The Last Experience with the Elantra

The last time I had experience with this Elantra was at the Hyundai press event where they launched this vehicle in glorious fashion. They put me up in a hotel, on the beach, paid for my food, and gave me the best driving route. Well, let's see if being removed from that perfect scenario has tainted my vision of this vehicle at all.

The Exterior of the New Elantra

The exterior of the new Elantra is quite striking, with a flashy paint color that gives it so much character, regardless of what model it is. The front of the new Elantra looks smooth overall, with LED running lights integrated into the bumper this time around. The projector-style headlamps on this model get High-Intensity Discharge (HIDs), and the light output is significantly better at night compared to the previous generation. The Hyundai team has focused on aerodynamic purposes in terms of reducing drag for fuel efficiency, which isn't for performance.

One notable feature of the Elantra's exterior design is its vents, which direct air through the front grill to move it through the wheel wells and outside around the side of the car. This is actually quite clever for a car like this, especially considering its price range. The rear end of the Elantra is one of my favorite parts of it, as I think it looks the least conservative out of any part of the car.

The Rear End of the Elantra

I have to admit that I've seen a lot of the underbelly of cars before, not necessarily from this angle. Hyundai flew me down to San Diego, California, for the launch, and I know way more than I need to know about this car in general. But let's talk about it anyway, since this is a proper review video.

The biggest thing with Hyundai is that they've made an absolute 100% improvement over the last generation Elantra. Part of it is because they actually listen to actual owners of the car, rather than just focus group crap or making it up in their heads. They go through the effort of connecting with real owners to help do their product planning.

One of the key improvements is the suspension, which has been combined to reduce drag, improve aerodynamics, improve rigidity, and improve ride quality from front to back. The structural adhesives have also been improved, making the car super quiet. Servicing the Elantra is actually a dream, with proper holes in the service panel to make maintenance easier.

The suspension on this car has been completely overhauled, with a new strut-based front suspension made of stamped steel, unlike the previous generation which used aluminum for the subframe and some engine mounts. The rear end, however, uses a torsion beam suspension that's actually one of the biggest improvements to talk about with this car.

The Rear Suspension: A Game-Changer

A lot of people still have a stigma that Hyundai and Kia are absolute garbage, but I would have this over a huge majority of big companies out there. When you look at where they were and where their perception got started, and compare it to where they are now, it's clear that Hyundai has made significant improvements.

The rear suspension is one of the biggest pay-offs for the Elantra, with improved ride quality and handling. But here's the sticking point: they've designed a full multi-link suspension in the rear for this car, but only on the Sport model which is not out yet. To me, this made no sense when I looked at it in San Diego; however, I still can't deny the improvement that the new suspension brings to the table.

The Elantra: A Surprisingly Impressive Vehicle

One thing is for sure - Hyundai has come a long way since they were once considered absolute garbage. The new Elantra is actually one of the most impressive vehicles in its class, with improvements on both the front and rear ends that make it stand out from the competition.

