Compare the2026 Mazda CX-5VS 2025 MINI Countryman

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-5 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The MINI Countryman doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The MINI Countryman doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the CX-5 and the Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

Mazda’s powertrain warranty covers the CX-5 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than MINI covers the Countryman. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Countryman ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 5 times as many Mazda dealers as there are MINI dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CX-5’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than MINI vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda third in reliability, above the industry average. With 29 more problems per 100 vehicles, MINI is ranked 10th.

On the EPA test cycle the CX-5 gets better fuel mileage than the JCW Countryman 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder (24 city/30 hwy vs. 23 city/30 hwy).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Mazda CX-5 uses regular unleaded gasoline. The JCW Countryman requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The CX-5 has a gallon more fuel capacity than the Countryman (15.3 vs. 14.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-5’s wheelbase is 4.7 inches longer than on the Countryman (110.7 inches vs. 106 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the CX-5 is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Countryman.

For better maneuverability, the CX-5’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Countryman S’ (36.8 feet vs. 38.1 feet). The CX-5’s turning circle is 1.9 feet tighter than the JCW Countryman’s (36.8 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the CX-5 Preferred/Premium has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Countryman (8.2 vs. 8 inches), allowing the CX-5 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The CX-5 has 1.3 inches more front legroom, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, 2.9 inches more rear legroom and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Countryman.

The CX-5 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Countryman with its rear seat up (33.7 vs. 25 cubic feet). The CX-5 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Countryman with its rear seat folded (66.5 vs. 56.2 cubic feet).

While the Countryman JCW is not recommended to tow, any CX-5 can tow a minimum of 1500 pounds.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the CX-5 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Countryman only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Countryman’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The CX-5 Premium Plus’ standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the CX-5 Select/Preferred/Premium has standard extendable sun visors. The Countryman doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Both the CX-5 and the Countryman offer available heated front seats. The CX-5 Premium also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Countryman.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the CX-5 Premium keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Countryman doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Compared to the MINI Countryman, the Mazda CX-5 Preferred/Premium eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its standard integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Mazda CX-5 retains 57.6% of its original value after 5 years, more than the 54.12% resale value of the 2026 MINI Countryman after five years, which can save the Mazda’s owner up to $5649 in depreciation.

The Mazda CX-5 outsold the MINI Countryman by almost 11 to one during 2025.