4
2012 Hyundai Elantra Limited Long Term Update 4 An Alternate Viewpoint
Truck Trend editor Allyson Harwood spent the holidays in my Elantra while I used her Silverado to pull around a crappy "race car" up and down the great state of California. Here are her thoughts:
This is a car that originally wowed me because of its value, a very impressive strength of many Hyundais we've tested over the last few years. The Elantra seems to offer the same sense of value. In addition, the styling is a huge improvement over the previous model, but I think it looks too similar to its big brother, the Sonata. One minor problem I have with the styling is that the upswoop along the body sides reduces blind-spot visibility, and for me, the rear window is too small. But the camera certainly helps!
As a commuter car, this sedan is pretty nice. The ride is better than in other Hyundais I've driven. The ride is certainly comfortable enough. Nav, seat heaters, satellite radio, etc. makes the rush hour drive to and from work less painful. I like that these optional features are available in a car this size. There was plenty of room in the trunk for my stuff -- whether it was a last-minute stop at the mall for Christmas gifts or the big shop I did at Target after Christmas. What I don't get from this car is a real sense of driving pleasure.
I took the Elantra up the coast to Pismo Beach, a trip that spanned about 200 miles each way on the freeway, and about three hours in each direction. And on that drive it was fine. Not exciting, not scary, not sporty. It was nice that I drove there, wandered around town for a while, and drove more than halfway back before I had to fill the tank. It doesn't feel like it's accelerating all that quickly, and it whines and complains when pushed (you certainly hear more engine noise, and on grades, the transmission hunts a lot), but once you get up to speed it's easy to keep the car at freeway speeds. But I appreciate what the Elantra has to offer as far as interior quality and value. As a daily driver, this may be the best car in its class.
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests...undai_elantra_limited_update_4/#ixzz1tuH6zlf1
This is a car that originally wowed me because of its value, a very impressive strength of many Hyundais we've tested over the last few years. The Elantra seems to offer the same sense of value. In addition, the styling is a huge improvement over the previous model, but I think it looks too similar to its big brother, the Sonata. One minor problem I have with the styling is that the upswoop along the body sides reduces blind-spot visibility, and for me, the rear window is too small. But the camera certainly helps!
As a commuter car, this sedan is pretty nice. The ride is better than in other Hyundais I've driven. The ride is certainly comfortable enough. Nav, seat heaters, satellite radio, etc. makes the rush hour drive to and from work less painful. I like that these optional features are available in a car this size. There was plenty of room in the trunk for my stuff -- whether it was a last-minute stop at the mall for Christmas gifts or the big shop I did at Target after Christmas. What I don't get from this car is a real sense of driving pleasure.
I took the Elantra up the coast to Pismo Beach, a trip that spanned about 200 miles each way on the freeway, and about three hours in each direction. And on that drive it was fine. Not exciting, not scary, not sporty. It was nice that I drove there, wandered around town for a while, and drove more than halfway back before I had to fill the tank. It doesn't feel like it's accelerating all that quickly, and it whines and complains when pushed (you certainly hear more engine noise, and on grades, the transmission hunts a lot), but once you get up to speed it's easy to keep the car at freeway speeds. But I appreciate what the Elantra has to offer as far as interior quality and value. As a daily driver, this may be the best car in its class.
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests...undai_elantra_limited_update_4/#ixzz1tuH6zlf1
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
I also feel this really is the best car in it's class so far. Honda is redesigning and upgrading the 9th Gen Civic since a lot of people don't like the 2012 design. I'm sure with all the time Honda has had they will use this as an opportunity to improve where it can. Elantra might or might not be in trouble
Leased this car 6 months ago and so far so good.
Truck Trend editor Allyson Harwood spent the holidays in my Elantra while I used her Silverado to pull around a crappy "race car" up and down the great state of California. Here are her thoughts:
This is a car that originally wowed me because of its value, a very impressive strength of many Hyundais we've tested over the last few years. The Elantra seems to offer the same sense of value. In addition, the styling is a huge improvement over the previous model, but I think it looks too similar to its big brother, the Sonata. One minor problem I have with the styling is that the upswoop along the body sides reduces blind-spot visibility, and for me, the rear window is too small. But the camera certainly helps!
As a commuter car, this sedan is pretty nice. The ride is better than in other Hyundais I've driven. The ride is certainly comfortable enough. Nav, seat heaters, satellite radio, etc. makes the rush hour drive to and from work less painful. I like that these optional features are available in a car this size. There was plenty of room in the trunk for my stuff -- whether it was a last-minute stop at the mall for Christmas gifts or the big shop I did at Target after Christmas. What I don't get from this car is a real sense of driving pleasure.
I took the Elantra up the coast to Pismo Beach, a trip that spanned about 200 miles each way on the freeway, and about three hours in each direction. And on that drive it was fine. Not exciting, not scary, not sporty. It was nice that I drove there, wandered around town for a while, and drove more than halfway back before I had to fill the tank. It doesn't feel like it's accelerating all that quickly, and it whines and complains when pushed (you certainly hear more engine noise, and on grades, the transmission hunts a lot), but once you get up to speed it's easy to keep the car at freeway speeds. But I appreciate what the Elantra has to offer as far as interior quality and value. As a daily driver, this may be the best car tires in its class.
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests...undai_elantra_limited_update_4/#ixzz1tuH6zlf1dpccars.com
1 - 7 of 7 Posts
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