From its sleek exterior design to its improved suspension and handling, the new Elantra is definitely worth a closer look. Whether you're looking for a reliable ride or just want to experience some of the best features that Hyundai has to offer, this car is sure to impress.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(dramatic piano music)- The last time I hadexperience with this Elantra,was at the Hyundai press eventwhere they launched thisin glorious fashion.They put you up in a hotel, on the beach,pay for your food, giveyou the best driving route.Well, let's see if being removedfrom that perfect scenariohas tainted my visionof this vehicle at all.(dramatic piano music)The exterior of the new Elantra.And obviously, much like any car,you add a flashy paint color, and it justgives it so much character,regardless of what model it is,and that's no different here.Now, however, there aretwo schools of thoughtabout the new Elantra,much like the new Sonata.One side says, well, theystripped all the characteroutta this new model by just eliminatingand erasing some of the body lines.Well the other side says, well,those body lines made itlook cheap, not as refined.The front of the newElantra look smooth overall,you have LED running lights that areintegrated into thebumper this time around,your projector-style headlamps,with this model gettingHIDs, and the light outputis so much better at night compared tothe previous generation, it's a big pro.And they've focused onaerodynamic purpose,in terms of reducingdrag for fuel efficiency,this isn't for performance,again, it's for reducing drag,so there are vents, so as the air hitsthe front of this grill,there are air inletson the each side ofthe bumper that move itthrough the wheel wellsand move the air outsideand around the side of thecar, and that's actuallypretty clever for a car likethis, and its price range.The rear end of thisElantra is one of my morefavorite parts of it, becauseI think, out of any partof the car this looksthe least conservative.Well now, of course it's notedgy, and it's not just kind oftrying too hard like the new Civic is,it gives you this element of sportwithout trying to just put you to sleep.The trunk will openif you get near it and youhave that option turned on,it will open in three or four secondsif you just stand by it, but overall,this is a pretty decent trunk space,there's plenty of roomfor most everything,now the hinges aren'thidden, they do protrude intothe trunk but that's to beexpected in this price range,but I've had virtually no issuesfitting any of my gear in here.The width is good, and the depth is good,specifically when you put down the seats.Hey Scott, Theodore here.Yeah, just got done talking aboutthe new Elantra exteriorfor about 16 hours.You mind if I come by and wetake a look at the underneath?Oh, you don't want to?Well, doesn't matter,I'm coming over anyway.(dramatic music)We're under this, and I'veseen a lot of this before,not actually from this angle,because, Hyundai flew me downto San Diego, California, for the launch.- Oh that's right,I forgot about that.- Yeah, so, I know way morethan I need to know aboutthis car in general, but,let's talk about it anyway,since this is a proper review video.You drove it, what did you think,right off the bat, first impressions.(car accelerating)- Can't get over that.- What?- This powerful acceleration, it's like...Hurtin' my neck.It's not a bad car, for what it is.- Yeah.- I mean, it's nothing special, but,compared to this Cruz we got waitin'.- Yeah, you're drivin' Tom Cruise whichwe're gonna show you in a little bit here.(laughing)So, the biggest thing with Hyundai,and from going out to San Diegoand obviously dealing withthem for quite a while isthis is an absolute 100% improvementover the last generation Elantra.And part of it is becausethey actually listento actual owners of the car,the previous generation owners,not just focus group crap ormaking it up in their heads,they actually go throughthe effort of connectingwith real owners to helpdo their product planning.All the improvementsare directly from that.This suspension, the frame, the rigidity,the structural adhesives, everything herewas combined to reduce drag,to improve aerodynamics,improve rigidity, and to improvethe ride quality front to back,and it's super quiet becauseof a lot of these changes.Servicing the Elantra is your dream.- Oh wow look, they madeholes in the proper spotsto get to the two things you do most.- Yes, and you don't haveto take off a service panelto get to it, or even a little flap here.So it looks like somebodythought about this and said,you know what, really, whatis a little flap gonna do?- I agree.- Suspension. The usual.What we see is strut-basedfront suspension,no aluminum, all stampedsteel, your sub frameis all stamped steel, there'sno use of aluminum hereexcept in obviously someof the engine mountsand the engine transmissioncase, all that,but at this price point,you're not getting any of that.Let's take a look at theback of the car, Scott.Oh God.- Oh man, this is a reallysporty rear suspension.