Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2022 Hyundai Elantra

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 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

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 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’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The Civic Touring/Sport 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 doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

Both the Civic and the Elantra have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Civic its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 72 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Elantra has not been tested, yet.

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 LX/Sport’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 11 more horsepower (158 vs. 147) and 6 lbs.-ft. more torque (138 vs. 132) than the Elantra’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Civic EX/EX-L/Touring’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 33 more horsepower (180 vs. 147) and 45 lbs.-ft. more torque (177 vs. 132) than the Elantra’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Hyundai Elantra:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring Sedan EX 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder CVT gets better fuel mileage than the Elantra (33 city/42 hwy vs. 31 city/41 hwy).

Regardless of its engine, the Civic’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Hyundai only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Elantra SE.

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 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Civic’s standard front disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The front discs on the Elantra are solid, not vented.

The Civic stops shorter than the Elantra:

For better traction, the Civic has larger standard tires than the Elantra (215/55R16 vs. 195/65R15). The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Elantra (235/40R18 vs. 225/45R17).

The Civic LX’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Elantra SE’s standard 65 series tires. The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Elantra’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Civic LX has standard 16-inch wheels. Smaller 15-inch wheels are standard on the Elantra SE. The Civic Sport/Touring’s 18-inch wheels are larger than the 17-inch wheels optional on the Elantra.

For superior ride and handling, the Honda Civic has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Hyundai Elantra has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The Civic has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Civic flat and controlled during cornering. The Elantra’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Civic Sedan is 5.1 inches shorter than the Elantra, making the Civic easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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 uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

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

The Civic Hatchback has a much larger trunk than the Elantra (24.5 vs. 14.2 cubic feet).

The Civic (except LX/Manual) has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Elantra doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Civic’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Elantra has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

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’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens 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 can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Civic EX/EX-L’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/Sport Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Elantra’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its September 2021 issue and they ranked the Honda Civic Touring Sedan first. They ranked the Hyundai Elantra Limited fourth.

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