COMPARISON: HYUNDAI ELANTRA N VS HONDA CIVIC TYPE R

•   Auto123 compares the Hyundai Elantra N and the Honda Civic Type R.

Today, we take a look at two vehicles that at once are at the opposite ends of the compact performance sports sedan spectrum, but still kind of similar in their approaches to getting the job done.

In one corner, a name we all know and love: the Honda Civic. It’s been the bestselling car in Canada for a number of years, and it has spawned a number of interesting versions including the Si sports model. It was only recently, however, that we saw the full-on performance version of the Civic. The Type R had been in other markets for over two decades now, but only arrived on our shores seven years ago. If you look at it that way, the Type R is a compelling mix of old-hand and newcomer.

That newcomer? The Elantra N. While the Elantra name may not quite have the brand equity of the Civic, it’s made a name for itself in recent memory by offering numerous body styles and powertrains, and, importantly, it has sold very well for Hyundai.

We took to the road with these two to see if the on-paper young pup can take the fight to the on-paper wily veteran.

Design of the Hyundai Elantra N – 9.0/10

Our tester’s black paint with matching wheels and red trim with matching brake calipers is properly eye-catching, as is the rear spoiler. It appears stanced on its haunches like a prize fighter gearing up for a scrap.

Sprightly as it is, it can be made to be even more so with colours like Performance Blue –a Hyundai N staple – and bright red. The Elantra also got a styling update in 2024, which included redesigned front fascia with ultra-slim headlight lenses and new grille. The N model has received a new standard 19-inch wheel design. Finally, the Elantra N’s extended front bumpers, rear bumpers, underbody diffuser and twin tailpipe canons make it look longer and just a little sinister.

Bottom line, the Elantra N looks at once high-quality and touring car-esque; it’s Hyundai’s mass-market sedan with an attitude, a reflection of the loose hand the brand’s designers operate with. Remember that in the grand scheme of things, Hyundai is a relatively young brand less beholden to generation after generation of design and signatures.

Design of the Honda Civic Type R – 8.0/10

For its part, Honda has taken a slightly less aggressive approach with the latest Type R. The car on which its based is more conservatively styled than previous, for starters. Less aggressive head- and taillights, front intakes and so on have given both the standard Civic and the Type R some more…softness.

Not wanting to turn its top performance model into any kind of shrinking violet, Honda did endow the latest Type R with some proper trunk scaffolding, dark Y-spoke 19-inch wheels and a return of the very recognizable tri-outlet exhaust system. The wing and bumpers may be a little bit smaller than before, but there was no chance they were going to put that great-sounding exhaust to pasture.

It is a bit odd, though, in that while Honda hasn’t really paired back the styling of the Si model, the more sober look of the Type R means there’s now less distinction between it and the regular Civic.

Interior of the Hyundai Elantra N – 7.5/10

While few will mistake the Elantra N for other Elantras when seen from the outside, sit a person inside and they may struggle to identify the differences. The seats are slightly more aggressively bolstered and there’s more of that N signature powder blue sprinkled throughout the cabin, but that’s about.

But look more closely and you’ll see that the steering wheel has some addenda, namely two blue buttons marked with an “N” and a red one marked REV (so long as you have the manual gearbox; that gets switched for NGR if you have the auto). Those buttons are the real portals to what the Elantra N is all about: power and handling.

Otherwise, it’s all Elantra in here, meaning a good driver’s seating position with a nice view out and controls falling right where you’d want them to. The front seats are comfortable, but the rears don’t have quite the space found in the Type R. The Elantra N’s rear seatbacks also don’t recline for a pass-through door to the trunk, because there are additional crossmembers back there for chassis reinforcement.

Interior of the Honda Civic Type R – 8.0/10

The Honda’s interior stands in stark contrast to the Elantra N. There is no mistaking the Type R’s interior for those of any other Civic - except maybe the Si, since both models can be had with partially bright red seats.

 The steering wheel gets adorned with the traditional red H logo and the short-throw shifter has a silver shift knob. The seats are also far more aggressively bolstered than anything else in Honda’s repertoire or than in the Elantra N, and the standard red seatbelts provide the icing on top.

Overall, though, roominess is the word of the day for the Civic; it provides some of the best interior space in the segment and that can especially be felt in the back seat, where two adults can sit comfortably without having to slouch. While the sports seats - which, by the way, are now lighter, as is a new flywheel and crankshaft - do have enlarged side bolsters, they remain comfortable enough. Maybe not exceptional for long road trips, but still.

Tech in the Hyundai Elantra N – 8.5/10

Like many cars today, the dash in the Elantra is dominated by a central infotainment display. Here, it measures 8 inches diagonally and is your home for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (both wired).

Also for quite a bit more, actually. Almost too much more, although the junior racer in many that buy a car like this will probably love it. There are screens that display auxiliary gauges, g-meter and the pièce de resistance, your custom mode set-up menu. Here, you can tweak the e-LSD, steering, throttle response – even the exhaust note. It can all be set to two separate custom modes accessible by a wheel-mounted “N” button. There’s also an N button used to access traditional baked-in drive modes like Sport, Normal and so forth.

It’s a lot to take in but luckily, it’s not a requirement you do so and is more of a tech-y bonus to complement all the other good stuff going on here. We wouldn’t mind a more high-res back-up camera, though, because what’s on offer here looks to be about two generations back.

Tech in the Honda Civic Type R – 7.5/10

The display in the Civic is an inch smaller than in the Elantra, but it is a little brighter and the graphics, somewhat sharper – and that includes the backup camera. There are additional performance-oriented screens and a single modifiable R mode. It doesn’t quite match the Elantra for volume of stuff, that doesn’t go quite to the depths of what’s seen in the Elantra but then, few in-car computers do.

