Where each one leads
MINI Cooper
- Against cars of the same age, the MINI Cooper comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 7% more often than average) than the Volkswagen Beetle (passes 8% less often than average).
- Fewer MINI Cooper cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.5% against 4.8%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 MINI Cooper uses 7.4 l/100 km, the 2019 Volkswagen Beetle 8.1.
- New MINI Cooper cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 129 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 152 for the Volkswagen Beetle in 2022.
Volkswagen Beetle
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Too close to call: new York safety inspections failed, against cars of the same year.
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 | Volkswagen Beetle | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2001–2026 | 1998–2019 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 799,739 (2010–2022) | 178,641 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 509,288 | 39,933 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 77,946 | 5,221 |
| In traffic in Finland | 2,681 | 1,348 |
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 | Volkswagen Beetle | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 84% | 58% |
| … against cars of the same age | +7% | −8% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.9% | 1.7% |
| … against cars of the same year | −22% | −17% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 2.5% | 4.8% |
| US owner complaints | 2,236 | 2,588 |
| Most complaints about | Steering | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 2005 (372) | 2004 (349) |
| US recall campaigns | 27 | 24 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,719 | 10,891 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 18 | 15 |
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).
Safety
| MINI Cooper | Volkswagen Beetle | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2017) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| MINI Cooper | Volkswagen Beetle | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 7.4 l/100 km (2026) | 8.1 l/100 km (2019) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 7.1 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 129 g/km | 152 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 100 kW (134 hp) | 162 kW (217 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,294 kg | 1,276 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €33,498 | €33,573 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 168,000 km | 135,000 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).