla eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its optional integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

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.