The Basics
The Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra are both compact sedans with seating for five passengers. Both cars come powered by four-cylinder engines and are available only with front-wheel drive. They’re very close in length, width, and weight.
The Corolla is in its eleventh generation, which started with the 2012 model year. Since the 1970s, it’s been one of the best-selling cars in the world, with 40 million sold as of mid-2013. Toyota adds a new Special Edition trim level to the Corolla lineup this year. The 2017 Elantra is fully redesigned and marks the model’s sixth generation.
Pricing
Winner: 2016 Toyota Corolla
At a glance, pricing on the 2016 Corolla and 2017 Elantra looks like a wash. The two vehicles have starting prices within a couple hundred dollars of each other ($17,300 for the Corolla and $17,150 for the Elantra), a trend that continues to their top trim levels.
It’s not always that easy though. The Toyota Corolla provides more value each step of the way than the comparably priced Hyundai Elantra. Let’s take a look at their base trims, where the Corolla provides an infotainment system with a 6.1-inch touch screen, Bluetooth connectivity, and Siri Eyes Free; the Elantra doesn’t offer any of that. An automatic transmission is $600 on the base Corolla and $1,000 on the base Elantra.
Across the midrange, the two cars are pretty comparable. Both vehicles require stepping up a trim level or adding packages to get features like a rearview camera. Both models offer a special fuel-efficient trim level (the Corolla ECO at $19,135 and the Elantra Eco at $20,650).
At the top end, a Corolla LE Premium costs $22,195 and comes with a multitude of available features. The Elantra Limited, which starts at $22,350, offers a $2,500 tech package and a $1,900 safety package, which push its features beyond those offered on the Toyota. The Toyota Corolla wins here though, both for its lower prices and the extra value included at every level.
Safety
Winner: 2017 Hyundai Elantra
The 2016 Toyota Corolla is one of the safest cars in the compact car class. It earns a five-star overall rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but no special recognition from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). As of this writing, the 2017 Hyundai Elantra has not yet been tested by NHTSA, but it earns the IIHS’ coveted Top Safety Pick+ rating. The Elantra also gets a Superior rating from the IIHS for front crash prevention when optional equipment is installed; the Corolla is not rated in this measure.
According to IIHS, both vehicles earn an Acceptable rating for the ease of use of their LATCH child seat hardware. Both vehicles feature two seats with full sets of LATCH anchors and a third seat with a partial set of hardware.
Seat Comfort and Interior Refinement
Winner: 2017 Hyundai Elantra
Critics’ reviews are about even for the cabins of the 2016 Toyota Corolla and 2017 Hyundai Elantra. Both cars received praise for their use of upscale, high-quality finishes, and both cars can comfortably seat adults in the back. The 2016 Corolla and 2017 Elantra both seat five passengers and come standard with cloth upholstery. Critics say both models’ base seats are comfortable, supportive, and spacious up front.
Stepping up from the base models, both sedans offer a power-adjustable driver’s seat and heated front seats; only the Elantra offers heated rear seats. The Corolla offers an upgrade to leatherette, and the Elantra offers leather. The Elantra’s more upscale options give it the edge here, although it’s a close call.
Interior Technology
Winner: 2016 Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra are similarly equipped in their top-end trim levels, but the Corolla is better-equipped at the entry level. Both cars feature a six-speaker audio system and a USB port. The Corolla also has a 6.1-inch touch screen, Siri Eyes Free, and Bluetooth. Though the Elantra has standard satellite radio, its omission of standard Bluetooth seems like a huge oversight.
In the midlevel trims, both cars add a rearview camera and audio upgrades. At this level, it’s less expensive to get the Corolla’s better equipment. Moving up, both vehicles offer advanced safety features at similar price levels. Critics don’t have a clear preference between the two cockpits, and they say that both cars’ infotainment systems are user-friendly and easy to navigate.
Cargo Space
Winner: 2017 Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai’s compact sedan offers a larger trunk than Toyota’s, taking the win in the cargo category. The Elantra has 14.4 cubic feet of trunk space, which is above-average for the class, and the Corolla has 13 cubic feet, which is average. Both sedans offer a split-folding rear bench for easier cargo loading of larger items.
