Where each one leads
MINI Cooper S
- Against cars of the same age, the MINI Cooper S comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 6% more often than average) than the Renault Mégane (passes 16% less often than average).
Renault Mégane
- New Renault Mégane cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 119 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 140 for the MINI Cooper S in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol Renault Mégane uses 7.3 l/100 km on the road, the MINI Cooper S 7.6.
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
| MINI Cooper S | Renault Mégane | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2001–2025 | — |
| New cars registered in Europe | 204,718 (2010–2022) | 2,659,600 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 98,371 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 95,123 |
| In traffic in Finland | 897 | 13,356 |
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
| MINI Cooper S | Renault Mégane | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 86% | 54% |
| … against cars of the same age | +6% | −16% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 4.2% |
| US owner complaints | 1,782 | — |
| Most complaints about | Steering | — |
| Model year with most complaints | 2005 (314) | — |
| US recall campaigns | 23 | — |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,805 | — |
| 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
| MINI Cooper S | Renault Mégane | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 7.3 l/100 km (2026) | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 7.6 l/100 km | 7.3 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | — | 5.4 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 140 g/km | 119 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 131 kW (175 hp) | 92 kW (123 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,353 kg | 1,422 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €28,925 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 143,000 km | 207,000 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).