Introduction

The Elantra is a true testament of how well Hyundai has done in winning the hearts and minds of Indian car buyers. What was once an odd-looking, dreary three-box has matured into a genuine head-turner of a sedan with comfort and features loaded to the boot. Now in its sixth generation, the Elantra is a large D-segment sedan that's improved in all the ways that matter – quality, features, ride and handling you name it. Its direct rival is the Skoda Octavia, a car that on paper offers what the Elantra does, with a tad more dynamism and premium edge.

Interestingly, it’s the rather ambitious pricing that’s led us to add a third rival to this test. The car in question is the Toyota Corolla Altis. An obvious rival for the Elantra when we talk space and comfort, the Corolla is surprisingly positioned more towards the upper end of the D-segment. Nevertheless it has made the cut in this three way petrol-automatic shootout thanks to its utterly comfortable rear seat and urban-friendly nature.

The Elantra is the newest car here and, as one would hope, is best dressed on the outside. Finished in a flashy, eye-catching shade of blue, our test car seemed to (quite literally) outshine the other two. Now although the majority of design updates have been made upfront, the Elantra looks beefier especially in profile and at the rear, courtesy of the new kink on the rear door and black insert on the bumper. The Corolla Altis, on the other hand, comes across a safe, sensible family car in its purest form. With the current model, Toyota has really tried to liven it up by adding LEDs, few kinks to the headlights/taillights and a trapezoid theme for the bumpers, however, the end result still makes the Corolla the most traditional looking among this lot. Like the Corolla, the Octavia is inclined more towards the traditional side of design although there is no denying that it’s a handsome looking thing. Despite its fairly high ride height and a huge tail section, the Octavia never looks bulky or disproportionate.

Comfy cruisers

The Elantra features arguably the best cabin that Hyundai India offers thus far. Unlike the evolutionary exterior design, the cabin is several steps above the old model in execution and while that’s a matter of opinion, the interior (despite the all-black treatment) is beautifully executed. It’s comfortable from behind the wheel and visibility is excellent, too. Up front, it betters the Octavia and the Corolla with better bolstered seats that, although a little softer on initial sit-down, are more accommodating thanks to longer backrest and bigger seat base.

The Octavia’s front seats are well-cushioned and undoubtedly more supportive than the Corolla’s relatively flat pews. It’s worth noting that the Skoda feels noticeably more airy thanks to a well layered and low-set dash and clever use of lighter materials. In comparison, the Corolla upfront feels helmed in and tighter overall than its rivals; the culprit here is its slab-like dash that sits far too upright and closer to the front seats. The Octavia easily pips the other two when it comes to quality and fit and finish. Its cabin is anchored by much nicer plastics and more tactile hard and soft-touch materials compared to all its rivals.

It’s a given that petrol-automatic sedans would mainly be self-driven, but more often than not it’s the rear seat experience that ultimately sways buyers one way or the other.

Jumping into the rear seats, it’s the Corolla which emerges as the winner, followed closely by the Octavia. Now the Octavia’s rear bench is quite roomy and the seat comfort is generous too but the Corolla’s is simply remarkable. The legroom is virtually on par but when it comes to headroom and all-important thigh support, the Corolla easily offers more of it. What’s more, the Toyota is the only car here to come with a reclining backrest and a fully flat floor. The rear seat experience in here is more like an armchair really.

Rather surprisingly, it’s the newest car here that’s come last. The Elantra, in fact, has a great deal of legroom and the rear bench itself is very accommodating. However, in this company its ended up at the back of the grid. That attractive coupe-like roofline compromises rear headroom and the combination of all-black interior and smaller glasshouse tends to make the cabin smaller than it actually is. All in all, rear seat comfort is acceptable rather than generous.

Both the Elantra and the Corolla are decently big on boot space, at 460-litres and 470-litres respectively. The Octavia though is in a class of its own with a standard capacity of 590-litres. Remarkably, with the rear seat folded down, the storage capacity can be increased to as much as 1580-litres.

Fully loaded

Buyers in the D-segment expect a fair bit of luxury for their money. In this regard, the Octavia and the Elantra leave a jolly good impression, the Corolla less so. The highlights of the Skoda and the Hyundai come in the form of their infotainment systems that are among the best available from mainstream carmakers. Starting with the Elantra, the 8-inch touchscreen system is high set and supremely easy to use. It’s a nice sounding system which also offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The Octavia, on the other hand, uses a smaller 6.5-inch display but the system itself is sleeker and the audio output is noticeably better as well. The 7-inch system in the Corolla, however, is clearly a generation behind in terms of usability or display quality and doesn’t stack up as well.

All three cars here come with push button start,electric adjustment for the driver’s seat, steering mounted controls, rain sensing wipers, cruise control and park assist with rear camera. The Corolla though misses out on rear AC vents, electric sunroof and more adjustability for the electric driver’s seat – features that are standard on the other two cars. More affordable and with plenty of equipment as standard, the value of the Elantra cannot be overlooked. Although lacking some of the features of the Octavia, it claims a narrow win in this part of the test.

All things considered, the Elantra has a snazzier looking interior with a more modern infotainment system, whereas the Skoda’s finish is nicer and its cabin is better laid out to be used on the go. Speaking of which, it’s about time we started these cars up.

