DALLAS, May 27, 2013 — Changes to the 2013 Hyundai Elantra are miniscule this year, but there has been the introduction of new body styles, a coupe and a hatchback.
The Hyundai Elantra comes in a hatchback too.
For the standard Elantra, however, it’s business as usual and still all about the classy styling as well as what’s under the hood, emphasizing good fuel economy and many excellent standard features.
A fixture in the compact car market, particularly after a redesign several years ago, Hyundai’s competition ranges from the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and Mazda 3 to the Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla.
There are two trims to choose from: the GLS and Limited. With the GLS, you get 16-inch steel wheels, heated mirrors, power accessories, a height-adjustable driver seat, 60/40 split-folding rear seat, and a good bit of techie options like a trip computer, satellite radio and an auxiliary audio jack, and iPod/USB audio interface.
If you choose the GLS with automatic transmission, there is a Preferred Package, making a few changes to the standard features like 16-inch alloy wheels as well as the addition of fog lamps, upgraded interior trim, heated front seats, and lighted vanity mirrors.
The Limited 2013 Hyundai Elantra offers all the goodies from the GLS Preferred Package, but 17-inch alloy wheels, a sunroof, leather upholstery, and heated front and rear seats are also added. For more luxury, you can also opt for the Technology Package, which adds to the mix automatic headlamps, rearview camera, dual-zone automatic climate control, and an upgraded sound system.
Under the hood, this Hyundai has front-wheel drive with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that puts out 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque. The six-speed manual transmission is the norm, but a six-speed automatic is optional on the GLS. On the Limited sedan, it is automatic as the standard.
For safety, the 2013 Hyundai Elantra has traction and stability control, antilock disc brakes, active front head restraints and front seat side-impact, and side curtain airbags.
Inside the Elantra, you will find a stylized interior that boasts a center stack and easy to use and manipulate buttons and knobs, a design that Hyundai can certainly boast about overall.
Space-wise, the Hyundai Elantra offers plenty of it for the compact car market. Plenty of headroom even for a front seat driver or passenger who stands over six-feet, and even in the backseat seat there is plenty of legroom. The trunk is large with 14.8 cubic feet of cargo space too.
Behind the wheel, the 2013 Hyundai Elantra is fun to drive as there is plenty of power to get where you need to go quickly and easy with handling good for this compact market option.
Should You Need to Know: Kudos to the larger than usual trunks found in this class and the outstanding warranty coverage. Take particular note of the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT, which is an all-new hatchback that replaced the Elantra Touring wagon with a 51-foot cargo area.
Miles Per Gallon: The 2013 Hyundai Elantra has impressive fuel economy with 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 miles per gallon on the highway.
Cost: The 2013 Hyundai Elantra starts at around $17,000 for the GLS.
Rita Cook is a writer/editor with over 1300 articles to her credit in the past 15-plus years. She is a frequent auto and travel contributor on a national radio show called “The Duva Show” where her “The Insider Mag’s”I’m Standing Here segment can be heard weekly between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. Monday evenings.
Cook is a member of the Texas Auto Writer’s Association and the North Texas Film Critics and writes for the Dallas Morning News, Focus Daily New, Living Magazine and Valley Scene Magazines as well as www.greensourceDFW. She also spends much of her time on the road traveling or working on books.
She recently received the 2012 Green Media Award from the North Texas Corporate Recycling Association.
Her latest book release is “Haunted Bartlesville, Oklahoma”from www.historypress.net and she will be publishing her ninth book this spring about Prohibition-Era cocktails in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Follow Cook at Twitter at @ritacook13.
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