Fuel Efficiency
Winner: 2016 Toyota Corolla
In terms of fuel economy, the 2016 Toyota Corolla just edges out the 2017 Hyundai Elantra. The Toyota Corolla’s base model performs most efficiently when equipped with the optional continuously variable transmission, earning ratings of 29 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. The base model Hyundai Elantra earns 28 mpg in the city and 37 on the highway, just under the Corolla. Both models get slightly lower ratings with their standard manual transmissions; the Corolla edges out the Elantra, but just slightly.
Both models are offered with a more-efficient drivetrain. When equipped with the CVT, the Toyota Corolla ECO earns combined fuel economy of 35 mpg. The Elantra Eco uses a dual-clutch seven-speed automatic and also earns 35 mpg combined.
Performance
Winner: 2017 Hyundai Elantra
According to critics, neither the 2016 Corolla nor 2017 Elantra are especially fun to drive. That’s fine; affordable compact sedans are designed to safely get you where you need to go, and even the most power-hungry reviewers admit that both cars accomplish that task competently, if not admirably.
The reason the Elantra beats the Corolla in performance is because the Elantra’s base engine is more powerful. The Elantra sedan comes with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 147 horsepower, edging out the Corolla’s 1.8-liter four-cylinder producing 132 horsepower. Critics also say that, while Corolla suffers some body lean, the Elantra corners and steers with good responsiveness. The Corolla, they agree, lacks steering and handling feedback.
Reliability
Winner: Tie
The 2016 Toyota Corolla earns excellent reliability scores. On J.D. Power and Associates’ scale of one to five, the Corolla earns a five. The redesigned 2017 Hyundai Elantra does not yet have a reliability rating from J.D. Power, but it does have a key reliability advantage over the Toyota. The 2016 Hyundai Elantra received an overall score of five out of five, and critics expect the 2017 to do the same.
The 2017 Elantra is covered with a five-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, which beats the 2016 Corolla’s three-year/36,000-mile limited warranty and five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. That should ease the concerns of potential buyers who are waiting for J.D. Power’s ratings to come in for the Elantra.
The Winner Is:
2017 Hyundai Elantra
Though the 2016 Toyota Corolla has a couple of key victories in our head-to-head comparison, and in some categories, the differences between the cars is negligible, the 2017 Hyundai Elantra earns the win. Though the Elantra is slightly more expensive, it’s the better call for most shoppers looking for a compact sedan. This comparison shows that the redesigned Elantra’s status in our compact car rankings is no anomaly thanks to its safety, interior comfort, and overall practicality.
That said, the Toyota Corolla is still a strong contender and is still a good option for buyers on a strict budget. If you’re shopping for a new car and the Toyota Corolla or Hyundai Elantra are on your shortlist, you should check out our new car finance and lease deals pages, where you can find manufacturer incentives. Then head over to our Best Price Program to find the dealer in your area with the best price.
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2017 Hyundai Elantra vs. 2016 Toyota Corolla
The 2016 Toyota Corolla and 2017 Hyundai Elantra are both compact sedans that often compete head-to-head, thanks to their close MSRPs and similar amenities. The current compact sedan class is packed full of strong competition, and the U.S. News & World Report rankings show that there’s just a small margin that separates the class leaders, the middle of the road, and those that lag behind.
The 2016 Corolla is a good example of this. Even though it’s a strong car all around, according to critics, safety organizations, and J.D. Power’s reliability data, it currently sits at No. 14 in our compact car rankings, which is below midpack. Potential buyers shouldn’t necessarily let that discourage them, though. The Corolla was last redesigned in 2014, and there’s nothing new this year, except the addition of a Special Edition trim level.
Hyundai redesigned the Elantra for 2017, and it leapt to the No. 4 spot in our compact car rankings (tied with the Volkswagen GTI). The new Elantra fares well in the earliest critics’ reviews and is a class leader in terms of safety. Only time will tell how the Elantra sedan actually sells, but the early indications are good.
Which will it be for your family: the reliable Corolla or the flashy new Elantra? Keep in mind that, despite the gap in their rankings, their compiled scores aren’t too far apart. Read on to find out how they compare, and you might be surprised.