More annoying is that you have to go to an additional display to shift off the automatic rev-matching feature for downshifts. And that you can’t do it while driving is another strike against it. In the Elantra, that can be done either by pressing the REV button or adjusting it from the same menu used for all the other custom drive mode stuff.

Driving the Hyundai Elantra N – 9.0/10

This car is an absolute joy to pilot. As soon as you set off, you get the sense it’s primed and ready to go. Power is rated at 276 hp and 289 lb-ft of torque, fed through an effective electronic LSD to the front wheels. Torque steer is nicely reduced even under heavy acceleration from stop, and better still, as you power out of corners you don’t get the inside front wheel spinning like a madman. It’s so good it almost feels like an AWD setup and it makes for fast and precise forward progress.

We could use more precision from the shift lever action, though. The clutch bite point is detailed enough, but the shifter is a little long on throw and the slots a little approximate. Of course, as we’ll soon see, the Civic is a top performer in this regard - the Elantra N is not the only car that can’t quite match the Honda’s excellence.

Of course, unlike the manual-only Type R, you can have the Elantra N with a snappy auto transmission with paddle shifters. After driving both versions, we were surprised to conclude that the auto – usually the less involved transmission type – is the better fit for the tight-as-a-drum attitude espoused by the powertrain.

If the powertrain is the perfectly salted and seasoned broth, then the chassis is the – almost – perfectly seasoned and cooked beef. Almost every movement of the steering wheel past the millimetre-wide dead zone returns incredible response from the font axle, as the sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber hooks up with a hunk of tarmac and yanks you through bends big or small. The aggressively-tuned suspension keeps you flat almost the whole way through.

It is so easy to place the Elantra N just so on the road or the track – we’ve experienced it in both scenarios – that you have to wonder how far removed the road car is from the touring car racer that’s been winning races at the top levels of the sport. This Elantra feels like a proper road racer, and that is a darn good accomplishment for Hyundai.

One small caveat: great as it is when on boil, things get a little challenging when things get toned down. There is a ton of feel through the steering - every bump, railway crossing, ant, grain of sand makes itself felt and that can get a little grating on slow-moving, rutted city streets. You can soften the dampers and that helps, but you’re never going to feel as comfortable in here as you will in, say, an Elantra Hybrid.

Driving the Honda Civic Type R – 8.5/10

Stepping from the N to the Civic did feel like coming home to a comfortable, well-known seat, more than expected. For all its red fabric and big wings and hood scoops and so on, the Civic Type R welcomes you back more than the Elantra, and that’s a good thing, something Civic people – the trillions of them that there out there – will appreciate.

And then you fire it up, and things change. The sound from the turbo 2.0L is a somewhat offbeat warble similar to that of a Subaru STI. Then, the third tailpipe gets in on the action (it acts as a resonator at higher revs) and things change for the slightly more insane. That’s when you forget all that talk about a comfortable couch, unless your couch happens to make 306 hp and 295 lb-ft. This here is a car that’s ready to take on all comers, from the Elantra N to the Nissan Z and even the more expensive BMW M2. It’s such a great mix of power and poise that it feels the more sorted car of the two, especially around town. It manages to calm itself down in a way the Elantra N cannot, and put simply, that makes it a much better everyday car.

When you push it, though. It’s then you start to really embrace the fantastic clutch takeup and perfect shift lever action. The well-sorted turbocharged powertrain gets the job done without having to grab you by the scruff of the collar while it’s at it.

Like the Elantra, the steering is high on feel, but the Civic’s is just that much more linear and firm and free of vibration. As a result, the turn in isn’t quite as hyper. Though that’s not to say the Type R doesn’t pull through corners with a gumption akin to the Elantra N, because it absolutely does, just without having to can it quite as much.

It also exhibits a little more body roll than does the Hyundai. Still, at the end of the day, no mass-market car like a Honda Civic has a right to earn comparisons to a luxury brand like BMW or a sports car like the Nissan Z but the Civic Type R does. And it manages to be much easier to live with than either of those two.

The final word

This is an easy choice, but perhaps not in the way you might think. Of these two, the Elantra, even though it offers less brute power than the Civic – feels the more performance-first vehicle, as if the manufacturer really wanted to make you feel like you were in a race car.

That’s why if we’re going with the N – and that would save us $10,000 compared to the Honda, by the way – it‘s gotta have the auto transmission. As you push towards the limits, it feels the racier of the two; no doubt about it.

For its part, the Civic remains a top performer, but one that gets the job done in such a manner that you feel like you’re in something more substantial. Indeed, after the Civic Si left us feeling a little cold (it’s too expensive, and too heavy) we had our reservations about the higher-performance Type R. Those were unwarranted, because the Type R still feels like a model unto itself and more special – much more special – than the Si does.

If you’re looking for the full whizz-bang-pop effect of turbocharged compact performance motoring (and a sedan body style, I suppose) then the Hyundai Elantra N’s for you. For a more all-round, grownup feel, then the Type R’s your steed.

Our verdicts

Which is the best looking? Hyundai Elantra N

Which offers the more comfortable cockpit? Honda Civic Type R

Which offers the more comfortable ride? Honda Civic Type R

Which is more dynamic? Hyundai Elantra N

Which is the better value? Hyundai Elantra N

Competitors of the Hyundai Elantra N and Honda Civic Type R

• - Audi RS3
• - BMW M2 Coupé
• - Mercedes-Benz AMG CLA 45
• - Subaru WRX
• - Volkswagen Golf R

Original content from auto123.

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2025-02-20T23:04:11Z