Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Elantra Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Civic are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Elantra Hybrid doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Civic has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Elantra Hybrid doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Civic’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Elantra Hybrid’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The Civic Touring has standard parking sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Elantra Hybrid doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

Both the Civic and the Elantra Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

There are over 28 percent more Honda dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Civic’s warranty.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 1 place higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Civic’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 19 more horsepower (158 vs. 139) than the Elantra Hybrid’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Civic EX/Touring’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 41 more horsepower (180 vs. 139) than the Elantra Hybrid’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

The Civic has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Elantra Hybrid (12.4 vs. 11 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Civic has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Elantra Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Civic has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Elantra Hybrid doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better traction, the Civic has larger standard tires than the Elantra Hybrid (215/55R16 vs. 205/55R16). The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Elantra Hybrid (235/40R18 vs. 225/45R17).

The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Elantra Hybrid Limited Sedan’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Civic Sport/Touring has standard 18-inch wheels. The Elantra Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 17-inches.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Civic has a liquid-filled front engine mount. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The Elantra Hybrid uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

The Civic has .9 inches more front hip room, .5 inches more front shoulder room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Elantra Hybrid.

The Civic Sedan has a larger trunk than the Elantra Hybrid Sedan (14.8 vs. 14.2 cubic feet).

The Civic’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Elantra Hybrid’s passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

On a hot day the Civic’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Elantra Hybrid can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Civic EX’s standard wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers and the Civic Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Elantra Hybrid’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Civic Sport was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 4 years. The Elantra Hybrid has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Civic was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” for 2 of the last 25 years. The Elantra Hybrid has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year. The Elantra Hybrid has never been chosen.