- (laughs) It doesn't look sporty at all,but this is actually oneof the biggest thingsto talk about with this car.You said it, just rightbefore we started filming,a lot of people still have this stigmathat Hyundai and Kia are absolute garbage,and you take a look at where they were,where that perception got started,and you take a look at where they are now,I would have this over a huge majorityof the big companies that are out there.- I agree.- The rear end is a torsion beam rear end,and this is not a carry overfrom the previous gen Elantra.They've improved every aspectof this rear suspensionback here, and overalldamping ride quality,bushings, structuralrigidity, and the big pay-offis ride quality and handling.Now here's the sticking point.They've designed a fullmulti-link suspensionin the rear for this car.It's completely done now,and you only can get iton the Sport model which is not out yet.So, to me this made no sense,and when I looked atit in San Diego I said,\"why would you waste the time designingtwo complete differentsuspensions for the same car?\"And they didn't have an answerfor me, and so, I emailed--- That seems like a waste of money.- It does, just putthe multi-link on here,be class-leading, well, not class-leading'cause Mazda's got amulti-link, and course, Honda,but, I emailed them and Iasked them specific questionswhich I never reallygot specific answers to,I said, \"why do you havetwo separate suspensions?\"Their answer was, \"Well,our market research showed\"that it wasn't particularly necessary,\"that the drivers of the base car\"--- Don't care.- \"Don't care, but those thatwant a sportier handling car\"will get the multi-linkrear in the Sport model,\"which is not out yet.\"My guess was, they didn'thave it all sorted outand designed yet whenthis car was released,and they didn't include it.Chances are you will see a multi-linkin the rear of this car, and all of them,eventually, or at least I would hope.- I do like that they put someaerodynamic treatment on that beam.- Oh, yeah.Well, I mean okay, so you have theseside arrow panels, right,so you gotta have a wayto run 'em off the back,which continues to the rear,well, actually, it's not a rear--- Only on the one side.- You only got it on one side.But all these littlethings as we talked about,you can't just address one thing,you have to do all these little thingsthat add up to more of a lot,one single componentisn't the whole story.Scott, you're a connoisseur of fine tires.- Yeah, which I was veryshocked to see Nexens on here.- Yeah, but what type a Nexens we got?- N Priz.- Oh, the N Priz.- N Priz.R.- Oh they're R?- Oh that's not an R, never mind.They were R compounds.- You wanna know what'sgood about these tires?They're dirt cheap.- Oh yeah, I mean I thought they weresome made-in-China junk.- No, these are straight Korean.- I didn't know that.- You didn't?- Never paid much attention, I dunno.- Well, it's hard to getexcited about the tiresbut since they are the N Priz,it is a little bit more exciting.You can get these tires used for like $5.- Used. (laughs)- I mean, they are cheap, andit's one of the nice partsabout getting a car like this.This is very serious about it, really,people don't get this seriousabout a car like this,but when you buy this, you don't wannahave to deal with shit, you don't wannabe paying a lot forconsumables, maintenance.- $1000 set of tires.- Right.Scott, under the hood.And it just keepsgettin' better and betterwith this car, doesn't it?- Two litersof pure power. (laughs)- You know, it was up from the 1.8Lin the last generation Elantra,and one of the reasons why they wentto the 2L is obviously more torque,but it's just the smootheroperating motor overall,and part of the smoothness of this motoris because of all the vibration dampers,the NVH work that they did on this,and it's one of the first four cylindersI been in recently whereyou come to a stoplight,and it feels like it's got stop-start.- It was very smoothfor my two minute drive.- Well I can't wait for you to drive itback-to-back with the Tom Cruise, as well.Now that's not the biggest storyhere as we just discovered,'cause apparently I had my head in my ass,but there's somethingmagical about this car,other than it beingamazingly simple to work on,you can get to the back, the front,your coil packs, thesides, this has gotta beone of the most simple modern cars.- Lately, yeah.- And the best part?- No direct injections.- Yes.Port injection only, on a modern car,that gets 37 to 40 miles per gallon.No CBT.- Well that'snot with you drivin' it.- I got 37, my whole drive,and I put a shitload of mileson this car for a loaner.Typically I don't put this many miles on,this early on, but--- We had to go get some king crab.- I had to get king crab legs,I had to get a new mannequin'cause I kinda madethe holes too big in itthe first time around, so, I'vedone everything in this carand I'm really impressed withthe overall fuel economy.This is top, actually one of my top picksfor a compact car for somebodywho just wants no bullshit.- I agree.(dramatic music)- First thing you're gonna notice,just driving this car around, isits ride quality is extremely compliant.This is more of anunder-dampened suspensionwhich means it handles all thebumps, all the undulations,it just handles badpavement extremely well.This is a smooth riding vehicle.