2011 Hyundai Elantra is Best Value and Efficient Car

The 2011 Hyundai Elantra beat Chevrolet Cruze for the Best Value: Price to Pump award given by Cars.com, a leading online resource for new and used car buyers. The site’s editors evaluated five compact cars that seat five, get better than 35 miles per gallon and have a price tag under $20,000. The 2011 Hyundai Elantra came out on top for its exterior and interior design as well as its smooth ride.

To determine the winner of the shootout, experts from Cars.com and USA Today and a Chicago-area family put the contenders through a variety of tests over a series of three days. Tests included a day-long drive to determine accurate real-world mileage, back-to-back driving by all judges on the same course to determine handling and comfort and a side-by-side comparison of the cars’ features and styling.

Cars.com’s ‘Best Value: Price to Pump’ rankings:

1. Hyundai Elantra ($17,760)
2. Chevrolet Cruze ($19,445)
3. Honda Civic ($18,655)
4. Kia Forte ($18,345)
5. Ford Focus ($19,750)