Features/Value:
Press fleets being what they are here in Canada, equipment on our specific models varied, so let’s start from base equipment and look at the differences.
The Elantra line starts from $15,949 for the sedan and $19,949 for the coupe. The GT starts at $17,999 with a six-speed manual transmission, 16-inch steel wheels, heated power mirrors, rear wiper, six speakers, air conditioning, power locks, centre console storage, cloth seating, cooled glove box, USB and auxiliary jacks, power windows, tilt and telescopic steering wheel with ‘Driver Selectable Steering’ and a trip computer.
    2013 Honda Civic & 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. Click image to enlarge |
The Civic sedan starts at $15,440 and the coupe at $18,645. In base trim, the Civic offers a five-speed manual transmission, Econ mode and Eco Assist system, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, power windows, six-way adjustable driver seat, 15-inch steel wheels, halogen headlights with auto-off. The $18,245 LX (at an equivalent price to the base Elantra GT) adds body-coloured mirrors and door handles, keyless entry, cruise control with steering wheel controls, USB connector and auxiliary jack, air conditioning, heated front seats and 60/40 split-folding rear seat. No matter how much the seats split and fold, this sedan will never match the cargo capacity of the Elantra hatch.
Both have identical $1,495 Freight/Destination charges, which is odd, since you figure it would cost Honda less to ship Civics from the plant in Alliston, Ontario to anywhere in Canada than it does for Hyundai to ship Elantra sedans from Montgomery, Alabama, and GTs and coupes from Ulsan, Korea. US Destination Fees? Essentially half: $795 for the Elantra GT vs $790 for the Civic. Does it feel to anyone else like we are subsidizing American sales?
The Elantra GT we tested was the GLS Auto model, MSRP $22,599, and the nearest Civic equivalent would be the EX with automatic transmission at $21,445, but for the sake of argument, let’s look at the equipment on the SE Auto, its $24,349 MSRP almost even with the $24,900 Civic Touring that we tested, and the best way to highlight the value quotient for each model. The SE Auto, as implied in the name, is equipped with an automatic transmission, and it has six forward gears. The Civic’s auto has five. The Elantra GT equipment list: power heated mirrors, fog lights, a glorious panoramic sunroof, mirror-mounted turn signal indicators, 17-inch alloy wheels, auto headlights, front wiper de-icer, keyless entry, satellite radio, steering wheel audio controls, heated front seats, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio, eight-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support, leather seating and steering wheel, auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink, dual-zone auto climate control, additional
The fully loaded Civic Touring trim we booked had a five-speed auto, 17-inch alloys, power moonroof, fog lights, speed-sensing variable-intermittent windshield wipers, navigation, multi-angle rearview camera, auto climate control, multi-information display, hands-free voice command and Bluetooth phone and audio, six-speaker audio, leather seating and steering wheel, and eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat and heated front seats and mirrors.
The differences: the size of the sunroof on the Elantra GT, which spans essentially the entire roof compared to the dinky little roof window in the Civic, while the Civic outguns the Elantra with a nav system and back-up camera for which you’d have to pay an extra $2,000 to step up to the Elantra GT SE Tech Auto. Not that I’m a huge fan of navigation systems, but credit where credit is due – the Honda has a slight edge on the feature list at the same price point, a not uncommon mark-up for hatchback models.
However, for those shopping for a car right now, the Hyundai website lists a $3,200 price adjustment on GLS models, working out to about $21K with Destination charges for the automatic. Both Hyundai and Honda are offering $1,000 on most Civic and Elantra GT models. You’re on your own digging up financing and leasing rates.