(tranquil music)Hey, watch it.One of the biggest ways to sum upthis new Elantra is pretty simple for me.I have two co-workers that are bothprevious generation Elantra owners,and we kind of all ownedHyundais at the same time,and they had bought theirs pretty muchlast model year to save some money.I had them both drive this,male and female, 40s and 50s.They both got in here, andthey said the same exact thing.This car is a complete turnaround.It's solid, it feels stable.There is virtually noroad noise, no tire noise.The stability, theoverall quality, it's likean entry-level luxury carin overall refinement,and that's really the biggest part ofthis new model year or thisnew generation Elantra.From where they were beforeto where they are now,it's unbelievable.So, let's take this carthrough the turns and see if,you know, that ride qualitytranslates into sporty handling.(engine revving)No. (laughs)It's actually, this caris so softly dampened thatit's not about performance driving at all,and that's one of the downfalls about it.So now I'm gonna switchover to manual modeand sport mode and see ifthere's any difference.(tires screeching)(sighs)In sport mode, I'll quote Terbowsky,it feels like you're drivingaround with a flat tire.Sport mode synthetically increasesthe steering effort somuch it's like a joke.I think this was designed for peoplethat have no idea what goodsteering feel feels like,and that's why I alwaysleave it in normal mode,it's almost pointless to do.Whatever it does with the throttle mappingto make it feel more sporty as well,it's really just, again, pointless.If you leave this in normal mode,it's gonna feel the mostnatural and normal overall.(turn signal blinking)Now if you're somebodywho wants all the safety,wants to load this car upwith the radar cruise control,with the lane keep assist, it worksjust like it does in a$60,000 Hyundai Genesis G80.It's everything from the higher end carsin this affordable compact package,so if you want all that,it's a really good system,I have almost no problemsor no bugs with it,assuming you have lineson the road, of course.This automatic transmissionis not the fastest to respond,it's weird in how itbehaves in downshifts,it doesn't rev-matchdownshifts in manual mode,and it's just best operatedwhen it's fully automatic,there's no paddle shifters here either,so that's the biggestthing about this Elantra,I think they tuned thisall-around comfort,all the way through, and ifyou want a sportier Elantra,you have to wait for the Elantra Sport,with the turbo and themanual transmission,and of course the multi-link rear.You don't really notice this,any of the negatives about this carin just daily driving untilyou start driving it hard,and that's where, you know,you're under-steering around,you don't have a lottagrip, you don't havea lotta steering feel, andthat's really the most,again, the negative part about this car,they stripped all the sport out of it.(engine revving)Brakes are instantaneous,but everything elseis just kind oflackadaisical, acceleration,transmission behavior, body control,and that's only when you'redriving it at about 8/10s.Everything else is good about it.So if you're somebody that's wondering,well, what car should I buy?If you're somebody that wantssport, this is not the car,this is all about comfortand daily driving.If you want a more louddriving experience,a little bit more road noise, driving feeland just viscerality,if that's even a word,you go for the Mazda 3 here.That stills combines some ofthe efficiency, the sportiness,without just turning itinto a total, like, cruiser,and that's what thisElantra is, and that's nota negative part, especiallyif you're somebodythat wants that, becauseit does it so well.The last thing to note is something to dowith this torsion beam rear end.They've changed it forthis generation Elantra,and I still don't understandwhy they just don'thave a multi-link in hereto begin with, but whatever.You'll wonder, how does itfeel, does it feel springy,and I think they fixeda lot of the bouncinessthat the previous generationhad over bad pavement,but the only time you noticejust this kind of bouncinessin the suspension is when this cargets up to higher speeds,on concrete surfaces,where there's a lot of expansion joints,where that car startsto rebound and compressjust at a faster rate,and because this car feelsa little bit under-dampened to me,you feel the bouncinessmore of the suspension,but that's only at higher speeds.Driving around normally under65, you barely even notice it.(dramatic music)When you get into thenew generation Elantrafor the first time, namelywhen it is fully-loaded,you'll think, this is anextremely comfortable,roomy and high quality feeling interior,namely compared to the last generation.The previous generationowners I had in this vehicle,they both said the same thing.There's a level of refinement, quality,and just overall roominess to this cabin,when you get in it, get out of it,and just when you have the doors closed.The best part about the Elantra cabinis its level of simplicitywithout being overly generic.There's a good feel ofmodernism in here as well.Now, if you get into plentyof compacts in this segment,you'll realize either the manufacturersjust totally cost-cut and could givea shit less about the interiors,or they were trying to makeit too gimmicky, too youthful.This car does a great job atgiving you a level of