New Elantra

[eflatblues]

I am the recent owner of a 2014 Elantra SE which I am happy to say so far is exceeding my expectations. Having just purchased a 2013 Civic LX in March for my wife I used it as the benchmark to compare other vehicles when purchasing a new car for me. We used our personal experience with the Civic and read and watched every review we could find on the vehicles in this segment. We narrowed our choices down to 3 vehicles, the Civic, Corolla and Elantra. The only thing I really wanted was a manual transmission which the Elantra has – A 6spd! The Elantra had us sold on the test drive. What a nice car! Overall I would say it is a tick up the scale from the Civic in all areas and that is saying a lot. Also, the fuel economy has been outstanding. Now I don’t run my cars hard but neither do I baby them, so the negative reviews about a lack of power and poor fuel economy have me puzzled. My Elantra seems to have a good deal of power and is quiet and comfortable on the city and urban portions of my commute and the few times I have had it out on the highway to stretch its legs, cruises comfortably at 70 - 80mph. It is no stop light racer but I am also not 20 and feel the need to assert myself from stop light to stop light. I have never felt I was without the power to pass, merge or accelerate. Time will tell but I am very impressed with the overall quality of this car and put it right in the mix with Honda and Toyota. I think my Elantra is going to be around for a long time.

[06Honda]

Hyundai makes good cars for sure. I almost test drove the 2014 Sonata GL but ended up taking out the 2014 Toyota Corolla LE and the 2014 Honda Civic LX CVT, loved the honda and am getting one this week. Trading in my 06 Civic.

[kartwell]

Hows the after sales of Hyundai? Heard that they are offering 5 years warranty period, is this correct?

[litesong]

Originally Posted by eflatblues

The only thing I really wanted was a manual transmission which the Elantra has – A 6spd!....... I have never felt I was without the power to pass, merge or accelerate........ I think my Elantra is going to be around for a long time.

I wanted the manual also. But I got an automatic with extras that I didn't want(but like now), for no more than I would have paid for a stripped manual. I love it! The Elantra only has 131 lbs-ft of torque, which means it aint' goin' to the races. With only 15% city driving, but 4-7 days between fuel-ups, & using 100% ethanol-free gasoline, I average 39mpg! Your manual probably doesn't do that. With 22,000+ miles & nothin' wrong, I think my Elantra will be around for a long time, too.

[LouSiffer]

Originally Posted by kartwell

Hows the after sales of Hyundai? Heard that they are offering 5 years warranty period, is this correct?

They offer a 5 year/100,000 km warranty in Canada (5/60,000 mile in the US)

I've owned 4 Hyundai's - never had an issue with any of them. The first two I bought were new, but I've since stopped buying new cars. I find the savings in buying a car a few years old far outweighs the extra cost of owning new.

[Sulky26]

I've been here in Manila for some three months now and my company gave me Elantra to use as my service. It's really elegant and fuel efficient but since diesel is much cheaper here they pulled it out and gave me Accent instead.

[3Cheers4RealGears]

Litesong -- Where the heck are you finding ethanol-free gas?

I have a 2012 Sonata stick. Very pleased with the 6-speed. Plenty of juice if you grab a lower gear (of course, the mileage instantly goes to about 8...)

[litesong]

litesong here.... you can find ethanol-free gasoline(E0) at 11,000+ sources(many obscure) at pure-gas.org. E0 will increase mpg by 8% to 5%, if you are a featherfooter. Its present cost(brought on by gov't penalties) more than cancels the mpg gain. I have a 2013 automatic Elantra AND a 2016 manual transmission Elantra.... same exterior color! Both have hit 45mpg on the road, again with E0 fuel. Love them both. About the same mpg, altho the manual is geared about 3% to 4% lower than the automatic. The lower gearing lets the manual accelerate somewhat better than the automatic. Both cars are OK in the mountains, but the manual allows you more assured gearing. If you can use the manual settings on the automatic, you'll be fine in the mountains. The 6speed automatic is sweet in stop & go traffic, but not as nice as a CVT transmission, which allows you to crawl with infinite foot control & no jerking. Both cars have about 60,000 total miles, & nothing has gone wrong with either. Believe both will continue with no problems for a long time. Have switched Goodyear Assurance ComfortTreds back & forth between cars & they are wonderful on both cars. Both cars came with fast wearing Hankooks.

[litesong]

Have returned to 100% ethanol-free(E0) gasoline, after years of a very wide price gap between E0 & E10. Now that 10% ethanol (E10)gasoline has gone up in price(due to Trump taking care of his oil can buddies), the price of E0 has also gone up. But, I found one E0 station with a relatively low price. As always in the past, E0 gives 5% to 8% better MPG than E10.... & a smoother engine.