The market for compact cars has been giving way to crossovers and SUVs in recent years. However, while there are now fewer compact sedans than five years ago, those still in the segment continue to up their game with impressive entries, and Honda is no exception.
The competitively priced Civic remains the best-selling compact car in the US, and the newly announced 11th generation 2022 Honda Civic is the latest addition to that lineup. It boasts a lot of changes from the previous generation.
Honda is not the only player in this space though. Toyota has been a long-standing giant in the market of compact sedans, and you can't write off Hyundai either. The latter company has been a thorn in the flesh for the more established Honda for a few decades, and its next version will be looking to do more damage.
The 2021 Hyundai Elantra came with major improvements over the previous generation, and we expect the unannounced 2022 Elantra to carry on with most of them.
Both the 2022 Honda Civic and the 2022 Hyundai Elantra will arrive the market as second-gen updates of a refreshed design. This makes for a very interesting comparison. So without further ado, let's see how they stack up against each other.
Which Has The More Efficient Powertrain?
The 2022 Honda Civic will feature the same two engines that came with the previous generation. The first three trims LX, Sport, and EX, will have the naturally-aspirated 2L 4-cylinder engine under the hood generating 158 hp and 138 lb-ft of torque. The top-end Touring trim will get the turbocharged 1.5L 4-cylinder engine, but with some improvements. It will produce up to 180 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque, an increase of 6 hp and 15 lb-ft of torque compared to the 2021 model.
If you were hoping for the return of a manual transmission, you're out of luck, as all trims will come with an updated continuously variable transmission (CVT) driving the front wheels. According to Motor Illustrated, fuel economy is improved with combined fuel numbers of 6.9L/100km for both engines and all trims.
The Hybrid model included, Hyundai offers three powertrains with the current Elantra, and it's fair to assume that it would stay the same for 2022. The base Elantra is powered by a naturally-aspirated 2L 4-cylinder engine that produces 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. It comes standard with Hyundai’s Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT) and manages combined fuel numbers of 6.7L/100km.
The sporty Elantra N Line features a turbocharged 1.6L 4-cylinder engine that delivers 201 hp under the hood. It comes with a six-speed manual or a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, while the hybrid comes with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.
Civic Vs. Elantra: Interior Tech and Features
Both cars offer similar interior tech and safety features, but the Hyundai seems to have a slight edge.
The 2022 Honda Civic comes with a 7-inch touch screen, a new fully digital instrument display with multiple settings, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay. It also boasts numerous safety features like adaptive cruise control, traffic-sign recognition, forward collision warning, road departure mitigation, and more. Honda has also done something quite interesting on the dashboard, with a honeycomb finish hiding and beautifying the vents.
On the Touring trim, the infotainment screen is beefed up to 9 inches and paired with a 10.2-inch digital instrument display. There's also wireless charging, a Bose 12-speaker audio system, and more safety and driver-assisted technologies.
The current 2021 Hyundai Elantra comes with a base 8-inch touch screen, Android Auto, wireless Apple CarPlay, an HD radio, two USB ports, four audio speakers, and voice recognition. There's a grab handle that extends from the center console and divides the two front seats. In the safety department, Hyundai has added features like lane-keeping assist, forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, driver attention warning, automatic emergency braking, and more.
Moving to the top trim gives you a 10.25-inch digital instrument display and a much larger 10.25-inch touchscreen. You also get an eight-speaker Bose audio system, navigation, and wireless smartphone charging. You can expect the 2022 Elantra to carry over these features when it comes around.
Pricing And Availability Information
Pricing information for the new 2022 Honda Civic is not available just yet. However, you can expect it to stay close to the 2021 Civic, which ranges from $22,245 to $29,295, as quoted on Forbes.
Compared to the Civic, the Elantra's pricing info is even more of a mystery, for obvious reasons. However, you can expect something very similar to the current model, which costs between $20,655 and $26,455, according to Cars Direct.
2022 Honda Civic Vs. 2022 Hyundai Elantra: What Do We Think?
The redesign of the 2021 Elantra saw a significant amount of changes for the compact sedan. The sleek and modern styling, spacious interior, efficient engines, and impressive list of standard features helped take the Elantra to the very top of the small sedan class. The 2021 model was excellent, and we don't expect Hyundai to make any significant changes for 2022.
However, despite its improvements, the highly successful Honda Civic is way ahead. The Elantra is steadily crawling its way to the top, but currently, the Civic and Toyota Corolla remain at unattainable heights. Will this situation change in the future? It will be interesting to see.