4 Things the Hyundai Elantra Does Better Than the Honda Civic

The Hyundai Elantra and Honda Civic have both received full redesigns in the last two years, making them two of the hottest compact sedans on the road today. But how do they match up against each other? While styling or which one looks best is subjective, here are 4 objective things that the Hyundai Elantra does better than the Honda Civic.

Price

Arguably the biggest deciding factor for many car buyers is how much the vehicle will cost you. Regardless of the trim option that you choose, the Elantra comes out ahead with the lower priced car. The Elantra starts from $20,665 compared to the Civic’s $22,915 starting price resulting in a difference of $2260 which is over 10% of the total vehicle price. 

This large difference is even further amplified on the top end trims where the Elantra costs you $26,455 compared to the Civic’s  $29,910. It doesn’t take a budgeting expert to tell that a price difference of nearly $3500 will significantly affect your monthly car payment. That’s not to say that paying less for the Elantra will give you less value or quality than the Civic, as Hyundai’s value goes far beyond pricing. 

Warranty and Maintenance

While it might not be the most exciting part of buying a new car, the warranty and expected maintenance cost of a vehicle can be just as important as the purchase price. Paying less for a vehicle can cost you more in the long run if you don’t have good warranty coverage and the vehicle is expensive to maintain. That’s why Hyundai offers America’s Best Warranty, which offers 10 years of powertrain warranty and 5 years of comprehensive warranty coverage. This coverage extends 5 years further than Honda’s powertrain warranty on the Civic, as well as an extended comprehensive warranty of 2 additional years. 

As if this wasn’t enough, Hyundai also offers complimentary maintenance for the first 3 years or 36,000 miles on any new Hyundai that you buy. This means you don’t pay anything for scheduled maintenance in the first 3 years of your vehicle’s life. Honda doesn’t offer any no cost maintenance plan making this difference night and day. When combined with the no cost warranty coverage of 10 years, you’ll not only save money on the initial purchase price by choosing the Elantra, but also years down the road.

Fuel Economy

Both the Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra offer excellent fuel efficiency that will have you going further between visits to the pump. The Elantra however, does slightly edge out the Honda Civic when it comes to fuel economy numbers. Both the Civic and Elantra offer 31 mpg (miles per gallon) city, but the Elantra performs much better on longer highway driving where its 41 mpg beats the Civic’s 38 mpg highway rating. This gives the Elantra a better combined fuel efficiency rating of 35 mpg compared to the Civic’s 34 mpg. The difference of just 1 mpg can save you multiple trips to the gas station every year.

Interior Roominess

While compact sedans aren’t known for their roominess, the Elantra uses every inch of space to its fullest effect. Despite both the Civic and Elantra being the same height, the Elantra offers over an additional inch of headroom. This design efficiency also carries over to the rear seats where the Elantra offers additional legroom and equally important seat width or hip room for passengers in the back seats. The Elantra is the clear pick for anyone planning to use the back seats for passengers, particularly older kids and adults who will need every inch of extra space in the back.  

But don’t just take our word for it, check out the 2022 Hyundai Elantra for yourself by browsing our inventory or experience it for yourself by stopping by our showroom for a test drive!