2010 Car Comparison: Honda Civic v Hyundai Elantra v Toyota Corolla

Fluctuating gasoline prices, a sinking economy, and a general trend toward downsizing -- some call it “rightsizing” – have millions of motorists rethinking their automotive priorities. Compact-car sales are on the upswing, and among the most popular are the 2010 Honda Civic, 2010 Hyundai Elantra, and 2010 Toyota Corolla.

Showing the affects of the recession, Honda Civic sales actually fell for calendar 2009 versus 2008, while Corolla sales were basically flat. Riding a wave that has South Korea’s Hyundai registering healthy brand-wide demand, Elantra sales were up year-over-year. And as the economy stirred back to life in late 2009, sales of all three models rose dramatically. Comparing sales for December 2009 with those for December 2008, Civic was up 29 percent, Corolla up 55 percent, and Elantra up a staggering 119 percent. Corolla and Civic finished the year among America’s top-10-selling vehicles.

Needless to say, with demand this strong and with inventories depleted by 2009’s “Cash for Clunkers” program, deep discounts are difficult to come by in the compact segment, especially for the three cars represented here.

Corolla and Civic are the two longest-running nameplates among Japanese automakers. Corolla dates to 1966, Civic to 1973. Of course, both have come a long way, growing larger and far more powerful, refined, and sophisticated. The current-generation Corolla debuted for 2007 and its next full redesign will come around model-year 2015. Civic was last redesigned for 2006, and an all-new model is expected for model-year 2012.

Sonata is the youngster of this trio, first reaching American shores as a 1989 model. It was last redesigned for 2009 and added a higher-mileage “Blue” sedan version this year; a hybrid-powered version is said to be in the works and could hit the market as early as fall, 2010.