Compare the2025 Subaru ImprezaVS 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Impreza 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 Subaru Impreza 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.

The Impreza has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front 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 4 Door doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Impreza has 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 Impreza’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 4 Door.

Both the Impreza and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front 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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Subaru Impreza achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Impreza 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 almost 7 times as many Subaru dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Impreza’s warranty.

The Impreza RS’ standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 21 more horsepower (182 vs. 161) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Impreza lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Impreza 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.

The Impreza has 5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (16.6 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Impreza 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.

The Impreza’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 4 Door are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Impreza Sport/RS’ tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (225/40R18 vs. 215/45R17).

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Impreza’s wheelbase is 4 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (105.1 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Impreza is 1.6 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The front grille of the Impreza uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Impreza has 1.5 inches more front legroom, 2.3 inches more front hip room, 5.6 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 4.2 inches more rear legroom, .9 inches more rear hip room and 5.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Impreza has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door with its rear seat up (20.4 vs. 13.1 cubic feet). The Impreza has a much larger trunk with its rear seat folded than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door with its rear seat folded (56 vs. 40 cubic feet).

The engine in the Impreza is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Impreza has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

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

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

The Impreza Sport/RS 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 Impreza has a standard Adaptive Cruise Control, 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 Subaru Impreza 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.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Subaru Impreza, based on reliability, safety and performance.