2011 Hyundai Elantra

2011 Volkswagen Jetta

The 2011 VW Jetta and 2011 Hyundai Elantra are both attractive, feature-filled alternatives to the Civic and Corolla that have come to dominate the small car market. Buyers who don’t want to get lost in the crowd will find the Elantra’s aggressive styling and the Jetta’s powerful engine to be refreshing in a typically bland small car segment.

The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta and 2011 Hyundai Elantra are very similar inside. Both offer leather seats, navigation, seating for five with folding rear seats and a sun roof. Neither has higher-end options like power seats or a DVD entertainment system available.

2011 VW Jetta Interior

2011 Hyundai Elantra Interior

The Elantra is a little bit larger in the front seat than the Jetta. The 2011 Elantra gives drivers 40 inches of headroom to the Jetta’s 38.2, and 43.6 inches of leg room to the Jetta’s 41.2. Both cars offer 37.1 inches of rear headroom, but the Jetta’s 38.1 inches of rear leg room make it much better for adult passengers than the Elantra, with just 33.1 inches. The Jetta also has more cargo room than the Elantra. The 2011 Jetta has 15.5 cubic feet of trunk space to the Elantra’s 14.8.

The 2011 VW Jetta and Hyundai Elantra are pretty similar , but when it comes to their drivetrains, there are some pretty big differences that should make a buyer’s choice easy. The Jetta is the hot-rod of the small car segment. With 170-hp and 177 lb-ft of torque from the optional 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, the Jetta is by far the more powerful choice (the base-model Jetta’s 2.0-liter four cylinder has just 115-hp).

The Elantra is no slouch with a 148-hp four-cylinder engine, but can’t keep up with the Jetta. When Car & Driver tested the Jetta and Elantra, they found the Volkswagen went 0-60 mph in 8.2 seconds to the Hyundai’s 8.6 seconds. That’s not a huge difference for most drivers, but where the Jetta really pulled away was the 0-110 mph test. The Elantra took 37.2 seconds to reach 110, but the Jetta did it in 30.8 seconds. While you probably don’t need to break 100 mph in your daily commute, the Jetta’s high speed acceleration will definitely come in handy when merging onto highways.

The Elantra on the other hand is rated at 40-mpg highway and 29 city, so if you’re more interested in frugality than speed, it’s an easy choice. The Jetta with its 2.5-liter engine is rated at 23-mpg city and 33-mpg highway. The base Jetta with the less powerful 2.0-liter engine isn’t much better at 24-city mpg and 34 highway.

2011 VW Jetta

2011 Hyundai Elantra