Overview Well-equipped hatchback should be at
the top of your shopping list if you’re in the market for a compact
Pros More power than competition, hatchback
versatility, well-designed/roomy cabin
Cons Noisy cabin, suspension is stiffer than it
needs to be
Value for money Great
What would I change? A softer suspension,
a quieter cabin, sharper brakes
How would I spec it? Elantra GT GLS +
Tech package
The Hyundai Elantra is like that slightly
awkward kid from high school who existed quietly and studied hard. Not one to
have a lot of friends or be outwardly outgoing, people always bypassed them to
hang out with the popular kids. Now the awkward kid has grown up into a really
successful doctor/lawyer/TV personality while the “popular kids” have moved on
to become just older, fatter, washed-up versions of their high school selves
working an unfulfilling job and wishing that they paid more attention to that
awkward kid in class.
Like
that awkward kid, the Elantra
has similarly gone on to not only catch up to the popular kids (the Honda Civic
and the Toyota Corolla), but has actually surpassed them on nearly all levels.
At the high school reunion, the Elantra will be the most interesting and
successful person in the room, and the popular kids are just going to get drunk
and sulk about how their lives turned out, slurring their words as they
reminisce about the good old days.
The
harsh reality is that the Civic and Corolla became too used to being at the
top, and they didn’t notice that Hyundai was improving its
game and slowly encroaching on their territory until BOOM the Hyundai became
the better car. A quick look at Canadian
sales figures will paint a clearer picture. In 2014, 50,420 Elantras were
purchased, compared to 66,057 Civics and 48,881 Corollas. So the Elantra sold more than the
Corolla last year, and is getting closer to hitting Civic-level sales. This is
a big deal, and people shopping in this segment need to consider the Elantra
very seriously.
The Hyundai Elantra just does so
many things right. The Elantra is beautiful in its simplicity, but also highly
functional and user-friendly. It doesn’t skimp on features and is an all-around
admirable performer. Nothing is frustrating about the Elantra, which is more
than can be said of its two biggest competitors.
Right
when you get into the car, you’ll immediately be impressed by the interior.
It’s not some space age, overly complicated mess of buttons that you’d need a
Ph.D to decipher. Besides using nice-feeling soft materials, the dashboard
layout is clean, uncluttered and totally logical. You’re never left wondering
where all your controls are and there are no mystery buttons to confuse you.
Everything in the interior has been well thought out and has a clear purpose.
(The Civic, on the other hand, has an incredibly frustrating interior: Besides
the awful two-tier dash, the placement of all the buttons is unintuitive, it
doesn’t have a volume knob, and there’s a lot of hard black plastic.) On top of
that, the cabin is very roomy and comfortable, my 6-foot-2 companion never
feeling like he needed more space.
Interiors
are something automakers still struggle with. Not Hyundai, which balances a
logical layout with nice materials and an intuitive interface to make the Elantra a nice place to spend
time.
The
Elantra’s infotainment system is also one of the best I’ve seen (besides
Chrysler/Dodge/Fiat’s UConnect system). The touchscreen is responsive and clean
(you can’t see sloppy fingerprints), the graphics are modern, the menus are
easy to navigate and everything is clearly labelled and easy to find. Everything
from pairing your Bluetooth smartphone, to finding a radio station, and using
the navigation is refreshingly simple. The system also allows a high level of
customization for different levels of comfort with technology, something that
many other automakers haven’t even thought of.
During
the drive, the Elantra
GT also impresses. Powered by a 2.0L four-cylinder engine, it puts out a
healthy 173 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm and 154 pound-feet of torque @ 4,700 rpm,
which is more than the Civic and Corolla. The upside to a bigger engine is more
power, but that means the Elantra GT’s fuel economy suffers slightly. The Civic
and the Corolla are both more fuel efficient, but I’d take the Elantra’s extra
power over fuel economy any day. Power delivery is smooth and quick, making
passing cars and getting up to highway speeds a stress-free affair. The
six-speed automatic also shifts smoothly and never seems to be confused as to
which gear it should be in.
Hyundai
badges this Elantra
as a GT, which stands for Grand Touring. Typically, GT cars are sportier, but,
in reality, the Elantra isn’t as sporty as Hyundai wants you to
believe. Although the steering has a nice, heavy weight to it, it’s not a
sporty setup. I prefer a heavier setup because it prevents twitchy highway
driving, something that plagues a lot of compacts. The Elantra GT strangely has
a very stiff suspension setup and three steering settings: Normal, Comfort and
Sport. This is an odd choice because no one is going to buy the Elantra GT as a hot
hatch, so having a super stiff suspension only makes the ride unnecessarily
harsh. I would prefer a slightly softer setup so I wouldn’t get bounced around
so much over rough roads. Despite this, I really enjoy how the Elantra drives.
I like that it’s tighter, more responsive and less squishy than its competitors
so you can drive it with more conviction.
I would
even argue that the Elantra looks better than the Corolla and the Civic. Its
design is clean and confident, but not overly aggressive. It doesn’t rely on
flashy design to overcompensate for a lack of substance, which its competitors
are totally guilty of. The Elantra shows
up to the high school reunion in a flattering knee-length black dress, the
Civic/Corolla duo show up wearing a hot pink mini club dress and blue eyeshadow
— they’re trying to hide something by using distraction tactics.
The
impressive Elantra GT is
one of the best cars in its segment currently only surpassed by the Volkswagen
Golf and Mazda3, which have both set the benchmark remarkably high.
One
day, the Elantra could
surpass the Civic in sales and regale its friends with its “ugly duckling”
story. For now, the Elantra GT can be quietly smug with the fact that it has
become the better car, even though it might take people a little longer to
recognize it. The Elantra will leave the high school reunion leaving a lasting good
impression on its peers, which now have a lot of catching up to do.
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