Compare the2025 Hyundai ElantraVS 2025 Honda Civic

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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

	Elantra	Civic
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
12 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-10 MPH
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-22 MPH
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
37 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
Warning Issued-Brights	2.1 sec	2 sec
37 MPH Low beams	-27 MPH	-18 MPH
Warning Issued-Low beams	1.3 sec	1.1 sec

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Elantra 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 Sport Touring Hybrid/Hatchback offers Rear Cross Traffic Monitor and the Civic’s Rear Cross Traffic Monitor does not include automatic braking.

Both the Elantra and the Civic have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Elantra is safer than the Honda Civic:

	Elantra	Civic
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	142	325
Neck Injury Risk	21%	30%
Leg Forces (l/r)	66/48 lbs.	189/372 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	314	444
Neck Stress	177 lbs.	189 lbs.
Neck Compression	6 lbs.	61 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	135/61 lbs.	275/164 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Elantra is safer than the Honda Civic:

	Elantra	Civic
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	83	195
Abdominal Force	239 lbs.	286 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	68 G’s	79 G’s
Hip Force	355 lbs.	516 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	12 inches
HIC	184	260
Spine Acceleration	40 G’s	51 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 Elantra is safer than the Civic Sedan:

	Elantra	Civic
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	189	205
Neck Compression	-134 lbs.	67 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	1.1 in	1.26 in
Torso Max Deflection	1.26 in	1.85 in
Torso Deflection Rate	10 MPH	10 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	1093 lbs.	1138 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Compression	-156 lbs.	67 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	1.18 in	1.89 in
Shoulder Force	178 lbs.	379 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.5 in	1.61 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	558 lbs.	580 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Hyundai Elantra 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.

Warranty

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

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

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Elantra has a standard 760-amp battery. The Civic’s 500-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Elantra third among compact cars in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Civic isn’t in the top three.

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.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Elantra SE gets better fuel mileage than the Civic Sedan Sport 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder (32 city/41 hwy vs. 31 city/39 hwy).

On the EPA test cycle the Elantra gets better mileage than the Civic Hatchback:

		MPG
Elantra
	SE 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	32 city/41 hwy
	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	30 city/39 hwy
Civic Hatchback
	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	30 city/38 hwy
	Sport 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	31 city/39 hwy

The Elantra has 1.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Civic Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (12.4 vs. 10.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

The Elantra stops shorter than the Civic:

	Elantra	Civic
60 to 0 MPH	116 feet	122 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

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

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Elantra is 1.7 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the average track on the Civic.

The Elantra Limited handles at .85 G’s, while the Civic Sport Sedan pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Elantra Limited executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Civic Sport Sedan (27 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Elantra’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Civic LX/Sport Hybrid’s (35.4 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The Elantra’s turning circle is 2.7 feet tighter than the Civic Sport/Sport Touring Hybrid’s (35.4 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

Passenger Space

The Elantra has 1.3 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom and 1.6 inches more rear hip room than the Civic.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Elantra SEL Sport/Limited’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.

Ergonomics

The power windows standard on both the Elantra and the Civic have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Elantra 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 Elantra’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. 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.

Economic Advantages

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Elantra will be $1770 to $2662 less than for the Honda Civic.

Recommendations

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

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Elantra second among compact 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.

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