HYUNDAI TAKES AIM AT CIVIC
Elantra almost overthrows the king
Welcome to Dude Said, Punk Said, a special series devoted to skewering the automotive ramblings of young punk Nick Tragianis with the infinite wisdom of old dude Brian Harper. This week, they offer their two cents on two redesigned heavyweights in the compact-car world: the 2016 Honda Civic Touring and 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited.
Brian Harper: Although it might seem as though crossovers and sport utes have taken over the world, it is compact sedans that still rule the Canadian marketplace. Last year, more than 350,000 of these ever-popular cars were sold in our country. The king of the hill in this segment for the past 18 years has been the Honda Civic. And for the past five years, it has had Hyundai’s ever-improving Elantra nipping at its heels. So, we have a potential epic battle between two alpha dogs: the 2016 Civic, reigning Canadian Car of the Year, versus the redesigned 2017 Elantra. So, kid, does the Elantra have a chance of knocking the Civic off its lofty perch?
Nick Tragianis: If you asked me last year — before the Civic was redesigned — my answer would’ve been different. No other compact car has evolved from a forgettable also-ran into a class leader more than the Elantra. The new one takes that formula and improves upon it considerably; it’s ridiculously well equipped, it’s stylish and, like the Mazda3, it feels like a much more substantial car.
But this year, the Civic we knew and loved is back. Not that it went anywhere, but it has been something of an appliance since 2006. Not so much after this year’s redesign, though. It has a new look that may take a bit of getting used to — I’m still iffy on the rear end, although it’s growing on me — but the big news is what’s under the skin. Not only is the platform all-new, it’s got a very sweet turbo-four under the hood. For a compact car, it has some serious spring in its step.
BH: Agreed. While not an Si in terms of outright performance, the Touring model is a sportier car than most of the competition, including the Elantra, which takes a more moderate approach in the powertrain and handling departments. The Elantra’s 147-horsepower 2.0-litre fourcylinder engine is certainly enough to get the job done, but it does feel sluggish compared with the 174-hp spark the Civic’s 1.5-L turbocharged engine provides. That said, I’m far more comfortable with the Hyundai’s six-speed automatic versus the Civic’s continuously variable transmission.
You know, kid, instead of an epic battle, I’m beginning to think what we’re going to see is a generational thing — the Civic playing to a younger audience, while the Elantra caters to a more traditional crowd.
NT: I think, in all your infinite wisdom, you might actually be right. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what Hyundai has done to rework the Elantra. For one, the styling is a lot less polarizing. It’s a double-edged sword because it doesn’t stand out as much as its predecessor, but it’s also a much sharperlooking car.
But I’m not letting you off that easy. On its own (and compared with some of the other competition), the Elantra’s 2.0-L engine is adequate. But versus the Civic? The Elantra falls flat. It needs another engine option. The Avante Sport — a.k.a. the Elantra in its home market of South Korea — sounds very promising, with its 1.6-L turbo-four. It’ll wake up the car considerably. But as far as what we can buy in Canada at this moment, the Civic still takes it in the handling department. The steering wheel is meatier and much more communicative, but at the expense of comfort. With the impending arrival of the Elantra Sport and the redesigned Civic Si, this battle can only get fiercer.
BH: The Touring is Civic’s top-ofthe-line trim level; the Limited is Elantra’s next-to-top trim. Both are fully equipped models and are just the sort of cars for older buyers who are looking to downsize, but don’t want to give up the creature comforts. But neither can be accused of being cosseting; you will feel rougher patches of tarmac. And yes, the Civic has much better performance dynamics; it’s the one I’d choose were I the primary driver.
That said, the Elantra is, as you alluded to, less polarizing, and not just in the styling department. The dash panel has conventional instrumentation, not annoying digital readouts. The navigation screen’s graphics are cleaner in the Elantra, and the audio system has a real volume knob, not a silly slider. If I was looking for a car that would be comfortable with all members of my family, it would likely be the one I’d choose. What interrupts my wholehearted endorsement for the Elantra, as a family sedan, is Civic’s LaneWatch blind-spot display, which sends a live video feed from a camera mounted under the passenger-side mirror, acting as an additional pair of eyes when making a right turn. It’s brilliant!
NT: It’s brilliant, but it’s not a full-on, radar-based blind-spot monitor. And while we’re on the subject, I think the Civic takes it over the Elantra in terms of active safety features. The Civic Touring’s $27,155 price tag is less than $1,000 more expensive than the Elantra’s, but you get a lot more. Think LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, a forward-collision alert and automatic braking. To get all that on the Elantra, you need to step up to the $28,799 Ultimate trim. Hyundai almost always has the best value proposition — and the Elantra certainly delivers — but, dare I say, the Civic takes it this time.
BH: What rare intelligence from such youthfulness! I have to agree that the Civic is the better car. It’s not a landslide, though. Take away the car’s sportier vibe, and Honda still wins by jamming the Touring with more creature comforts and a boatload of advanced safety features. The Elantra almost matches the Civic in comfort and features, but not quite. Still, I’ll stand by my belief that Hyundai’s newest sedan will find greater favour among a more mature audience looking to downsize. It just comes across as a sensible car.