When it comes to high-quality vehicles, foreign-based automakers know where it’s at. Honda, a Japanese automotive company offers quite a few lines of vehicles ranging from compact cars to minivans, to pickups. Hyundai, the Korean-based automaker, has less of a line up than Honda but has sold an incredible amount of its most popular car models.

The battle between these two foreign automotive giants has been going on for a long time. It’s no surprise that these companies still going neck and neck even today. Both have above-average features that appeal to just about any driver on the road. When it comes to finding the clear winner between these two, though, the answer isn’t as simple as that.

Consumer Reports takes a look at several automotive companies and shows how each of its vehicles stands up, including some from Honda and some from Hyundai.

Popular Honda vehicles

The Civic is a compact car that has been around quite a long time. With years of improvements, under its belt, it’s become a pretty reliable vehicle, which is why it continues to get produced every year. It rates fairly high in reliability because it hasn’t had some of the major complaints that other compact cars in its class have dealt with.

The Accord is another popular vehicle of Honda that’s been around the block a few times. Consumer Reports was quite pleased with the 2020 model and gave it high ratings because of the performance, driving experience and handling of the vehicle. The owner’s satisfaction with previous model years makes it a slightly above average mid-sedan when it comes to reliability.

Popular Hyundai vehicles

The Elantra is Hyundai’s highest-selling compact car. Consumer Reports rates it pretty high for fuel economy, roominess, and user-friendliness. It has, however, seen its fair share of problems in previous model years. There are two recalls on record for the Elantra that deal with a ball-joint that could detach and possible wheel separation, both of which could cause serious crashes.

The Sonata’s been around almost as long as the Elantra and is another popular vehicle from Hyundai’s line up. This mid-size car has had a few rocky years with engine troubles, but the newer versions have seen quite a bit of improvement.

Consumer Reports have no data, as of yet, of the 2020 model, but they felt the 2019 version held up pretty well as far as reliability was concerned.

Is Honda better than Hyundai?

When it comes to which company is better, it boils down to what factors you’re looking for in a vehicle. Honda is the choice for performance, interior, and safety.

Honda’s safety tests earned them top ratings with scores that were slightly higher than Hyundai’s. Honda makes the interior with higher quality materials than Hyundai’s usual hard plastic surfaces. It also handles the road better making it a more pleasant driving experience.

The Hyundai, especially the Elantra excels at price points, roominess, and user-friendliness. The starting price for most Hyundai vehicles is much less than some of Honda’s cars.

Head and legroom are above average, even with the smaller compact cars. While Honda wins out with the higher quality interior, Hyundai offers easy-to-use knobs and buttons that a driver doesn’t have to spend too much time trying to figure out how to use.

Overall, each automaker offers pretty reliable vehicles. To determine which one will suit you when looking for a new car to drive, will depend on what your needs are. If the price is important, the Hyundai is the route to take. If you want the top of the line in safety, Honda wins out. Either way, you will get a well-built vehicle that’s likely to last a long time.