Not long after completing evaluations for this comparison test between the 2022 Honda Civic Touring and 2021 Hyundai Elantra Limited, we happened to drive past a mid-1970s Honda Civic CVCC. A marvel in its day, this first-generation Civic showed Americans how compact cars can appeal as a form of everyday transportation. The rest is history. Although impossibly tiny by modern standards, the ancient Civic made a massive impact on the industry.
As we ruminated on the radness of that little yellow hatchback, it struck us how far things have come since its heyday. The performance, features, and tech found in the 2021 Hyundai Elantra Limited and 2022 Honda Civic Touring would have been entirely sci-fi in that era. Indeed, how these cars are equipped goes way, way beyond basic. The result is two compelling compacts that dispel the notion that entry-level cars can’t be great. It’s a close competition.
THE CIVIC’S ENGINE IS SMALLER YET MORE POWERFUL; THE ELANTRA’S IS MORE EFFICIENT.
With the Elantra
