Compare the2024 Mazda CX-30VS 2024 MINI Countryman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The MINI Countryman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 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 Countryman doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the CX-30 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Countryman doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The CX-30 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Countryman doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Smart Brake Support in the CX-30 as “Superior.” The Countryman scores only 3 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has standard Rear Smart Brake Support that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Countryman doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-30. But it costs extra on the Countryman.

The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Countryman 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 CX-30’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 Countryman 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 CX-30’s standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Smart Braking Support - Rear Crossing on the Turbo Premium Plus automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Countryman doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the CX-30 and the Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CX-30 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 58 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Countryman has not been fully tested, yet.

Mazda’s powertrain warranty covers the CX-30 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Countryman. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Countryman ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 5 times as many Mazda dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CX-30’s warranty.

The CX-30 has more powerful engines than the Countryman:

	Horsepower	Torque
CX-30 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder	191 HP	186 lbs.-ft.
CX-30 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder	250 HP	320 lbs.-ft.
Countryman 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder	134 HP	162 lbs.-ft.
Countryman S 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	189 HP	206 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mazda CX-30 4 cyl. is faster than the MINI Countryman turbo 3 cyl.:

	CX-30	Countryman
Zero to 60 MPH	7.8 sec	9.3 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	17 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	88.3 MPH	79.6 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the CX-30 gets better mileage than the Countryman:

			MPG
CX-30
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/33 hwy
Countryman
	FWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	26 city/32 hwy
		S 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy
	AWD	JCW Countryman 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/30 hwy
		1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy
		S 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-30 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The Countryman doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Mazda CX-30 uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended with the 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder engine for maximum performance). The JCW Countryman requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mazda CX-30 higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the MINI Countryman (3 to 7). This means the CX-30 produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Countryman every 15,000 miles.

The CX-30 stops much shorter than the Countryman:

	CX-30	Countryman
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	138 feet	Motor Trend

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium handles at .83 G’s, while the Countryman ALL4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Countryman ALL4 (27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the CX-30’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Countryman’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-30 has a 1.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Countryman (8 vs. 6.5 inches), allowing the CX-30 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The CX-30 has 1.3 inches more front legroom and .8 inches more front shoulder room than the Countryman.

The CX-30 has a much larger cargo volume than the Countryman with its rear seat up (20.2 vs. 17.6 cubic feet).

The CX-30 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 Countryman doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the CX-30 has standard extendable sun visors. The Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Mazda CX-30 outsold the MINI Countryman by almost six to one during 2022.