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Marketing
Dimensons & Outlines
Engine
0.7 Suprex 75
Performance (manual gearbox)
Performance (automatic gearbox)
Expenses
Virtual Adviser's™ opinion
Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 2-door cabriolet body style within the same 'Micro car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Mini and rear in the case of the Smart). The first one has a Tritec-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 3-cylinder, 6-valves 75hp engine designed by Smart.
SafetyThe first thing to look into here would be the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests performed on the two cars. Good thing is that both vehicles got tested, with the Mini being a slightly better choice apparently. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the micro car segment, which is generally a misfortune safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the British car offers a self-explainatory difference of 64% more metal.
ReliabilityI don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Smart does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Mini with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Smart badge with 3.9 out of 5. The same official information place Mini as average reliability-wise, and ForTwo is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the British car rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.
Performance & Fuel economyMini is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 4.9 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 215 kilometers per hour, 65km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the German car, averaging around 5.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (53 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 57% difference compared to the British car!
Verdict
Mini appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the British car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Mini outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Mini. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.