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 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Mini and 4 x 4 in the case of the Land Rover). The first one has a Peugeot-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 184hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 240hp engine designed by Mazda.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Evoque offers a considerable difference of 26% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Mini as a brand displays somewhat better results, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Mini with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Land Rover badge with 3.8 out of 5. The same official information place Countryman as average reliability-wise, and Evoque is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Countryman rank it on average as 3.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.6 out of 5.

Both of the cars accelerate exactly the same, so we couldn't put one above the other. Car No. 2 is faster though, reaching top speed of 217 kilometers per hour, 2km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be Countryman, averaging around 6.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (46 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 43% difference compared to Evoque!

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, Evoque offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. It all continues in the same direction, with Land Rover offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. 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. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. 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™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.