2019 Hyundai Elantra Test Drive Review: Is Bolder Always Better?

[@danielaltherr1229]

I really like your videos a lot! Just thought I would tell you though, the trunk opens when you push the top portion inside of the H on the trunk lid. Pretty nifty hiding spot for it. Keep up the good work! Good video!

[@carbuzzcom]

Wow! Thanks for pointing that out.

[@carbuzzcom]

Also, we still aren't sure about that. We scoured the back looking for a trunk release. The badge just seems like a badge and nothing more.

[@davidpete4062]

you don't know much about the trunk. you can just walk up to it and it will open, with the smart trunk feature tuned on, also the outside trunk release is on the top of the Hyundai badge

[@D_M_W_]

Just got one (the SEL version) and found that is a really good commuter, confortable, and incredibly good with gas. I only drive on highway (100miles roundtrip daily commute for now), and if you do it easy (60 to 65), you will get numbers up to 46mpg. (I reviewed this with the on board computer, and manually calculating at the gas station).

[@carbuzzcom]

We easily beat the EPA estimates, so we don't doubt you at all!

[@Daniel-tv9tb]

Wow great...how much was the car ?

[@JulezWinnfield]

The Hyundai Isosceles would've been a good name for this car.

[@carbuzzcom]

Good one!

[@dualityofman1253]

The Elantra with the 2.0L MPFI engine is the only reliable Hyundai made. Every other Hyundai uses GDI engines that are plagued by major problems.

[@DougsCars]

Big fan of the idea of a “Smart Mode” (haven’t driven one very far yet, just a mile in a Sonata belonging to a colleague).

[@JaredRosenholtz]

Smart mode really works wonders on a car like the Stinger

[@DougsCars]

Jared Rosenholtz I believe it! Tried to get my dad interested in a Stinger...alas.

[@JaredRosenholtz]

@@DougsCars same

[@Shottajoe83]

It give you a sporty drive in eco that’s fire , if I wanna jazz on the highway it gives a nice push . Most of the times I don’t even need sport gear or the mode . Depending on the contender I use the sport gear , and the mode is good for like suburban long roads because sometimes you might wanna have a lil more speed to catch those distant lights .

[@angelodaconceicao6815]

I like the looked get my this week

[@stephenhendricks103]

Last year Hyundai put the Santa Fe moniker on what had been the Santa Fe Sport. But they already had a "Santa Fe." So they renamed that the "Santa Fe XL" before discontinuing it in preparation for the forthcoming Palisade. It was so confusing that Hyundai had to put a note their website explaining it. I pitied the poor salesperson at a Hyundai dealer who had to explain it. But as big a mess as that was, it pales in comparison to what has happened to naming the two vastly different vehicles known as "Elantras," (sedan and hatchback) and the six (!) trim levels of the sedan with feature sets that appear to have been arrived at by throwing darts at a target while blindfolded. It would require a short novel to explain the lower four trim levels of the Elantra sedan (SE, SEL, Value Edition, and Eco). Suffice to say that they all share the same 147 HP engine and differ in a multitude of other features, many of which mean it's virtually impossible to customize a configuration that includes everything a buyer might want. So let's stick to the top two trims. At $22,600 the "Sport" edition has an MSRP only $100 less than the top trim "Limited." (That's contrary to the claim in the review that the two trims are identical in price.) And in addition to saving that $100, a buyer gets a 201 HP turbo engine rather than the 147 HP mill of the slightly more expensive "Limited", 18" instead of 17" wheels, multilink rear suspension rather than a torsion bar, and a choice of a manual MT or a 7 speed DCT rather than the sole choice of a 6 speed conventional automatic. (Note: That's contrary to the review claim that an MT is available only on the base model.) Huh??? Just who is going to purchase the "Limited" with the "Sport" sitting on the lot? But the confusion doesn't end there. A $2250 "Premium Package" option on the Sport adds integrated navigation, an upgraded audio, and dual automatic HVAC along with some other goodies. But the "Limited" trim has a "Premium Package," too. It adds the same nav system upgrade, some safety and convenience technology apparently unavailable on the "Sport," and a sunroof, again not available on the Sport. But on the Limited the "Premium Package" is $3350 and doesn't address the shortcomings of the Limited trim compared to the Sport. So now the MSRP difference between Sport and Limited is not $100; it's $1200 and the Limited still has the same engine and drive train as the SEL trim level with an MSRP of $19,500...about $6000 less than the Limited. The reader can be forgiven for not following this incredibly confusing story. And that confusion doesn't even include the complexity of comparing the Elantra sedan to the Elantra GT hatchback with its two trim levels. If Hyundai dealers had a challenge in explaining the fact that the Santa Fe Sport crossover had turned into the Santa Fe and the Santa Fe had turned into the Santa Fe XL, I can only imagine the challenge of explaining the features and pricing of the Elantra. Hyundai and KIA build very good vehicles but Hyundai's trim and feature sets is a nightmare for any potential buyer.

[@carbuzzcom]

We did say, we'd recommend the Sport for "basically" the same price as the Limited. And when we looked at Hyundai's website, both were listed at $22,600 and that's what it says on the window sticker we were sent. Hyundai must have changed pricing by $100.

[@stephenhendricks103]

@@carbuzzcom No problem, my friend. It was a nit. Only slightly more important was your comment that an MT is available only on the base trim model; it's also available on the Sport trim (as I believe you know, as well.) I didn't mean to nitpick. It was a good review. My major complaint is that Hyundai's multitude of trim levels as well as calling both the sedan and the completely different hatchback each "Elantras" is a nightmare of confusion. Hyundai's website highlights a few features of each trim but unlike most brands, the higher trims do not necessarily include the features of the trims beneath. Add to all that the fact that some trims have optional packages while others do not and the optional packages for different trims differ radically in what is included and the nightmare worsens. And if you think all that is bad, imagine you're a customer undecided between a sedan and a hatchback. In addition to being on different platforms, the base trim of the GT (hatchback) has the same engine as the NA sedan but it's tuned for more HP. The "N Line" trim of the GT has the same engine and engine choices as the Sport sedan but it has no optional packages, at all. I'm a fan of the Korean brands. I own a KIA Sorento. But the incredibly complicated and seemingly nonsensical model designations and trims of the Elantra would be enough to exclude it from any consideration, at all. Fortunately, there's a much superior choice in the form of the new KIA Forte.

[@carbuzzcom]

@@stephenhendricks103 We were only referring to the manual with the 2.0-liter engine. We then say that the Sport (which we kind of consider as a different model) has a manual.

[@SharifulIslam-nh2ok]

I have a question is my Elantra is when start the Engin some lite is automatically on even switch of but whey?

[@Daniel-tv9tb]

This looks way better than a forte.

[@e4300]

That pitiful 2.0 147hp engine. Really Hyundai couldn't do a 160hp engine.

[@Shottajoe83]

Haha 😂😂😂

[@Sammie551]

7:07 Ugliest steering wheel I've ever seen