Compare the2025 Hyundai ElantraVS 2025 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Elantra 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 Elantra’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.

The Elantra 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 and moves the vehicle back into its lane. 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 Elantra has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. MINI charges extra for Cross Traffic Warning on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

Both the Elantra and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.

The Elantra comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Elantra 6 years and 50,000 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 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 8 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Elantra’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Elantra third 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 Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked 11th.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Elantra 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 Elantra 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.

For better traction, the Elantra SEL Sport/Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (225/45R17 vs. 215/45R17).

The Elantra 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 Elantra’s wheelbase is 6 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (107.1 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Elantra is 3.4 inches wider in the front and 3.7 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Hyundai Elantra may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 350 pounds less than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Elantra has .8 inches more front headroom, .9 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more front hip room, 5.3 inches more front shoulder room, 5.7 inches more rear legroom and 5.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Elantra SEL Sport/Limited’s trunk can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

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

The Elantra 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 Elantra (except SE) offers an optional Smart 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 Hyundai Elantra 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 both the Hyundai Elantra and the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, based on reliability, safety and performance.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Elantra as the 2021 North American Car of the Year. The Cooper was last chosen in 2003.

The Hyundai Elantra outsold the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door by over 42 to one during 2024.