Compare the2025 Ford MustangVS 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Mustang 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 2 Door doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear 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 Mustang are reminded to check the back seat. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Mustang’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 Mustang 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 Mustang has standard Cross Traffic Alert and Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. MINI charges extra for Cross Traffic Warning on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

Both the Mustang and the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger 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 and driver alert monitors.

The Ford Mustang weighs 532 to 1014 pounds more than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Mustang 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 over 30 times as many Ford dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Mustang’s warranty.

The Mustang has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the car’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is rated lower.

The Mustang has more powerful engines than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

The Mustang has 4.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (16 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Mustang 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 Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Mustang, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The Mustang’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 Mustang has larger standard tires than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (235/50R18 vs. 205/45R17). The Mustang Dark Horse’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (F:305/30R19 & R:315/30R19 vs. 215/45R17).

The Mustang Dark Horse’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 30 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s optional 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Mustang has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door. The Mustang’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The Mustang offers an optional space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Mustang’s wheelbase is 8.8 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (107 inches vs. 98.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Mustang is 3.1 inches wider in the front and 5.3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The Mustang Convertible uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Mustang Fastback has 3.1 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, 5.1 inches more front shoulder room and 3.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The Mustang Fastback has a much larger trunk than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door with its rear seat up (13.5 vs. 8.9 cubic feet).

The Mustang has a 1000 lbs. towing capacity. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door has no towing capacity.

The engine in the Mustang is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The Mustang’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 Mustang’s standard Intelligent Access allow you to unlock the doors from either 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 2 Door only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the car.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Mustang has standard extendable sun visors. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Mustang Premium/Deluxe keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Compared to the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, the Ford Mustang 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 driver’s visor.