Compare the2025 Nissan SentraVS 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Sentra 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 Nissan Sentra 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 Sentra’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Sentra 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 Sentra has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. MINI charges extra for Cross Traffic Warning on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

Both the Sentra and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available daytime running lights and around view monitors.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Sentra 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 over 11 times as many Nissan dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Sentra’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Sentra second among compact cars in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is rated lower.

On the EPA test cycle the Sentra gets better mileage than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Sentra 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 Sentra 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 Sentra has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Sentra has a standard 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 4 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 Sentra’s wheelbase is 5.5 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (106.6 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sentra is 3.2 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The front grille of the Sentra 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 Sentra has 2.4 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more front hip room, 5.2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.6 inches more rear legroom, 1 inch more rear hip room and 4.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

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

The Sentra offers an optional 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 Sentra SV/SR has a standard Intelligent 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 Nissan Sentra 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.

Both are recommended, but Consumer Reports® chose the Nissan Sentra as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Sentra outsold the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door by almost 48 to one during 2024.