Hyundai hatchback a simple beauty
Well-equipped Elantra GT is highly functional, user-friendly
The Hyundai Elantra is like that slightly awkward kid from high school who was quiet and studied hard. People always by passed them to hang out with the popular kids. Then the awkward kid grew up to be a successful doctor/lawyer/TV personality while the “popular kids” are wishing they paid more attention to that awkward kid in class.
In a similar way, the Elantra has not only caught up to the popular kids — the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla — but has surpassed them on nearly all levels.
The 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 encroaching on their territory until BOOM — the Hyundai became the better car.
The Hyundai Elantra does so many things right. It 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.
When you get into the car, you’ll be impressed by the interior. It’s not some spaceage, overly complicated mess of buttons. Besides using nice-feeling soft materials, the dashboard layout is clean, uncluttered and totally logical. Everything in the interior has been well thought out and has a clear purpose.
On top of that, the cabin is roomy and comfortable.
Hyundai 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 one of the best I’ve seen. The touch screen is responsive and clean, 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, to using the navigation system is refreshingly simple. The system also allows a high level of customization for different levels of comfort with technology.
One gripe is that the cabin can be quite noisy, but this isn’t a dealbreaker.
During the drive, the Elantra GT impresses. Powered by a 2.0-L four-cylinder engine, it puts out a healthy 173 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 154 pound-feet of torque at 4,700 rpm.
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 transmission shifts smoothly.
Hyundai badges this Elantra as a GT, which stands for Grand Touring. Typically, GT cars are sportier, but the Elantra isn’t as sporty as Hyundai would like you to believe. Although the steering has a nice, heavy weight to it, it’s not a sporty setup.
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 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.
The impressive Elantra GT is one of the best cars in its segment right now, surpassed only by the Volkswagen Golf and Mazda3.
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