Design and Utility
I’ll cut right to the chase here. Hyundai wins, hands down. In both visual appearance, interior design and packaging efficiency, the Elantra GT sweeps the category.
Perhaps the Civic ran into a biased judge (me), but I’ve never warmed to the Civic sedan since its 2006 redesign, and neither the 2012 design or 2013 refresh have done anything to change my mind. Are the taillights nice? Sure, and I really appreciate the chrome strip across the trunk, but the Civic’s futuristic melting blob, the sloping windshield and short stubby front hood and trunk decklid just turn me off. No amount of trim and grille tweaking will win me over. Oddly, I find the Civic coupe very appealing, particularly in Si trim. Go figure.
Sure, opinions of styling can differ, but I talk to a lot of people about cars and few of them would pick the Civic for its styling, while the Elantra GT can win over converts to the Hyundai brand with its well executed, creased and sleek design, both in sedan and hatch configuration, but especially in the tidy proportions of the GT. A touch of black trim on the grille against this bright red give it a hint of hot hatch aggression.
    2013 Honda Civic & 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT, 2013 Honda Civic, 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. Click image to enlarge |
Inside, the fluidity and cohesiveness of the Elantra’s design continue to shine. In every way, it seems like the car was designed by one person or one closely knit team, whereas the Civic seems to have different areas designed by teams that never looked at the whole. That being said, the driver-centric attitude of the Civic is clear, with the centre console canted toward the driver, the upper dash tier with its super clear digital speed that you can read from two lanes over in another car, and a thick-rimmed, small diameter steering wheel that serves the driver well. As awkward as it looks, it all works quite well.
Some of the Elantra’s design flourishes, like the elegantly arrayed buttons on the steering wheel, come at the expense of functionality, though it’s in no way unmanageable – the Civic is simply easier in that regard. However, expending the amount of real estate on a tachometer in a car equipped with an automatic transmission seems a tad wasteful; clearly the overall layout has the high-revving, manual-transmission-only Si model in mind. Let’s take a moment here to point out that Hyundai has no hot hatch or sport compact in the Elantra line to compete with the Sis and GTIs of the world, only the smaller Veloster Turbo or larger Genesis Coupe.
    2013 Honda Civic & 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. Click image to enlarge |
But we were talking about interior, and as far as interior space goes, there’s not much to complain about in either. While interior materials are improved in the Civic for 2013, it still lags behind the Elantra GT. The seats themselves are comfortable, seating for four is spacious, and the centre rear seat is equally uncomfortable in both. With tilt and telescopic steering and power-adjustable driver’s seats, a comfortable position is easy to find, though in these trims, the Elantra GT’s cloth seats and slightly more aggressive bolsters hold you in place more securely. Then again, the Civic’s thrones were wider and would perhaps be more comfortable for a wider range of body types.
Getting in and out of both cars was uneventful, although in the back, the Civic has higher door sills and narrower door openings, making it a bit harder to get into, but once inside, the flatter floor and slightly better leg- and headroom will be appreciated by taller passengers.
I had little trouble installing a car seat in either, but the Civic’s smaller door opening and slightly lower roofline meant it would be a bit more strenuous if repeated frequently. However, with my rear-facing child seat in place, the front passenger seat still had ample room for an average adult in the Civic or Elantra GT, something even many SUVs struggle to accommodate.
 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. Click image to enlarge |
As sedans go, the Civic has a spacious trunk, but it’s really no contest when it comes to cargo capacity. The Elantra GT starts with 651 L of trunk space (better even than the Mazda3 Sport), which opens up to 1,444 L with the seats folded flat. The Civic’s trunk measures 353 L, and despite the seats folding down, its utility doesn’t even come close. To top it all off, the Civic doesn’t have a trunk release on the trunk itself, so you have to open it using the cabin switch or key fob – an odd miss for Honda, that is usually so practical. Even the nooks and crannies around the Elantra cabin seemed more useful and plentiful, with an overhead console that provides a dedicated space for your shades.
