Compare the2024 Toyota Rav4VS 2024 MINI Cooper Clubman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 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 Clubman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Rav4 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 Clubman doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Rav4 (except LE) offers an optional Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Rav4 Adventure/Limited AWD/TRD Off-Road’s standard Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.

The Rav4 Limited/TRD Off-Road offers an optional Bird’s Eye View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cooper Clubman only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Rav4’s optional 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 Clubman 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 Rav4’s optional Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Rav4 and the Cooper Clubman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Rav4 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 71 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cooper Clubman has not been tested, yet.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the Rav4 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Cooper Clubman. 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 Clubman ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 12 times as many Toyota dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Rav4’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, MINI is rated lower.

The Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 14 more horsepower (203 vs. 189) than the Cooper Clubman S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Rav4 gets better mileage than the Cooper Clubman:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Rav4 uses regular unleaded gasoline. The JCW Clubman requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Rav4 has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Cooper Clubman (14.5 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Rav4 stops shorter than the Cooper Clubman:

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Rav4 is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1.9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Cooper Clubman.

The Rav4 Adventure handles at .84 G’s, while the Cooper Clubman pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Rav4 LE/XLE’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the Cooper Clubman’s (36.1 feet vs. 37.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Rav4 LE/XLE has a 2.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Cooper Clubman (8.4 vs. 5.6 inches), allowing the Rav4 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Rav4 XLE Premium/Limited/Adventure/TRD Off-Road’s minimum ground clearance is 3 inches higher than on the Cooper Clubman (8.6 vs. 5.6 inches).

The Rav4 has 6.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Cooper Clubman (98.9 vs. 92.5).

The Rav4 has 3.1 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 3.5 inches more rear legroom and 3.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cooper Clubman.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Rav4’s rear seats recline. The Cooper Clubman’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Rav4 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat up (37.6 vs. 17.5 cubic feet). The Rav4 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cooper Clubman with its rear seat folded (69.8 vs. 47.9 cubic feet).

The Rav4’s cargo area is larger than the Cooper Clubman’s in almost every dimension:

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Rav4. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Rav4’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Cooper Clubman’s two swing out doors impair rear visibility, need a lot of clearance, and can block loading in tight quarters.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Rav4 (except LE) offers an optional power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button or, optionally on the Rav4 Limited, by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a power cargo door, so its cargo door has to be closed manually.

The Rav4 has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The Cooper Clubman has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Rav4 uses the Vehicle Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Rav4 has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Cooper Clubman (1120 vs. 871 lbs.).

The Rav4 has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the Cooper Clubman (1240 vs. 871 lbs.).

The Rav4 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 Clubman doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Smart Key System standard on the Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road allows you to unlock the driver’s door, cargo door and start the engine all without removing a key from pocket or purse. This eliminates searching for keys before loading groceries, getting in the vehicle in bad weather or making a hurried start to your trip (Rav4 Limited’s optional Smart Key System will also allow unlocking the passenger doors without taking your keys out). The MINI Cooper Clubman’s Comfort Access doesn’t unlock the trunk.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Rav4 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Cooper Clubman only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road has standard extendable sun visors. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Both the Rav4 and the Cooper Clubman offer available heated front seats. The Rav4 Limited also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Cooper Clubman.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Rav4 (except LE/XLE/Adventure) keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Rav4 Adventure/TRD Off-Road has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Cooper Clubman doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Rav4 is less expensive to operate than the Cooper Clubman because typical repairs cost much less on the Rav4 than the Cooper Clubman, including $153 less for a water pump, $215 less for a muffler, $13 less for front brake pads, $33 less for a starter, $1 less for a fuel pump, $226 less for front struts and $762 less for a power steering pump.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Toyota Rav4, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Toyota Rav4 outsold the MINI Cooper Clubman by almost 162 to one during 2022.