Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by diesel 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 BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 112hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 3-cylinder, 12-valves 54hp engine designed by Mercedes Benz.

Safety

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the Mini being a slightly better choice apparently. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the micro car segment, which is generally a misfortune safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. 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 50% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Smart does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Mini with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Smart badge with 4.3 out of 5. The same official information place Mini 17% below average, and ForTwo 40% above the first one. Above it all, drivers of cars with 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 economy

Mini is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 6.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 194 kilometers per hour, 59km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the German car, averaging around 3.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (86 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 21% difference compared to the British car.

Verdict

Smart 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... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Mini. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.