Compare the2025 Ford MustangVS 2024 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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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 blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Mustang’s standard Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.

The Ford Mustang weighs 628 to 1317 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.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Mustang is safer than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

	Mustang	Cooper Hardtop 2 Door
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	127	183
Neck Injury Risk	22.1%	36%
Neck Stress	211 lbs.	318 lbs.
Neck Compression	24 lbs.	60 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	103/454 lbs.	261/454 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	161	238
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	28.8%	37%
Neck Stress	185 lbs.	225 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	149/123 lbs.	277/243 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Mustang is safer than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

	Mustang	Cooper Hardtop 2 Door
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.7 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	154 lbs.	181 lbs.
Hip Force	180 lbs.	352 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	4 Stars	3 Stars
HIC	519	704
Spine Acceleration	75 G’s	80 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	283	315
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	41 G’s
Hip Force	515 lbs.	912 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Mustang is 2.2% less likely to roll over than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

Warranty

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 27 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.

Reliability

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.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Mustang’s reliability 14 points higher than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

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.

Engine

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

	Horsepower	Torque
Mustang EcoBoost 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder	315 HP	350 lbs.-ft.
Mustang GT 5.0 DOHC V8	480 HP	415 lbs.-ft.
Mustang GT 5.0 DOHC V8	486 HP	418 lbs.-ft.
Mustang Dark Horse 5.0 DOHC V8	500 HP	418 lbs.-ft.
Cooper Hardtop 2 Door 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder	134 HP	162 lbs.-ft.
Cooper Hardtop 2 Door S 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	189 HP	206 lbs.-ft.
John Cooper Works Hardtop 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	228 HP	235 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Car and Driver the Ford Mustang is faster than the John Cooper Works Hardtop 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder (manual transmissions tested):

	Mustang GT	Mustang Dark Horse	Cooper Hardtop 2 Door
Zero to 60 MPH	4.2 sec	4.1 sec	6 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	6.6 sec	n/a	9 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	9.5 sec	9.7 sec	13.7 sec
Quarter Mile	12.5 sec	12.5 sec	14.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	114 MPH	115 MPH	102 MPH

As tested in Motor Trend the Mustang Dark Horse 5.0 DOHC V8 is faster than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door 1.5 (manual transmissions tested):

	Mustang	Cooper Hardtop 2 Door
Zero to 60 MPH	4.1 sec	7.4 sec
Quarter Mile	12.6 sec	15.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	113.5 MPH	88.8 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Ford Mustang uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The John Cooper Works Hardtop requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

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.

Transmission

The Ford Mustang comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

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

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Mustang’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

	Mustang EcoBoost	Mustang Dark Horse	Cooper Hardtop 2 Door	John Cooper Works Hardtop
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	15.4 inches	11.1 inches	13.2 inches
Rear Rotors	12.6 inches	14 inches	10.2 inches	10.2 inches

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.

The Mustang stops much shorter than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door:

	Mustang	Cooper Hardtop 2 Door
70 to 0 MPH	141 feet	191 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	87 feet	113 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Mustang has larger standard tires than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (235/50R18 vs. 175/65R15). 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. 205/40R18).

The Mustang’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s standard 65 series tires. The Mustang Dark Horse’s optional tires have a lower 30 series profile 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 15-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.

Suspension and Handling

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 3.3 inches wider in the front and 5.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

The Mustang’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (55% to 45%) than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s (62.3% to 35.1%). This gives the Mustang more stable handling and braking.

The Mustang Dark Horse handles at 1.07 G’s, while the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door S pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Mustang Dark Horse executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.2 seconds quicker than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (23.7 seconds @ .86 average G’s vs. 26.9 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

Chassis

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.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Mustang GT Premium Fastback is quieter than the John Cooper Works Hardtop (72 vs. 75 dB).

Passenger Space

The Mustang Fastback has 2.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door (82.8 vs. 80.3).

The Mustang Fastback has 3.1 inches more front legroom, 1.5 inches more front hip room, 5.7 inches more front shoulder room and 4.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door.

Cargo Capacity

The Mustang Fastback has a much larger trunk than the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door with its rear seat up (13.5 vs. 8.7 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox and optional locking center console (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Mustang. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

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

Servicing Ease

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.

Ergonomics

The Mustang Automatic has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

When three different drivers share the Mustang, the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for all three. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Mustang’s optional Easy Entry and Exit glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Mustang’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The Mustang has standard Intelligent Access that allows 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. Only the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door Signature/Iconic offers Comfort Access.

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.

The Mustang has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door Signature/Iconic.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Ford Mustang and the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Ford Mustang outsold the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door by over five to one during 2024.

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