MotorWeek Road Test: 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring

MotorWeek Road Test: 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring

[@HawkGTboy]

For the life of me, I can't figure out why, but I think I'm going to buy one of these. I test drove one the other day and was delighted at what it was, and what it WASN'T. It was a simple, cheap, (seemingly) well-built little car with lots of features and room, and it wasn't a hulking SUV/Crossover amorphous blob-car like everything else on the road. And, as of 11/2013, there are still new 2012s on the lots!

[@RobWaterman]

I'm selling my 5speed 2010 SE next week. It has 134,000 on the odo. I replaced the starter, flexpipe and O2 sensor, and did one brakejob myself. The next owner will need to do the timing belt, clutch and suspension I imagine. Amazing car. Sad to see it go. I paid $11,000 for it with 30,000 miles on it. and had it a year without payments. perfect car owning experience. I love that it didn't have a touchscreen interface.

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

Did you end up getting one?

[@HawkGTboy]

@@lukerinderknecht2982 lol, no. I ended up getting a hulking SUV.

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

@@HawkGTboy haha thanks for the reply

[@Lzrdman91]

@@HawkGTboy I actually bought a 2015 elantra. It wa a a nice car. But traded it for a 2020 f150. I wish I had my elantra rn lol

[@yodecaf]

Such a great car. Never even considered this brand but in my search of a non-German wagon, I couldnt' find one with this much room and a manual. Accidentally ran into it and am glad I did.

[@Myiata1979]

I bought a 2012 one now!!Great roomy little car.Better then a lot of SUVs

[@SixSteppa]

I have a 2011 with 117,000km and I have not had to put a penny into it except oil changes, brakes and tires. Car was paid off completely in 6 yrs with 0% interest when dealers offered big incentives to sell old stock. Great car that can hold a LOT of gear in the back. My huge goalie bag fits easily in the trunk with the seats still up. My advice is to get the GLS right off the bat. The extras are worth it over the long haul.

[@KatoJac]

Hyundai has sure come a long way. This is a pretty nice car. Looks pretty good for a station wagon, sort of gives me the impression that it's a hatchback

[@Ellie_3621]

She’s a good car I’ve had one for about 12 years now. We’ve had issues with her having a lemon alternator but once replaced it worked like a charm and only now have started having issues with the transmission. After going through my father my brother and now me

[@aaronbehindbars]

Most of this review is spot on based on my 2-1/2 months behind the wheel of one of these cars. I disagree with their comments about the acceleration and the quality of the interior. This car is quicker to 60 than they say, more like high 7/low 8 seconds. It is not blistering, but plenty quick. The interior is very up-scale for this price range and actually has an abundance of soft-touch materials. Elantra Sedan's interior is cheaper than this car b/c entire door paneles are plastic.

[@jorgemendoza6707]

this car is amazing, when i researched this car and found out it was brought from the European market, the first thing i said to my self was, at least it can take turns and handle at high speed. if you have the SE with the B&M short throw manual, and if you know how... this wagon can be very impressive. i did experience the pulling to the left on my first 300 miles, the dealer try to corrected and gave a electric power steering story.. at the end it end up pulling to the right. so i lived with it... until i had to replace tires at 13000k miles, and took it to an alignment shop and guess what... the car runs straight and does not pull anymore, i believe the pulling has to do with the kumho solus tires that it came with, and the fact this car is sold in countries where there are right hand driven roads, where road crown and alignment settings are different.

[@dawge30]

I remember really liking this car when it came out. At the time, I had a 2010 Mazda5, with the 5 speed manual. I loved that, too; and miss it dearly...

[@silkhead44]

8.8 sec would have beat a 1989 Nissan 240sx

[@maddesi2709]

Faster than I expected

[@BrendanMacWade]

Very happy with my SE. The sporty suspension and almost VW-like feel makes me forget the fact that the engine is a belt-driven iron block out of the late 1980s. Cargo and rear passenger room are incredible for a car that was under $20k.

[@aayonce4]

+j pt well have you thought about putting some performance upgrades.? A turbocharger is a quick and easy installment

[@2dfx]

Quick and easy? Mind sharing?

[@Coolit2683]

I had a 2002 Elantra, the same good old 2.0L engine... it's old tech, but this engine is FAR more reliable than the newer 1.8's My 2002 drove for 8 years without a single engine issue. Just oil changes. Sold due to rust which was pretty bad on the 2001-2005 models.

[@Bmackins94]

love the new equus

[@rileysamuel4360]

I have this car. Freakin awesome

[@supercooled]

I was looking at the Genesis Coupe and the sales manager suggested I buy this instead after my credit application came back. Now I'm thinking this isn't a bad choice but I'm also considering the Ford Focus coming in 2011. I looked at the Ford Fiesta but frankly, I rather pay a little more for less cabin noise and a little more oomph.

[@aaronbehindbars]

@ksmluvfl There are known issues w/ these cars pulling to the right. Mine was in for this the first 500 miles. The dealer found some excessive toe-in on the front wheels. They realigned everything and it helped a bit. The car still pulls, but seems to be sensitive to road crown. When I am on the wrong side of the road (traffic switch in construction zone near my house) the car pulls to the left. If you have 2010 model, make sure dealer is using most current 2010 alignment specs. They've changed

[@stcywll]

This car has like 5 engine options in the rest of the world, but only 1 in North America. I want a diesel one.

[@ObsoleteGamercom]

I have one like the one in the review, stick shift. Transmission could be a little better but it's overall a very reliable car.

