Hyundai Elantra!

[2o6]

My new favorite sedan. Awesome specs, awesome looks. Hopefully decent dynamics, though, the current Elantra is a snooze to drive.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/15/2011-hyundai-elantra-revealed/


I thought they would put in the 1.6GDI as in other markets for better economy without any power loss, but this isn't the case.

[The Pirate]

I really don't like the scrunched front end that seems to be prevalent on FWD cars these days.  The A pillar base being on top of the wheels with no hood just looks like ass to me, and make it harder to do even minor jobs on the car.  Ever change the headlight bulb on current gen Honda Civic?  It involves pulling the wheel off and reaching in that way.  

I know why it's done, but I can't stand it.  Going to have to start going older on my daily drivers...

[CJ]

Kevin, have you ever driven a current Elantra? We have one as a rental car right now and it's really not that bad to drive. It's nimble and peppy, as well as spacious. It's not a bad car at all.

[the Teuton]

It's boring as hell to drive. It's nice and quiet, but boring as hell. And the armrests are atrocious.

[CJ]

I didn't find it that boring, truth be told.  More exciting than my dad's Camry, that's for sure.  The armrest wasn't as bad as you'd made it out to be. 

[Vinsanity]

I agree with Teuts. It's well-built, comfortable, and somewhat pleasant as a commuter, but it's so boring that it makes the last-gen Corolla feel sporty.

My biggest gripe is the electric steering. No feedback whatsover. And no indication of whether you are beyond the car's limit of adhesion until you are plowing towards the guard rail.

[Vinsanity]

As for this new one, it does look quite pretty, but I'm hoping for an extra dose of excitement here. Hyundai's been designating "SE" trims for cars with a firmer suspension, so hopefully there's a Mazda 3 fighter somewhere here. And heck, throw in the Sonata's 2.4 motor, and you have a GTI/Civic Si fighter on a budget.

[SVT666]

That actually looks pretty good.  Too bad about the center stack though.

[MX793]

I think this design language works better on a smaller car than the larger Sonata.  Not that the Sonata is necessarily unattractive, but this is, IMO, pretty sharp looking.

[thewizard16]

That's a very happy looking car (albeit a bit strange) and the interior appears pretty nice... But for the love of all that is holy, why did they put the center vents in such a strange location and make the center stack melt around them?

[2o6]

Kevin, have you ever driven a current Elantra? We have one as a rental car right now and it's really not that bad to drive. It's nimble and peppy, as well as spacious. It's not a bad car at all.

Almost, but salesman said since I only have liability insurance, I can't test drive any of their cars.

[CJ]

Almost, but salesman said since I only have liability insurance, I can't test drive any of their cars.

That's total bullshit.

[2o6]

That's total bullshit.

Which is why I walked out.

[the Teuton]

I will go into a dealership with a wad of $100 bills this weekend in my hand, ask to drive a WRX, and get permission with just liability insurance...

...I wish I had the time to try it, but I bet I could.

[2o6]

I will go into a dealership with a wad of $100 bills this weekend in my hand, ask to drive a WRX, and get permission with just liability insurance...

...I wish I had the time to try it, but I bet I could.

It's easy to drive cars. Express interest.

[the Teuton]

It's easy to drive cars. Express interest.

...with liability insurance? You've seemed to have had good luck so far with the exception of Hyundai.

[2o6]

...with liability insurance? You've seemed to have had good luck so far with the exception of Hyundai.

They don't check, and insisting on it is rude. It could cost them a sale. Driving cars is not hard, I don't know why you're making it seem as if it's so hard. Cars are products, and salesman are salesmen, so they want to get you into a sale any way they can.


And it was only THAT Hyundai dealer.

[the Teuton]

They don't check, and insisting on it is rude. It could cost them a sale. Driving cars is not hard, I don't know why you're making it seem as if it's so hard. Cars are products, and salesman are salesmen, so they want to get you into a sale any way they can.


And it was only THAT Hyundai dealer.

I was only going off your statements...

[ifcar]

It could cost them a sale.

But it didn't.

Any dealer that lets a non-customer drive is doing them a favor; it's not something you have the right to expect of them.

[2o6]

But it didn't.

Any dealer that lets a non-customer drive is doing them a favor; it's not something you have the right to expect of them.

True, but they don't know that. When I come in, I act as if I were to buy the car.

[ifcar]

True, but they don't know that. When I come in, I act as if I were to buy the car.

"Those people are jerks because they saw through my lie." Wrong attitude.

[2o6]

"Those people are jerks because they saw through my lie." Wrong attitude.

No..... that particular dealer does that for EVERY customer.

I didn't see a single demo car on the lot.....they'll happily show you cars in the showroom, but actually driving ones is a different story; nearly none of them wanted to go out back and hunt for a manual transmission Hyundai.

[Colonel Cadillac]

I rented an Elantra (I think it was an Elantra, whatever the cheapest model is) and it was slow of course, but fine around town. Oh the highway it would not drive in a straight line at all. 85 MPH actually felt like 85 MPH. I didn't venture above that (but also cuz there were people in my car).

[sportyaccordy]

Curious about this. Looks good outside; not crazy about Hyundai's "funhouse of mirrors" interior stylings though.

Hopefully they do a 1.8T or something here too, along with legit support mods (stiffer springs/dampers/rollbars, LSD).

[Vinsanity]

the cheapest model would be the Accent.

[Colonel Cadillac]

the cheapest model would be the Accent.

Ahh, that's what it was. I guess that shows how much I care about shit cars.

[CALL_911]

Ahh, that's what it was. I guess that shows how much I care about shit cars.

We can't all be rolling around in cars like yours. If we could, no one would care about "shit cars."

[sportyaccordy]

We can't all be rolling around in cars like yours. If we could, no one would care about "shit cars."

[Vinsanity]

the cheapest model would be the Accent.

damn, I wasted my 6,000th post on that

[Cookie Monster]

I really like how that looks.