Hi all. So I've narrowed my car search down to two vehicles: The Honda Fit Sport and Hyundai Elantra GLS. I'd be buying the car brand new. My main criteria are gas mileage and reliability. So lets hear it... Why should I choose the fit (or not)?

 

New car reliability should be pretty good all around these days. The days of the Chevy Citation and the Hyundai Excel are long past.



The Elantra is more car, though not as useful as a crap hauler outside of the touring model (are they going to keep making that? I think it's a continuation of last years version).

If you're buying a car for 10+ years, it would be hard to look down on the Hyundai warranty, and after 10+ years, resale is going to be minimal across the board anyway.

 

The Fit is fun to drive, handles great and has amazing storage capabilities. The downside is the lack of power IMO.

I can't speak for the Elantra, I have no experience with it.

 

Surely if you've checked out both cars you must favor one over the other. That's the one to go for. If no favorite, buy the one that costs the least.

 

Good to know I'm not the only one who narrowed my choices down to those two vehicles.

For me it came down to the following points:

Honda has a well established reliability reputation while Hyundai are still establishing theirs. For a specific reference on that point refer to the Consumer Reports automotive issues.

The 10-year Hyundai warranty looks pretty good but it is not necessary a factor that sways in the Elantra's favor because warranty or no warranty I don't necessarily want to be in the shop in the first place.

So, for me anyway, with all the factors considered there is less of a chance spending time in the shop with a Honda.

While the rear seat of the Elantra does fold down making a larger cargo area it is no match for the flexibility of the Fit interior and the Fit's ability to swallow up lots of cargo.

The Honda dealer, a great dealership, is just down the street from my home should I need their services... I like the convenience of that.

The Hyundai dealership is about twice the distance away and is housed in a very old facility that needed updating long ago. I know... I'm not buying the building but I have a problem purchasing a big ticket item from a place that looks like a rat hole.

Never had a Honda so I decided to give that brand a whirl this time around and given my early experience with the Fit there will likely be more Honda vehicles in my future.

The Honda dealership treated me very well. Hyundai dealership seemed to give up on me very early in the game so I walked away.

 

gas mileage - Elantra
reliability - Fit (also remember Elantra is a first year major redesign)

So per your main criteria it is dead even between the two. Now you need to factor in other criteria important to you and make a personal decision.

styling
safety
warranty
cargo capacity
hatchback vs sedan
resale
dealer
price
etc.

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That's a great point. That would be hard to overlook for myself.

 

hinher, you must have done a lot of work to narrow down your search to the two shortlisted vehicles

If you still like to dig deeper ie Elantra research after you had considered all the points mentioned by the various posters in response to your thread, ... why not join the Elantra forum equivalent to our fitfreak.

If you scan through all their Elantra forum threads and hang around with Elantra users long enough, I think you will pick up all the good, the bad and ugly and the dirty laundry (if any) very quickly from the Elantra users as they put their Elantras through their daily use. I think that's the most accurate opinion you can find on the planet next to the consumer reports.

I normally don't read professional auto writer's review as you don't know who had drink the cool-aid.

 

as of how many years ago? They have a rep now among consumers i assure you. Let me google that for you
Technically the company has been around since 1947 and came out with their first car way back in 1975, starting selling in U.S in 1986 only into 1998 to attempt to revitalize their image. They have always had a rather poor image and despite Motor corps heavy investments in 1999, the consumers trend seems to maintain it still.

So its been about 12 years since their heavy investments to make them what they are, if thats not long enough to justify reliability for a modern vehicle...i don't know what is.

 

In terms of reliability while Hyundai has made great strides it is still Honda and Toyota (despite all their troubles last year) at the top for reliability.

We don't justify reliability... we establish it by polling owners as to their real life experience and as the vehicles age and then compile that data.

10 years ago Hyundai was terrible, but since that time they have improved.

While I'm watching Hyundai with interest... I'm enjoying my Fit experience.

 

Essentially what it boiled down to for me as well.

In the end, I gave the nod to the Fit because it seemed to have a 'fun to drive' aspect that the Elantra did not.

 

If you are into modifying your cars at all the Elantra is a much harder car to find parts for. There is a small amount of aftermarket support for the Hyundai brand thanks largely to the tiburon and the XD Elantra, but I know that the XF Elantra that just stopped production had little to no aftermarket stuff for it. Just FYI....

 

I agree.........

 

I'm a lifelong Honda guy, but I did look into some other makes/models in the Fit's same class. On paper some other makes/models looked to offer "more car" than the Fit. The Hyundai offered more engine, an extra gear (auto and manual I think offered 6 gears), etc. etc. I looked at the Touring Elantra as IMO it was closer in terms of cargo capacity, etc.

In the end I trust Honda.

Whomever mentioned the local Hyundai vs. Honda dealership brings to mind another point:

The sheer number/choices of Honda dealerships outnumbers Hyundai.

In the Atlanta area there are 5 Hyundai dealerships, and two of those are simply add-ons to an already existing dealership for another make. There are 9 Honda dealerships in the Atlanta area, and all of them are stand-alone dealerships that have been renovated within the last 5 years or so.

I'm sure I could do some research and find out how many more Honda dealerships there are in the US than there are Hyundai dealerships, but for me and my area it's 2:1.

 

Elantra is a more elegant vehicle compared to the Fit. Its a pretty tough decision since both look good inside and out.

 

I'm seeing new elantras and sonatas everywhere. I'm shocked at how many honestly. I knew the sonata would be popular, but Hyundai seems like they have a home run with their lease specials.

I was behind a new lightly modded elantra last night (rims, bulbs) and pulled up around it and checked everything out. I don't like the car's shape that much. It's really nice, and well done, but something about it seems off to me. I think the Fit still holds its own against the competition in the styling department, even though we are talking about two quite different cars. If the Fit didn't have room for tons of crap, then it would basically be a CR-Z, and I don't think I'd buy one of those over some of the other options out there.

edit: it would be an insight really. I always forget about that car.

 

I love the body style of the new Elantra. Hyundai hit a home run with this one and not only on looks alone, mpg, interior quality, ride/handling, etc.

But the Elantra is really a competitor to the Civic not to the Fit. Fit stands alone due to its incredible cargo capacity and versatility. If not for the 57 cu ft of space and changeable Magic Seats I probably would not be driving a Fit. It is the swiss army knife of compact cars, does everything very well but not in the lead for anything except cargo space.

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2011 Ford Fiesta SES vs 2010 Honda Fit Sport vs 2010 Toyota Yaris vs 2010 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL Comparison - Motor Trend

 

ive driven the new elantra in canada where the rental place gave me as 'economy car.'

it is no Fit. absolutely lacking in the actual driving experience. for convenience i suppose it's okay but it's just not yet at the same level. you'll be better off with a Chevy Cruze if not the Fit.

 

The Fit has more utility... what with the minivan like space
in the back.

I was absolutely astounded at the room back there when the
sales guy opened the rear hatch and flipped down the seats.

There is almost as much room back there as there was in my
1986 Dodge Caravan that was a larger vehicle.