2022 Hyundai Elantra N vs 2022 Subaru WRX Limited

From the November 2022 issue Car and driver.

As any aging punk rocker can tell you, youth is fleeting, and it’s hard to maintain an appropriate level of shameless fury as you age. This is the dilemma facing Subaru as the fifth generation WRX trying to please its growing fans with grown-up style and comfort while retaining its turbo-whistling, gravel-spitting four wheels. Meanwhile, Art Hyundai Elantra N burst onto the scene, rough and tumble, without the expectations of nostalgia pressed upon him by the spoiler. What deserves the most reputation of a sports compact?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and maybe that’s not what either brand is aiming for, but we’d argue that neither the WRX nor the Elantra N will be podium stars. The Subaru is chunky and boarded up. It is not radically different from the Subarus of the past, but toned down. The WRX still has a wide fender stance, but without the big shopping cart fender and protruding front lip, it looks more like a touring sneaker than a rally racer. Not that the Elantra N can throw rocks. Its huge, frowning grille and wrinkled body lines made some staff cringe. Let’s just say, the word “sticky” appeared more than once in the logbook.

Inside, the WRX continues its mission of innocuousness with a comfortable but unremarkable cabin with carbon fiber accents, red stitching, and a vertical 11.6-inch touchscreen. Materials and finishes are upgraded from the previous model, although we had to refer to photos to recall those details. Elantra, on the other hand, remained in the memory. Micro-suede and faux leather surround the 10.3-inch touchscreen, while BMW-like steering wheel buttons promise all sorts of mayhem in Sport mode. There’s a cherry-red shifter-only unit, a convenience that all manual transmission cars should embrace. do you want Click it. Don’t you want? Do not press. The Elantra’s seats get mixed reviews. Some of us liked the driving position and high sidewalls; others felt they lacked padding and combined with the N’s stiff ride in tailbone-bruising anger.

2nd place: Subaru WRX
Maximum: Comfortable on the road, durable in movements, quiet.
minimums: Cheap speed isn’t so cheap, who needs a quiet and stable WRX?

1st place: Hyundai Elantra N
Maximum: Plugged-in chassis, dumb fun without shame.
minimums: Harsh ride, hard seats, flirting with too-wild styling.

View photos

2022 Hyundai Elantra N

Dig into the numbers and the Elantra N is ahead in almost every measure, on paper and on the road. It’s faster and lighter, pulls harder and turns in sharper than the WRX. Its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine makes 276 horsepower and 289 lb-ft of torque, which is more than you get from Subaru’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which makes 271 horsepower and 258 lb-ft.

With all four tires turning off the power, the WRX manages to outrun the front-wheel-drive Elantra up to 30 mph, but after that it sees the Hyundai’s taillights. The Elantra wins to 60 mph, 100 mph, and the quarter mile, which it knocks out in 13.8 seconds at 103 mph, while the Subie takes 13.9 at 101. We’ll admit it’s close, but a win is a win. The WRX drops power when exiting corners, while the Elantra rarely drives. Speaking of cornering, the Elantra pulls 0.99 g on the mat, while the WRX pulls 0.95 g. The Subaru stops a little earlier, stopping in 153 feet from 70 mph, while the Elantra N takes 156 feet. The Elantra regains its edge in the numbers game when we get to price and fuel economy. The Hyundai costs $4,000 less than the Subaru and gets 32 mpg at 75 mph. Subie-doo ekes out 28.

2022 Subaru WRX Limited

2022 Hyundai Elantra N

On math alone, the Elantra N wins, and our less scientific fun meters agree. The WRX is grown up. It’s all-wheel drive, reliable and unlikely to piss anyone off. The Elantra N, on the other hand, has an N mode that makes the exhaust pop like a dog stuffed with cheese. It’s uncivilized, not always comfortable and full of personality very much like the WRX. There’s nothing wrong with the new Subaru, but it’s an older car trying to atone for the sins of its youth. The Elantra N is here to commit new sins, and it owes nothing to anyone. It’s silly, imperfect, and always to party.