Compare the2025 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2025 MINI Countryman

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe 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 Countryman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe 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.

Both the Santa Fe and Countryman have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Countryman’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the Santa Fe and the Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe weighs 507 to 709 pounds more than the MINI Countryman. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Santa Fe comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Countryman’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Countryman. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Countryman ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 9 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked 11th.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 36 more horsepower (277 vs. 241) and 16 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 295) than the Countryman S’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 16 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 295) than the JCW Countryman’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

The Santa Fe has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Countryman (17.7 vs. 14.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (6 out of 10) than the MINI Countryman (5 to 6). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Countryman every 15,000 miles.

An eight-speed automatic (SMG) is standard on the Hyundai Santa Fe, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Countryman.

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Countryman (235/60R18 vs. 225/55R18). The Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Countryman (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R19).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The Countryman’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Santa Fe’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Countryman doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 4.8 inches longer than on the Countryman (110.8 inches vs. 106 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Countryman.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is .2 feet tighter than the Countryman S’ (37.9 feet vs. 38.1 feet). The Santa Fe’s turning circle is .8 feet tighter than the JCW Countryman’s (37.9 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe XRT has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Countryman (8.3 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Santa Fe uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Countryman doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Santa Fe has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Countryman can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has .4 inches more front headroom, 4 inches more front legroom, 3.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 5.3 inches more rear legroom and 3.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Countryman.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the Countryman.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Countryman doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Maximum trailer towing in the MINI Countryman is limited to 3499 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

While the Countryman JCW is not recommended to tow, any Santa Fe can tow a minimum of 3500 pounds.

A Trailer Sway Assist is standard on the Santa Fe, using the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. A trailer sway program costs extra on the Countryman.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe has standard extendable sun visors. The Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Countryman doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Santa Fe and the Countryman offer available heated front seats. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Countryman.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Countryman doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Compared to the MINI Countryman, the Hyundai Santa Fe eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its optional integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

The Hyundai Santa Fe stands out above the MINI Countryman by offering not one, but two Qi-compatible phone chargers. This convenience helps travelers with multiple devices to keep powered up on-the-go. Wireless charging eliminates lost or cluttered charging cables and and two of them provide more flexibililty. Both vehicles also offer Qi charging for the second row passengers.

The Santa Fe XRT/Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Countryman doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Santa Fe is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Countryman doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the MINI Countryman by over 10 to one during 2024.