Tech specs compared: India-spec 2019 Honda Civic vs Toyota Corolla Altis vs Hyundai Elantra vs Skoda Octavia

Team OD Updated: July 11, 2019, 11:49 AM IST

Honda announced its plans to launch six new vehicles in India by 2020. The first one of the six was the Honda Amaze and following the subcompact sedan was a full-sized crossover - The Honda CR-V. The third one in the line-up has been recently unveiled which carries a popular name tag, the Civic. The Honda Civic is the Japanese car maker's contender in the D-segment which they quit over half a decade ago. The Civic fills the space between the Honda City and the Honda CR-V, and rivals the Hyundai Elantra, Skoda Octavia and the Toyota Corolla Altis.

Honda has offered the Civic almost identical to the car launched in the international market, the word 'almost' because the car gets a very India centric drivetrain. The car is slated to launch in the latter half of February 2019, however, Honda has unveiled the technical specifications of the Civic and we pitch it against its rivals.

Honda Civic
The all-new Honda Civic which comes with a choice of two engine options - petrol and diesel. The petrol powered engine displaces 1,799cc (1.8L) producing 141PS of power at 6500rpm and 174Nm of torque at 4,300rpm and the diesel engine displaces a 1,597cc (1.6L) producing 120PS at 4,000rpm and a 300Nm of torque at 2,000rpm. The fuel efficiency number for the petrol variant is 16.5kmpl whereas the diesel engine returns 26.8 kilometres to a litre - both the numbers are company claimed. The petrol engine is mated to a CVT (continuously variable transmission) only, whereas the diesel motor is paired to a six-speed manual transmission. No choice of an automatic in the diesel variant yet. The petrol variant of 2019 Honda Civic tips the scale at 1,300kgs and the diesel weighs 1,353kgs and has a boot space of 430L. The new 2019 Civic also gets an independent suspension at the back and Macpherson struts in the front.

Toyota Corolla Altis
The other Japanese contender in this rivalry is the Toyota Corolla which is also offered in petrol as well as diesel. A 1798cc (1.8L) petrol engine and a 1,364cc (1.4L) diesel engine. The former produces 140PS at 6,400rpm and 173Nm of torque at 4,000rpm while the latter one makes 88PS at 3,800rpm and 205Nm of torque at 1,800rpm which is the lowest in the segment. However, the car comes with the option of a six-speed manual and a seven-step CVT (continuously variable transmission) for the petrol variant, ever the diesel variant is limited to a six-speed manual only. The car is equipped with independent suspension in the front and a torsion beam in the rear. The Toyota Corolla has a similar wheelbase as the Honda Civic which is 2,700mm long and has 470L of cargo space which is 40L more than the Civic.

Hyundai Elantra
The Korean D-segment sedan is also offered with two engine options, 1,999cc (2.0L) petrol, and a 1582cc (1.6L) diesel. The former one produces 152PS at 6,200rpm and 196Nm at 4,000rpm while the latter one produces 128PS at 4,000rpm and 265Nm of torque at 1,900rpm. Both the engines are offered with a choice of a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic. The company claimed fuel efficiency number for the diesel is 22.5kmpl which until now was the highest in the segment. The wheelbase of the Elantra is 2,700mm which is the same as the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla.

Skoda Octavia
The Skoda Octavia is currently available in both diesel and petrol fuel choices and offers options of three engines - 1.4L and 1.8L petrol and a 2.0L diesel engine. The former ones produce 150PS at 5,000rpm and 180PS at 5,100rpm respectively and the latter one produces 143PS at 3,500rpm. The torque numbers are relatively higher as the Octavia is the only one in the segment which offers turbocharged petrol engines, that said the 1.4L and the 1.8L both generate a torque number of 250Nm at 1,500rpm while the diesel engine makes the highest torque number of 320Nm at 1,750rpm. The 1.8L variant of the Octavia gets an all-independent suspension setup whereas the others have independent suspension in the front and a torsion beam setup similar to its rivals. The Skoda Octavia also has the largest boot space of 590L while it has the shortest wheelbase of 2,688mm.