You are about to find out which is the fastest car between a 2022 VW Golf GTI with DSG and a 2022 Hyundai Elantra N equipped with its DCT. One is a hatchback and the other a sedan, but they’re still rivals, costing about the same and equipped with 2.0-liter turbo engines.
10 years ago, you couldn’t imagine Hyundai making great sports models. The Veloster Turbo suspension setup and 1.6-liter engine weren’t inspiring. However, in 2022, a Hyundai N model offers a lot of bang for your buck, a thorn in the side of VW, and also the Subaru WRX.
There’s one good reason why you’d want to race a Golf GTI against the Elantra N and not the Jetta GLI. Golfs are now all made in Germany, and in the past, GTIs have proven to be faster than their sedan sister cars. Bringing the Jetta GLI to drag race the Elantra would be a guaranteed loss.
Sam CarLegion, the YouTuber behind the wheel of the VW, says the 2022 Golf GTI is impressive and feels at least 10% faster than the Mk7.5 from last year. I don’t know about percentage points, but it certainly is faster.
The latest version of the 2.0 TSI four-cylinder produces 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. That’s up 21 hp and 15 lb-ft over the outgoing model. It’s also got new electronics and a revised active suspension setup. Motor Trend boasts that it’s tested a DSG 2022 model from 0 to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds compared to 6.0 seconds. Of course, these are some of the most optimistic numbers you can expect.
The smart money is on the Elantra N because it doesn’t have to do more with less. Its 2.0-liter turbo is rated at 286 hp and 289 lb-ft of torque. Again, using some of Motor Trend’s optimistic numbers, this sedan should be able to do 60 mph in 5.1 seconds.
The gap is large enough to “land a 747 in between”
Even if I expected the GTI to lose, the gap is still unexpectedly large. In all three drag races, the Elantra N pulls ahead by about 6 car lengths for two reasons.
First, it loses the dig battle, maybe because it doesn’t have the best tires. But the lead continues to expend, suggesting the Hyundai makes way more power. As one of the comments points out, the determination of the Elantra N’s driver is intense, as he’s hanging on to the steering wheel like he’s in a Tesla Plaid.
I feel Sam CarLegion may have read some of our old drag racing articles and was inspired. One of Andrei’s trademark titles used to be “Egos Get Bruised.” There’s a little bit of that going on here too, as the GTI owner claims the roll race ends with “maybe 1 car length, not 6” even though the gap is way bigger than that.
As a hardcore GTI fan, I really feel for him. But if Hyundai brought an Elantra N hatchback (i30 N) to the States, he might have bought that instead of a VW.
