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 3-door hatchback 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 90hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 3-cylinder, 6-valves 75hp engine designed by Smart.

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. 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, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the British car offers a potentially life-saving difference of 39% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Smart does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, 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.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the British car rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Mini is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.4 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 185 kilometers per hour, 35km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the German car, averaging around 5.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (53 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 23% difference compared to the British car.

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 being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. 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. 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.