Hyundai Elantra Interior Review
The 2008 Hyundai Elantra is larger than pre-2007 models, making for a roomier car than the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. The added width and height increased the Elantra's cabin volume to 112.1 cubic feet, among the best in the compact class.
The front seats are quite comfortable, with good bolstering, and the standard beige cloth is smooth though unexciting. There's an especially large dead pedal to support the driver's left foot.
The blue backlighting of the gauges has a youthful spirit, and makes the driver feel like it's a cool car. The arcs of the speedo and tach are a thin blue line, with red needles pointing the way.
The radio control knobs are blessedly simple, like radio knobs should be. But we didn't care for the trim on the dash; imagine a silver plastic golf ball.
In the rear, the 35 inches of leg room is a half-inch more than the Civic and Sentra, and 1.5 inches less than the 2009 Corolla, give or take a tenth. But the Elantra has good hip room.
Elantra has a large trunk. For carrying cargo, the rear seatbacks fold down to allow a pass-through into the trunk. However, the opening isn't vast like the Nissan Sentra's.
Storage compartments are abundant. There's a neat box inside the top of the dash, and a sunglasses container in the headliner. The fixed door pockets have built-in bottle holders. Below the three climate control knobs there's a small companion to the glovebox, and below that, forward of the shift lever, there's also an open storage area. There are two cupholders behind that, and a double console under the driver's elbow.
Generally, the interior is notably quiet, for a compact car. Then the wind picked up, and as we watched the dust devils ahead of us on the road, we listened to the whooshing against the glass.
Hyundai Elantra Road Test
The Hyundai Elantra offers spirited handling. We drove it like we stole it, pushing it harder than it was ever meant to be pushed over twisting bumpy roads, which is not something you would or necessarily should do with a compact car. The Elantra is surprisingly, pleasantly, game, however. When pushed beyond its limits, it didn't do anything unpredictable or dangerous.
One thing it doesn't do, surprisingly, is plow the front tires when you stand on the gas in a slow corner. We're not suggesting you drive like that, but we do test like that, because such extremes reveal limits, in this case capabilities of the suspension. It's a rare front-wheel-drive compact car that can pass this test. The Elantra will spin the inside front wheel, but it keeps turning around the corner instead of sliding straight ahead. The suspension engineers have done something right, in the front end of the Elantra.
The Elantra is softer all around than the sportier Nissan Sentra or Mazda3. The ride is good, although after a couple hours on a bad freeway, the sharp bumps will wear on you. Overall, it's a good fit for someone who just wants good transportation without attitude. It asks less involvement from the driver than those other two.
The brakes are excellent. We really stood on them a few times, and they didn't allow the car to dart or weave while they sharply brought down the speed.
The five-speed manual gearbox worked well. Out on the freeway, 80 miles per hour doesn't feel like 80, always a good sign, especially for a compact car. The tachometer shows 3500 rpm at that speed, and it's not in the least bit buzzy. It feels long-legged for such a small car.
There's plenty of oomph in the four-cylinder engine, which makes 138 horsepower, nearly matching the Sentra. Our test model had the five-speed, and the engine revved right up to the redline of 6500 rpm, and liked it. It also accelerates away at low rpm in a higher gear, with 136 pound-feet of torque. As with many vehicles nowadays, the throttle is overly sensitive at tip-in; with the manual transmission, it requires a deft touch with the throttle to pull out from a standstill without giving it more gas than it needs.
Fuel economy using the new 2008 EPA standards is 24/33 mpg City/Highway with the manual gearbox, 25/33 mpg with the automatic.
Hyundai Elantra Lineup
The 2008 Hyundai Elantra comes in two trim levels, GLS and SE, both of which use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Buyers have a choice between five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission ($1000) for each trim level.
The GLS ($13,525) is the most basic and comes standard with power steering, power locks, windows and keyless entry, power heated mirrors, tinted glass, a 60/40 split rear folding seat with access to the trunk, and 15-inch wheels with full-size plastic wheel covers. The Preferred Package for the GLS ($1500) includes things that most car buyers consider necessary: air conditioning, AM/FM/CD six-speaker sound system, cruise control and foglamps. XM Satellite Radio is built into the sound system.
The SE ($16,225) is the sporty model and includes all the options in the GLS Preferred Package, plus a telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, and 16-inch alloy wheels with wider profile tires. A Premium Package ($1150) includes a power sunroof and heated front seats. Another Premium package ($1950) adds leather seating surfaces (and replaces last year's Limited model).
Cleaner-running PZEV versions (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) are sold in California, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine that come with the automatic transmission and are available in GLS ($14,525) and SE ($17,225) trim.
Safety features that come on all Elantra models include four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side curtain airbags, and active front head restraints. A tire pressure monitoring system comes standard on all models. Also, 24-hour roadside assistance for five years comes with the Elantra. Electronic Stability Control and Brake Assist comes on the SE model, which can help the driver control skids and stop more quickly in a panic braking situation.