Both offer turbocharged four-cylinder engines with manual transmissions. But can Subaru’s AWD system outperform the FWD Hyundai?
People wouldn’t have crossed-shopped the Subaru WRX and a Hyundai Hyundai Elantra so many years ago. Both have a long history of turbocharged all wheel-drive fun on pavement and dirt. One has a history of renting cars and taking small families on comfortable front-wheel-drive trips. The times are changing, friends.
The Hyundai ElantraN now has 276 horsepower (205kilowatts) in a lightweight sedan package. It’s a very good sports sedan. The suspension has been tuned and the steering is also tuned. The new for-2022 WRX has 271 horsepower (202 kW) and weighs 200 more due to its beloved AWD system. The cars have auto-shifting gearboxes, with a CVT in Subaru and an eight-speed DCT for Hyundai. However, this particular battle from Edmunds involves a six-speed manual transmission.
Although the two seem fairly equal on paper, the Subaru’s AWD grip is certain to win the race. This might hold true if the race were a drag race. However, the course requires hard braking at the end of each quarter-mile, a 180-degree turn and then a sprint back towards the starting line. The legendary Subie AWD launch is just a part of the contest. Perhaps the Elantra N will have a chance.
It certainly has a chance. There are two races, the first of which sees the Elantra N slide horribly off the line, while the Subie just blasts past, eventually crossing the quarter-mile. The lead shrinks noticeably as the Elantra puts never surrender. It just barely crosses the line in front of the WRX by a car length.
For the second race, the drivers change cars and the Elantra N is faster than the Subaru. You can guess the outcome of the race with a nearly even start. The Hyundai won on all metrics, even the quarter-mile. No AWD? It seems that the Elantra N doesn’t have any problems with dry pavement.
Subaru fans will need to wait until the new WRX STI arrives before they can regain their bragging rights. We forgot Subaru canned next-gen STI. Yeah, that’s awkward.