Compare the2024 Hyundai SonataVS 2024 Honda Civic

With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Sonata is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Honda Civic, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

The Sonata offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Civic doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sonata has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring/Sport Touring offers Cross Traffic Monitor and the Civic’s Cross Traffic Monitor does not include automatic braking.

The Sonata has a standard Blue Link, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Civic doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Sonata and the Civic have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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 and driver alert monitors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Sonata is safer than the Civic Sedan:

The Hyundai Sonata achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Civic last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

The Sonata comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Civic’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Sonata 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Honda covers the Civic. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Civic ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Sonata’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Civic’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Sonata for 1 year and 12000 miles longer than Honda pays for maintenance for the Civic (3/36,000 vs. 2/24,000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 19 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 10th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than Honda.

The Sonata’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 33 more horsepower (191 vs. 158) and 43 lbs.-ft. more torque (181 vs. 138) than the Civic LX/Sport’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Sonata’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 11 more horsepower (191 vs. 180) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (181 vs. 177) than the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Sonata N Line’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 110 more horsepower (290 vs. 180) and 134 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 177) than the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Hyundai Sonata 4 cyl. is faster than the Civic LX/Sport 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Sonata uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Civic EX/EX-L/Touring requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Sonata has 3.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Civic (15.9 vs. 12.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Sonata offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is more internally efficient than a CVT but just as easy to drive. The Civic doesn’t offer an SMG.

The Sonata N Line’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Civic doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the Sonata’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Civic:

The Sonata stops shorter than the Civic:

For better traction, the Sonata N Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Civic (245/40R19 vs. 235/40R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Sonata has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Civic LX. The Sonata N Line’s 19-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Civic Sport/Touring.

The Sonata has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Civic’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Sonata’s wheelbase is 4.1 inches longer than on the Civic (111.8 inches vs. 107.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sonata is 3 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Civic.

For better maneuverability, the Sonata’s turning circle is .2 feet tighter than the Civic LX/EX/EX-L’s (35.9 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The Sonata’s turning circle is 2.2 feet tighter than the Civic Sport/Touring’s (35.9 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Sonata a Large car, while the Civic is rated a Mid-size.

The Sonata has 5.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Civic (104.4 vs. 99).

The Sonata has .7 inches more front headroom, 3.8 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front hip room, .9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, 5.5 inches more rear hip room and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Civic.

The Sonata has a larger trunk than the Civic Sedan (15.6 vs. 14.8 cubic feet).

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Sonata’s trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the trunk. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the Civic’s useful trunk space.

The Sonata’s standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The Civic LX Sedan/Sport Sedan’s standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can’t share the rear seat.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Sonata’s trunk can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Civic doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Sonata uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Civic uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The power windows standard on both the Sonata and the Civic have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Sonata is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Civic prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Sonata’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Pushbutton Start standard on the Civic only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the car. Pushbutton Start is not available on the Civic EX/Sport/Touring.

The Sonata’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Civic’s passenger power window switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Sonata’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Civic LX/Sport’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The Sonata’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Honda only offers heated mirrors on the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring/Sport Touring.

The Sonata has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring/Sport Touring.

Both the Sonata and the Civic offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Sonata N Line has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Civic doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Sonata and the Honda Civic, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Sonata second among midsize cars in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Civic isn’t in the top three in its category.