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CarsLore / Compare / Mid-size cars / 1 Series vs Cooper S

BMW 1 Series vs MINI Cooper S

compared on the same official records: MOT and inspection results, safety ratings, fuel use, recalls and owner complaints. 3 like-for-like measures: the BMW 1 Series leads on 1, the MINI Cooper S on 0, 2 too close to call.

Where each one leads

BMW 1 Series

  • New BMW 1 Series cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 133 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 140 for the MINI Cooper S in 2022.

MINI Cooper S

Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.

Too close to call: MOT pass rate against cars of the same age; real-world fuel use in Europe, petrol (l/100 km).

Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare

At a glance

BMW 1 SeriesMINI Cooper S
Model years in the US safety record2000–20122001–2025
New cars registered in Europe1,543,810 (2010–2022)204,718 (2010–2022)
Licensed in the United Kingdom399,896—
On the road in the Netherlands70,649—
In traffic in Finland9,945897

EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).

Reliability and problems

BMW 1 SeriesMINI Cooper S
UK MOT first-time pass rate76%86%
… against cars of the same age+6%+6%
Illogical odometer records (NL)3.1%—
US owner complaints981,782
Most complaints aboutAir bagsSteering
Model year with most complaints2011 (33)2005 (314)
US recall campaigns323
Manufacturer service bulletins5442,805
NHTSA defect investigations—22

Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).

Fuel, emissions and price

BMW 1 SeriesMINI Cooper S
Official combined fuel use, Canada—7.3 l/100 km (2026)
Real-world use in Europe, petrol7.5 l/100 km7.6 l/100 km
Real-world use in Europe, diesel5.8 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid7.1 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid5.7 l/100 km—
Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe133 g/km140 g/km
Average power of new cars in Europe106 kW (142 hp)131 kW (175 hp)
Average mass in running order1,441 kg1,353 kg
Dutch list price when new (median)€35,136—
Average odometer in Finland179,000 km143,000 km

Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).