Compare the2023 Volkswagen JettaVS 2023 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volkswagen Jetta 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 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Autonomous Emergency Braking in the Jetta as “Superior.” The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

The Jetta’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 4 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 Jetta’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Jetta and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available lane departure warning systems.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Jetta the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 233 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door has not been fully tested, yet.

There are over 6 times as many Volkswagen dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Jetta’s warranty.

The Jetta’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 24 more horsepower (158 vs. 134) and 22 lbs.-ft. more torque (184 vs. 162) than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Volkswagen Jetta uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Jetta has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (13.2 vs. 11.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volkswagen Jetta higher (7 out of 10) than the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (6 to 7). This means the Jetta produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door every 15,000 miles.

An eight-speed automatic is optional on the Volkswagen Jetta, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

For better stopping power the Jetta’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door:

For better traction, the Jetta has larger tires than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (205/60R16 vs. 195/55R16).

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Jetta’s wheelbase is 4.6 inches longer than on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (105.7 inches vs. 101.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Jetta is 1.9 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The design of the Volkswagen Jetta amounts to more than styling. The Jetta offers aerodynamic coefficients of drag from .27 to .28 Cd (depending on bodystyle and options). That is lower than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (.29 to .32) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Jetta get better fuel mileage.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Jetta a Compact car, while the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door is rated a Subcompact.

The Jetta has 10.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (94.7 vs. 83.8).

The Jetta has 4.7 inches more front shoulder room, 5.1 inches more rear legroom and 4.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

The Jetta SE/SEL 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 Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

When different drivers share the Jetta SEL, the memory seats and mirrors make it convenient. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Jetta’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Cooper Hardtop 4 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 Jetta’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

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

Both the Jetta and the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door offer available heated front seats. The Jetta SEL also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Jetta SEL keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Jetta Sport/SE/SEL 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.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Jetta has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Cooper Hardtop 4 Door doesn’t offer rear vents.

Insurance will cost less for the Jetta owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Jetta with a number “3” insurance rate while the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door is rated higher at a number “5” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Jetta is less expensive to operate than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door because typical repairs cost much less on the Jetta than the Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, including $41 less for front brake pads, $35 less for a fuel pump, $213 less for a timing belt/chain and $620 less for a power steering pump.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Volkswagen Jetta and the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Volkswagen Jetta outsold the MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door by over 9 to one during 2022.