maturity,and just solidity, that most cars don't.The overall ergonomics ofthis car are top notch,everything has a solidmechanical feel to it,from your turn signalsto your wiper stocks,to the clickiness of thebuttons on the steering wheel,and the layout, right down tothe mechanical shifter here,even in the automatic, youcan tell they took some timeto tune the actual feelingof the shifter gate which,is such a small detail, but you'llnotice it when you get in here.The HVAC controls, stupidsimple, mechanical, no gimmicks.Your actual infotainmentphysical controls on herejust have a level ofquality, that the knobsand the switches, allthat works extremely well.The negative part is the plastics,there's not enough variationin texture for my liking.If you get an all-black interior,it just looks bland ashell, and they don't padthe center area here where yourknee is constantly resting.Your armrest material is notpadded enough for my liking.I think these are little areasthey could easily improve onover the generation of thiscar, but for the most part,you're gonna be extremelysatisfied on this interior.The reality of press cars andjournalists doing reviews,is they don't get a lotof seat time in cars,they don't get a lotta miles on themover the course of a week.In the case of this Elantra,this was one of the few carsI have done well over a thousand miles in.My trip in California, drovefour or five hours in it.In the case of this week,I've driven about 600 miles,including a two, three hour trip straight,and I've had so littlefatigue from these seats,despite them not looking all that fancy,they don't have high bolsters,they don't have huge bolsters on the side,they are well designed for comfortand just traveling in long trips,I had very little fatigue,even in stop-and-go traffic.The leather is ventilated,there's little holes in them,although they are notcooled, you don't feellike you're just getting cooked on them,and that's something to note ifyou're looking at a car in this class.Well, I have high praise forthe front seats of the Elantra,but I had my buddy Jack and Karenback here for about twohours, and they saidit feels like you're sitting on cardboard.There's no ergonomic cut-outs foryour ass or your back,they just feel so flat,and I didn't spend alot of time back here,nor would I want to,but sitting in here justfor a couple moments, you realizethis is the weak link,these back seats do suck.I'm glad they put the energy in the front,but it would be nice if they kind ofput the same design elements in the back.You do have cup holders, youactually have seat heaters,two mode seat heaters in theback which is really nice,but overall, this is not a place I'd wannasit in for an extended period of time,and getting in and outbecause of this roof line,I mean, my head, this ishow much my head contactsand I'm just getting outnormal, and I'm 5'9\".If you're any taller than this,oh my God, it's gonna suck.Infotainment can be a sticking pointfor plenty of buyers, myself included.I've been in plenty of vehicles that,the design was such a shit-show,I wouldn't even pay a cent for it.It seems like they hired my neighbor'ssloth to design the whole thing.In the case of the Hyundai head unit,I've spent enough time talkingto their product plannersand people on their side tokinda have an understandingand express my personaldistaste for designingsomething that you cannot have any updateson over the course of five years.We don't expect that on oursmartphones and computers,why should we expect that in the car?And their straight answer was,they have no plans todo any updates to thisover the course of ownership,so you're stuck with this.So, the point is, this is one of my morefavorite user interfaces andoverall usable infotainmentsof any affordable car right now.They've combined an element of speed,decent-looking graphicalinterface, a good screen quality,and physical controlsto get around enough.Getting between menus is pretty quick,the speed at which youcan move there is good,you can blackout the screen,totally turn it off at night,which I always like, and the best part is,if you chose for the upgraded audio systemwhich I would just get in this car,the Infinity sound systemin here is really goodfor a car in this actual pricerange, it's one of the best.I've spent enough time now inthe Elantra and compact carsto say this is one ofthe best in the market.It's quiet, it'scomfortable, it's efficient,it's well put-together,and something that a lot ofpeople don't talk about, isits mechanical simplicity.You're not gonna have to worryabout a lot of things on this vehicleover the course of yourownership experience.You can buy it outright andkeep it for a long time.And that's really important whenyou're dealing with a vehicle like this.Now, this is not going to appealto a driving enthusiast, however.They strip out too much of the driving funin favor of having just a comfortable,compliant driving experience,and just overall quietness.That's where it's gonna kill you,you have to go to something like a Mazda 3to have a little bitmore fun, but overall,they've done so many good things herethat I'm looking forward to seeingwhat they're gonna do with the Sport,if they're gonna fixsome of those problemsand have a more complete package.(dramatic music)\n"