Compare the2025 Subaru WRXVS 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door

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

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru WRX 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 WRX 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 WRX 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 2 Door doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The WRX 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 WRX’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.

Both the WRX and the Cooper Hardtop 2 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, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The Subaru WRX 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 2 Door has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

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

The WRX’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 110 more horsepower (271 vs. 161) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 184) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The WRX’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 70 more horsepower (271 vs. 201) and 37 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 221) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The WRX’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 43 more horsepower (271 vs. 228) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door JCW’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the WRX lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

The WRX has 5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (16.6 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The WRX offers an optional 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 2 Door doesn’t offer a CVT.

The WRX’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 WRX has larger tires than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (245/40R18 vs. 205/45R17). The WRX’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (245/40R18 vs. 215/45R17).

The WRX’s standard 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. The WRX tS’ tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s optional 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the WRX has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door. The WRX tS’ 19-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the WRX’s wheelbase is 7 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (105.2 inches vs. 98.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the WRX is 2.5 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

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

The WRX has 1.7 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front hip room, 5.5 inches more front shoulder room, 5.7 inches more rear legroom and 6.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The engine in the WRX 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 WRX’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children in the rear seat from operating them. MINI does not offer a locking feature on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard power windows.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the WRX’s exterior PIN entry system. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Assist eCall can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The WRX’s standard Keyless Access and Start allow 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 WRX has two rear doors to provide better access for cargo and rear passengers. The Cooper doesn’t offer rear doors.

The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The WRX Limited/GT/tS’ 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.

The WRX 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 Subaru WRX 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 WRX, based on reliability, safety and performance.