Compare the2025 Nissan KicksVS 2024 MINI Countryman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Kicks 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 Nissan Kicks 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 Kicks 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 Kicks SR offers an optional front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Countryman doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Kicks has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Countryman doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Kicks SR has a standard Around 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 Kicks’ 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 Kicks’ standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Countryman doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

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

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Kicks 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 10 times as many Nissan dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Kicks’ warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is rated lower.

The Kicks’ 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 7 more horsepower (141 vs. 134) than the Countryman’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Kicks is faster than the MINI Countryman turbo 3 cyl.:

On the EPA test cycle the Kicks gets better mileage than the Countryman:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Kicks uses regular unleaded gasoline. The JCW Countryman requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Kicks has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Countryman doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Kicks has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Countryman doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Kicks stops much shorter than the Countryman:

The Kicks has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Countryman doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Kicks SR AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Countryman ALL4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

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

For greater off-road capability the Kicks has a 1.9 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Countryman (8.4 vs. 6.5 inches), allowing the Kicks to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Nissan Kicks may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 pounds less than the MINI Countryman.

The Kicks has 2.3 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more rear headroom and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Countryman.

The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Countryman with its rear seat up (30 vs. 17.6 cubic feet). The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Countryman with its rear seat folded (60 vs. 47.6 cubic feet).

The Kicks SV/SR offers a 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 improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kicks has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Countryman 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 Kicks has standard extendable sun visors. The Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Nissan Kicks outsold the MINI Countryman by almost seven to one during 2024.