[@jas4925]

Hyunadi is coming up and Gm and Ford need to both come back with small wagons. When I was growing up my parents had an 84 cavalier wagon cl and it was great. Dad ran nothing but Mobil 1 in the engine and it made it to 300,000 miles which was amazing for a cavalier. Sadly I totaled the car when i hit a deer. I was not quite 9 years old when they bought it and 18 when i killed it.

[@spacekendet]

I own this car and love it.

[@lotusshona6367]

Do you still have it ?

[@palebeachbum]

@divooriginale Interior quality is noticeably better on the wagon too. Higher quality materials.

[@Teeebs]

@stcywll ....agreed, the 2.0l turbo-diesel would be a nice option to have. The fuel economy on the 2.0l gas engine is really quite poor considering the size of the car.

[@subzero92MK]

is this car popular there in north america?

[@palebeachbum]

I like it! The styling is sophisticated and mildly European. Looks kinda classy for a small, cheap car. I don't know why Hyundai didn't give it a unique name though. Elantra Touring? Why not its own name? Not like the average consumer would know it's basically the same car under the skin as the sedan. And somebody answer me this. Why does the Touring get worse gas mileage than the sedan, even though they have the same motor?

[@TheCarArchives96]

the 2007-present Hyundai Elantra Touring/ i30 is assembled in Ulsan, South Korea Nošovice, Czech Republic Beijing, China

[@palebeachbum]

@wwerules7991 Well that explains that! Thanks. I assume then that it's also slower accelerating than the sedan.

[@Topapps]

good Hyundai Elantra

[@supercooled]

These are in clearance right now since Hyundai are making room for the incoming GT that will take its place. Thinking of picking one up since it's cheaper than the GT and better than the Accent, imo.

[@ThorMaxx]

@revaholic As an Elantra Owner... can't say i have EVER experienced that problem.

[@subzero92MK]

@davidhalifax maybe like an alfa romeo crosswagon here in italy

[@lordbearesworth8576]

My family has three of these. Excellent cars.

[@subzero92MK]

@halfgoodhalfevil why sadly?

[@revaholic]

Well I rent very frequently. I have driven probably 20 different rentals in the last year, from different rental companies too. The two Elantras were the only ones that gave me trouble, with steering wheels that vibrated like crazy at 120kmh. They were even from different rental companies. I looked up this vibration online and owners were experiencing it too. Coincidence? Dont think so.

[@halfgoodhalfevil]

@subzero92MK sadly, yes

[@pbfloyd13]

This and the Mazda 5 are on the short list of cars I'd buy.

[@moizmohd5858]

Same here lol

[@305pride]

Hyundai is coming up

[@palebeachbum]

@ckacr18 My dad and step-mom each own an HHR, 2006 and 2008 models they both bought brand-new. It's a neat little vehicle with a nice smooth ride, but this Elantra is a million times better. The quality is better, the fuel economy is better, it's roomier, lots more usable trunk space, and I believe the price is a a little lower too. I find the HHR to be kind of an awkward driving vehicle. It's got a weird driving position, and the electric power steering feels awful. Get the Elantra Touring.

[@histriamagna1014]

Why buy a sedan when you can have a more practical wagon ? I don't get it....

[@gabrielmarcal8326]

I30 cw Brasil

[@Teeebs]

@JetBlueIce ....Did you miss the part of the video praising the handling of the car? Why do Americans ONLY care about straight line speed? Some roads do have curves you know, strange as it may seem.....lol

[@of_lion22]

@palebeachbum More weight?

[@revaholic]

I have driven two Hyundai Elantras as rental cars, and they were the most disappointing cars I've driven. They both vibrated annoyingly at speeds of 120kmh. Even though the media seems to be saying that Hyundai quality is improving, I'm not buying it yet.

[@kjoey76]

All rental cars drive like crap. I drove a Murano and it vibrated like hell!

[@JetBlueIce]

That's a very strange looking car, and at 138 hp, I don't know how the reviewer can use the term "sporty prowess" LOL! Maybe if this was 1992 and the car weighed 1800 lbs.

[@gghost911]

@palebeachbum weight

[@RealtimeReviews613]

Hyundai is on their way up, but not so much with this one. I think it actually goes backwards in design and quality for them. The interior is kinda cheap, and unless you get with 17inch wheels it looks horrible..other than that every other hyundai is a great choice, they beat ford gm and chrysler is every aspect of over reliability quality and value!

[@halfgoodhalfevil]

I have a 2004 elantra, and it is bad quality. It does corners very well, but that's pretty much the only good thing I can say about it. I will never buy a hyundai again.

[@cwhite9800]

With a automatic it feels like it take 100yrs to get to 60. Honestly base model is a gutless pop bottle on wheels

[@davidduplessis7800]

Hahha all the people on here commenting about what a "great" car this is, happy they bought it, etc.... I'll bet 98% of them had to put a new engine in within a year or two. Hyundai /Kia are SHIT cars

[@BryanSheasby]

@ksmluvfl What the hell are guys talking about and who paid you to post this? You know you can be sued for this shit right? Almost caused wrecks my ass. Just hold on to the steering wheel. Is that so hard?

[@steve9509]

Not Ford.

[@yiyangcheng]

i won't like hyundais......their resale value are just as worse as chrysler

[@kippaseo8027]

I almost bought one of these brand new back in the day after my 2000 Camry Hit 200 K miles. I didn't trade her and in fact I still own remember that she has 454 K miles trouble free miles on her now. Turned out to be total crap