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Mini Cooper vs Infiniti Q30

What's the difference?

VS
Mini Cooper
Mini Cooper

2022 price

Infiniti Q30
Infiniti Q30

$22,800 - $33,982

2019 price

Summary

2022 Mini Cooper
2019 Infiniti Q30
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 3, 1.5L

Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
5.6L/100km (combined)

6.3L/100km (combined)
Seating
4

5
Dislikes
  • Still expensive for a B-segment supermini
  • Costly options
  • Requires 95 RON premium unleaded petrol

  • Concept car practicality
  • Lacking multimedia
  • Priced in the big leagues
2022 Mini Cooper Summary

Can it really be eight years since we first lay eyes on the current-shape Mini – and 20 seasons since the BMW-led brand revival burst onto the scene?

With much input from now-defunct Rover, the 2001 R50 was all about reinvention, attitude, fashion and athleticism for the new millennium. These also defined the two following generations (R56 of 2006 and F56 of 2013), along with stingy equipment levels and laughably high-priced options. On-paper value-for-money was never a Mini strong suit.

But fads come and fads go, and by early 2021, BMW seemed to have finally realised that Mini fans are ageing and the market is changing, as reflected in the ever-smaller pool of city cars and superminis. The days of looking cool at the wheel of this retro icon are long gone.  

Result? A couple of years into the F56’s facelift – which itself brought a long list of improvements to help keep the old show-pony fresh – BMW has ushered in another round of updates, streamlining the way you buy a Mini in the process via – shock, horror! – ‘free’ specification packages.

We take a look at the popular Cooper 3DR Hatch Classic Plus to see if the Mini’s still got it for 2022.

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2019 Infiniti Q30 Summary

Welcome to the future - where your Mercedes-Benz is a Nissan and your Nissan is a Mercedes-Benz. 

Lost already? Let me catch you up. Infiniti is the premium arm of Nissan, in much the same way Lexus is the premium arm of Toyota, and the Q30 is Infiniti’s hatchback. 

Thanks to the state of various global manufacturing alliances the Q30 is mechanically, largely a previous-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class, with a similar arrangement seeing the new Mercedes-Benz X-Class ute comprised largely of Nissan Navara underpinnings.

Recently, the Q30 has had its range of variants trimmed from a confusing five down to two, and the one we’re testing here is the top-spec Sport.

Make sense? I hope so. The Q30 Sport joined me on an 800km trip along the east coast in the height of summer. So, can it make the most of its German/Japanese roots? Read on to find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2022 Mini Cooper 2019 Infiniti Q30

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