The Honda Civic Type R and Hyundai Elantra N are two of the hottest, front-wheel-drive performance cars, currently on sale. While they are both capable, it’s interesting to see how they stack up against one another, in a drag race. Sam Carlegion has arranged for the two performance vehicles to line up on the drag strip, for a series of runs. Here’s what happened.

The contenders

Honda Civic Type R

The Honda comes with a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine that puts out 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet (400 Nm). The Type R comes, exclusively, with a six-speed manual, which sends power to the front wheels. Apparently, it could sprint from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.8 seconds, but that’s only if you get it right and the conditions are perfect. The real surprise is the curb weight – 3,084 pounds (1,399 kg).

Hyundai Elantra N

While the Elantra N is also available with a six-speed manual, this particular one comes with the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. The manual would make for a better comparison, but for now, this is what they managed to find. It also has a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four, but it puts out 286 horsepower and 289 pound-feet (392 Nm, but those numbers are believed to be underrated. Like the Type R, power is sent to the front wheels only. With a curb weight of 3,296 pounds (1,495 kg), the Elantra is heavier.

The drag race

The cars line up for two races from a standing start. On the first run, the Elantra fails to launch properly while the Civic rockets ahead and wins by a lot, despite some initial wheelspin. The second run was more legit and the DCT-equipped Elantra N won. The Civic bogged down from first to second but was catching up towards the end. The quarter-mile, however, came too quickly, for the Civic to take the win.

The Roll race

Once again, two runs were made, but from different speeds, with the first one being from 30 mph (48 km/h). The Hyundai Elantra N’s dual-clutch transmission gives it an edge, initially, but the power of the Type R proves too much.

The second rolling race is from 60 mph (97 km/h) and this time, it’s not even close. The Honda Civic Type R rockets ahead and leaves the Hyundai Elantra N in the dust. Even with the dual-clutch automatic, the Korean model failed to keep up with the mighty Civic Type R, winning only one of the four races. The manual version is lighter, but will that be enough to make up for the lack of constant acceleration that comes with a DCT? We’ll find out once a manual Hyundai Elantra N goes up against the Civic Type R.