Compare › Corolla vs Elantra

Toyota Corolla vs Hyundai Elantra

Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold

The short answer

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota Corolla drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 76 per 100,000 against 242 for the Hyundai Elantra, or 69% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2018 and 2022 for the Corolla and 2015 and 2021 for the Elantra.

2020 Toyota Corolla SE 2.0L sedan, 12.28.19

Toyota Corolla

Complaints per 100k sold76
Recalls since 201221
Average crash rating4.8 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2018, 2022
Avoidnone stand out
2021 Hyundai Elantra Ultimate, Front Left, 11-29-2020

Hyundai Elantra

Complaints per 100k sold242
Recalls since 201230
Average crash rating4.7 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2015, 2021
Avoid2013, 2017

By age group

Model yearsCorollaElantraFewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)88292Corolla
Middle (2016 to 2018)55236Corolla
Newer (2019 to 2022)80161Corolla

Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.

Year by year

YearCorollaElantra
2012153335
201367539
201480178
201561109
201659144
201757402
201847167
201968146
2020132249
202176130
202248136
2023Too newToo new
2024Too newToo new

Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.

Most reported problems

Questions

Is the Corolla or Elantra more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota Corolla drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 76 per 100,000 against 242 for the Hyundai Elantra, or 69% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2018 and 2022 for the Corolla and 2015 and 2021 for the Elantra.

Which Corolla and Elantra years should I avoid?

For the Corolla: none stand out. For the Elantra: 2013, 2017.

More comparisons