Where each one leads
Hyundai Elantra
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Toyota Yaris
- Against cars of the same year, the Toyota Yaris comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 19% more often than average) than the Hyundai Elantra (fails 36% more often than average).
- Fewer Toyota Yaris cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.6% against 6.0%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2020 Toyota Yaris uses 6.6 l/100 km, the 2026 Hyundai Elantra 6.8.
- New Toyota Yaris cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 103 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 139 for the Hyundai Elantra in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol Toyota Yaris uses 6.0 l/100 km on the road, the Hyundai Elantra 6.5.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Hyundai Elantra | Toyota Yaris | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1990–2026 | 2001–2023 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 21,186 (2010–2022) | 2,365,588 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 585,005 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 122 | 256,323 |
| In traffic in Finland | 222 | 82,065 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Hyundai Elantra | Toyota Yaris | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 72% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +4% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.2% | 2.8% |
| … against cars of the same year | +36% | +19% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 6.0% | 2.6% |
| US owner complaints | 8,732 | 810 |
| Most complaints about | Engine | Air bags |
| Model year with most complaints | 2013 (1,314) | 2007 (258) |
| US recall campaigns | 59 | 23 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,216 | 2,571 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 49 | 13 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Hyundai Elantra | Toyota Yaris | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2026) | 5★ (2020) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Hyundai Elantra | Toyota Yaris | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 6.8 l/100 km (2026) | 6.6 l/100 km (2020) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 6.5 l/100 km | 6.0 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 4.5 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 139 g/km | 103 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 90 kW (121 hp) | 69 kW (93 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,279 kg | 1,206 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €17,779 | €19,569 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 214,000 km | 137,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).