Automatic convenience

Unlike diesel-powered automatics, the automatic gearboxes in petrol vehicles tend to swap cogs a lot more due to the absence of low-end grunt. Thankfully, the petrol-auto drivetrain in all three cars here is well suited for both tooling around the city and going long distances. The Elantra now uses an all-new 2-litre, naturally aspirated 152bhp petrol engine and a revised version of the 6-speed torque converter from the old car. The Corolla, too, uses a naturally aspirated motor – a 1.8-litre paired to 7-step CVT gearbox. The Octavia, however, relies on forced induction and features a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Around town in stop-and-go traffic, it’s the Corolla that feels the smoothest and easy to drive as power from its 1.8-litre unit flows in a remarkably linear manner. The power delivery, no doubt, is aided by the CVT and its inherent ability to deliver torque with zero interruption. In comparison, the Skoda’s low-speed responsiveness is a little less convincing as the car tends to lunge forward sometimes as you take off. Like several other turbo/dual-clutch combinations, the Octavia is a bit lurchy on light throttle at low speeds. However, these are tiny niggles of the car’s otherwise brilliant powertrain which is significantly more spritely and eager than the Corolla throughout its strong mid-range. The Octavia is also much quieter higher in the rev range where the Toyota can get really loud and boomy. How about the Hyundai, then? You may ask. Well, you would be surprised to know it’s the Elantra that’s the quietest of the trio when driven around town. More displacement and reconfigured gearbox have made the Elantra more effortless down low – it’s supremely tractable even at just above idle and pulls strongly from 2000rpm. The engine’s top-end however lacks zing and the gearbox, too, is nowhere as quick as the Octavia or smooth as the Corolla.

On paper, the Octavia has the most powerful engine and the most advanced gearbox, a fact that is reflected rather well on the road. Be it outright performance or in-gear acceleration, the Octavia leaves the other two cars in its dust in no time. In our 0-100kmph acceleration tests, the Skoda blitzed past the ton in just 7.92 seconds. In comparison, the Elantra clocked a 10.91 second run whereas the Corolla was distant last, at 12.19 seconds. As for in-gear acceleration from 20-80kmph in third, the Elantra (5.99 seconds) and the Corolla (6.64 seconds) managed respectable times but again, it was the Octavia that came out the quickest at just 4.89 seconds. Part of this explosive performance is down to the brilliant 7-speed DSG gearbox that delivers lightning quick upshifts and responds swiftly to hard throttle inputs, in Sport mode that is.

The Elantra may not be the quickest in this test, but it has certainly got the most user-friendly dynamics, with its ride comfort standing out. Firm but compliant is what we have come to expect from newer Hyundais and the Elantra is no different – we are happy to report that the high speed ride quality is no longer bouncy and unsettling. If anything, the Elantra remains solid and at low speeds is more settled over small bumps than the other two. Its comfort level not doubt is enhanced by its 60-section tyres (Octavia and Corolla ride on lower profile rubber) that help take the edge off sharp potholes.

The Octavia’s low speed ride is the firmest here. It’s stiffly sprung, after all, meaning it offers less cushioning and allows more of the ridged tarmac and road joins into the cabin. Up the pace, however, and things change for the better as the Octavia quickly settles down and ploughs on over bad roads.There’s this inherent composure to its chassis which only gets stronger at triple digit speeds. It’s more than what can be said for the softer Corolla which jitters over the same stretch of road. Sure, within city limits its ride quality is softer than the Octavia but at highway speeds, it isn’t as well judged as the latter over undulations and requires the most amount of steering input. The Corolla also suffers from a fair bit of road noise and suspension clunks (over bad roads) whereas the Elantra remains significantly quieter, than even the Octavia.

Verdict

Rank 3

Toyota Corolla Altis

Final Score: 372/600

On-road price: Rs 22.71 lakh

It’s hardly surprising that the oldest car here has come last. The Corolla is the easiest to drive around in traffic and it has got the most comfortable rear seat, not to mention Toyota’s trusted after-sales support. However, it’s also the least feature-packed, considerably less premium on the inside and is found wanting when driven spiritedly.

Rank 2

Hyundai Elantra

Final Score: 392/600

On-road price: Rs 21.76 lakh

Conversely, the new Elantra excels when it comes to ride and handling and is in fact a major step forward compared to its predecessor. It looks great inside out, offers punchy performance and has a cutting edge infotainment system, too. The Elantra though can get tiresome for rear passengers, partly due to the rear bench lacking full support and also because of the high window line and all-black upholstery. Overall, it’s grown up considerably in all the right ways although it’s still not quite there yet to dethrone the Octavia.

Rank 1

Skoda Octavia

Final Score: 417/600

On-road price: Rs 23.01 lakh

The Octavia may be the most expensive here but it’s a better bet in a lot of ways – sure it’s dearer but it has much better safety equipment, it looks and feels more upmarket inside and that brilliant TSI petrol-DSG gearbox combo is hard to look past. All things considered, the Skoda Octavia is simply a better all-rounder than the other two.

Photos by Kapil Angane

Click here to read variant-wise on-road prices and more details about the Skoda Octavia

Click here to read variant-wise on-road prices and more details about the Hyundai Elantra

Click here to read variant-wise on-road prices and more details about the Toyota Corolla Altis

Specifications

Score sheet

Test Data