If insurance cost matters at all, the 500 wins clearly: it stays low-group across almost its whole real-world range, while MINI has no version cheaper than group 12, and its cheapest trim already costs more to insure than the 500's most expensive one. Choose MINI only if the badge and driving experience matter more to you than the bill.
Group 3 to 11. For a young new driver, every version costs £147 to £163 a month standard cover, an unusually narrow range.
Group 12 to 30. There is no low-group MINI at all, and the popular Cooper S sits at group 28.
Typical used price
£5,000 to £8,800 on the used market
£11,500 to £15,800 on the used market
Road tax
£20 to £200 a year depending on registration date
Around £200 a year on most petrol MINI hatchbacks registered after 2017
Fuel economy
55 to 69 mpg combined
50 to 61 mpg combined on the smaller 1.2 to 1.6-litre petrol engines
Euro NCAP rating
3 stars
4 stars
Why choose this one
The insurance cost barely moves whichever trim you pick, so there's little risk of accidentally choosing an expensive-to-insure version. Real badge appeal and easy to park in tight city streets.
The car most new drivers actually picture themselves in: distinctive looks, a genuinely fun drive, and a badge with real resale cachet the sensible small cars on this site don't have.
Sources: First Car Scout vehicle listing and insurance-group data (July 2026).
The catch
There's no overlap at all between these two ranges. The 500's most expensive trim (group 11) is still cheaper to insure than MINI's cheapest (group 12) - a real, not marginal, gap. MINI is also the pricier buy outright: £11,500 to £15,800 used against the 500's £5,000 to £8,800. The 500 does score a lower Euro NCAP rating (3 stars vs MINI's 4), so the trade-off isn't purely one-sided - just heavily so on running cost.
