Hyundai Elantra vs Ford Focus

Every year, compact cars get better and better. As early as the mid-2000s, it occurred to some automakers that commuters desired features like heated leather seats, navigation, and keyless entry in smaller cars. A daily driver that's good on gas and easy to park shouldn’t also be deprived of basic creature comforts. And from that climate, Hyundai began its ascension into value-oriented vehicles that don’t feel cheap. The culmination of that quality-small-car campaign is the 2017 Hyundai Elantra. It builds on a very competent outgoing generation with some of the best styling, ergonomics, safety, and technology you can find for short money.

The Elantra has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the 1990s, and while the hotly contested small-car market has come a long way since then, it's the Elantra that appears to have made the most progress. But is a tech-laden redesign enough to take on the likes of the Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, and Honda Civic?

For as red-hot and competitive as the economy-car segment is, success in this corner of the market is based on some pretty mundane variables. It comes down to things like fuel economy, price, number and location of cupholders, ride quality, and other items. It basically has to be economical, reliable transportation for the everyday commute. There are other nuances, such as the ease of use of its controls, but success in this segment requires automotive pragmatism at its best.

It's through this lens that we consider the 2016 Ford Focus. This 4-door, 5-passenger small car has been refreshed for this model year, building off the success of the third-generation car, which debuted in 2011. That was the first car under the “One Ford” plan, under which one car is sold on multiple continents in multiple markets with minimal changes.

The result of the plan was a car that was much more refined than the two generations before it and positioned the Focus for the past several years as the best American Small Car. That accolade is as much about the Focus’ refinement as it is about the deficiencies of American-made competitors, including the Dodge Dart and Chevrolet Cruze. A second-generation Cruze has recently been unveiled, but it’s still too early for us to render a verdict on that car. It is import rivals, such as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Hyundai Elantra, that pose the greatest threat to the new-look Focus.