Pink Slip, First Accident!

Odometer: 2856 miles
Avg. MPG: 26.5

What's happened since the last post? I received my pink slip! Car is no longer owned by Hyundai Motor Finance. Hooray! Not so hooray... I don't own it free and clear yet, since I charged some on my credit card.

Got into my first accident. While I was leaving work to go to our Christmas lunch, I backed into a co-worker's car as he was moving out. I did not know he was there. I thought I was the only car there, so I just pulled out like I normally do.

No dents. There are just a couple of tiny scratches on the right bumper now.

The co-worker has a real old car, so he didn't care. I just apologized as nice as I could and we went to the lunch. Did the first scratch feel like a kick in the gut? Did I want to pull out my hair. No, surprisingly. Was kind of relieved for some reason. And of course embarrassed for hitting my co-worker's car.

Hyundai Elantra 2007: The 2500 Mile Review

Odometer: 2559
Avg MPG on this tank of gas: 28
Avg speed: 32

The MPG average is much higher because I've been doing more highway driving this weekend.

I am over 2500 miles and have owned the car for over 3 months. I think that is adequate time for an thorough review. It gives me enough time to experience the car and to get used to things that well --- takes getting used to because my last car was different.

I will try to make this is as useful as I can for the average driver looking to buy a compact sedan.

My background in driving is over 20 years. Have owned an 82 Honda Civic, 91 Corolla, 93 Prizm. Have driven (rented) Mustangs, Caravan mini-vans, Dodge Caliber. I am pretty easy on my cars. I don't gun the engine. I try to drive in a way the EPA suggests to save gas. I signal when I change lanes. On the freeway I drive at a speed probably faster than 50 to 65% of drivers sharing the road with me. So there you have an idea where this review is coming from.

The Review:

External Appearance:
I won't dwell on this too much, because "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," so if you like it, then in looks good. Most "car guys" think this new rendition is too rounded or cute. But anyone calling it ugly either doesn't have an objective eye or has a limited vocabulary. I will offer this --parts of it is very handsome- some parts a little plain. The Elantra looks coolest in darker colors like Black Pearl and Regatta Blue. I always thought I would never buy a black car, but the lively metallic flake adds depth to the finish. Keep in mind dark colors do seem to show dust and water spots more readily than a medium finish like pewter grey finish.
I have to say I like the 16" alloy wheels on the SE better than the 15" steel wheels on the GLS. The wide spaced flanges show off the 4 disc brakes and gives the car some added sportiness. If I wanted to pimp this ride I'd probably upgrade to 18's which would look a bit more proportional to the body, but then I might have to endure more tire buzz.

External Fit and Finish:
Body panels fit nicely; seams are tight. Doors close with a solid feel. Trunk closure not as good. If you slam it, it doesn't sound nice.

Interior:
Seats are adequately supportive, but not as firm as my old Geo Prizm's seats at age 14. I hope they won't soften with age. The cloth feels velvety, but the light grey shows dirt and the texture draws dirt off your hands. The seat is height adjustable, but there is no lumbar adjustment.



From the front seat, the raked front windshield and sloping console gives a feeling of lots of open space. It feels noticeably bigger than my Geo. It is...pleasant feeling. It is actually taller than my sister's old Volvo 870. The two-tone grey and silver color scheme keeps things slightly sporty and the varied leather textures of the soft touch plastics gives you a feeling of niceness. Most cars under $22k are often criticized for using cheaper looking hard plastics, so Hyundai did an excellent job here.

It is very spacious for a sedan its length. Seats feel higher than in an average compact. Even so you won't lack for headroom. Passengers have remarked how large the trunk is, though the hinge arms are shaped where they will infringe on luggage space. The Elantra and Sentra lead compacts in interior cabin and storage space. But they are still short enough to fit in most San Francisco residential parking spaces.

I really like the array of storage areas and compartments. The cupholders handle soda cups as well as bicycle water bottles thanks to adjusting rubber nubs. There are also bottle holders in the door pockets, so there is no reason to have a water bottle rolling around on the floor. The sunglasses holder is kind of James Bond-like.

Controls:
Steering wheel is covered in leather, which makes me worry about what happens when it ages. Will it dry out and crack? I never worried about my super durable vinyl covered wheel on the old car. Overall thickness is fine for most Caucasian men to grip, but if you have small hands, it may be thicker than what you are used to gripping. The wheel tilts and telescopes in the SE model, but I find the telescoping very limited.

The center stack with the climate control and audio controls is well laid out. You don't want these controls to be weird. you want them to be intuitive. These are. Easy to reach, easy to figure out, big enough to not miss while searching with your peripheral vision. I really like the three big climate control knobs, but I wish the on/off setting was on the same knob as fan speed. They put it with the defrost, front vent, floor vent knob.
The steering wheel mounted audio controls are a very useful feature, but on rare occasions I've changed radio stations inadvertently.

One pro reviewer pondered why the MP3 port is located way at the bottom, but it make sense to me because that is where there a little storage well for the player to rest on. If the port was where the stereo was, then I would need a longer jack.

All buttons, vent levers, seat belts, door handles, storage compartment closures, wiper/turn signal stalks feel like they are good quality and should last. The designers did a good job in addressing that none of the dozens of contact points remind you of the low price of the car.

The blue backlight on the LCD screens is cool and slightly soothing. Power window buttons and MP3 port also light up blue. I completely disagree with one review I read that said the displays were hard to read in daylight.

Handling:
I've mentioned in my other entries that I wasn't a fan of the light-feeling electronic steering. But I am getting used to the feel now. Electronic steering is great if you are an older person who has difficulty turning the wheel (on older power steering cars) when you are parallel parking. But it makes it hard to tell what position the tire is in when you are turning. After 3 months I am getting used to it, so it isn't so bad that it's impossible to adapt to.
My "handling tests" are no more than tight right turns and easy cruises down a twisty downhill. There wasn't any excessive body roll and I haven't made the tires howl yet. I am sure it can take more than I can dish out.

Performance:
This is not a sports sedan. It is a commuter and family car. And its performance is perfect for that purpose.
It gets you from 0-40 very quickly if you wish it. The disc brakes are more than up to the task and pull you down from speed without any quirks. They do get grabby in cold weather, but after a couple brakes, they return to normal. Excellent for city driving. While the 4-speed automatic is quite capable in reaching highway speeds in a safe efficient way, I sometimes leave it in 3rd gear during acceleration and not shift to 'D' until I hit 55. This prevents the tranny from shifting to 4th too early and robbing some acceleration. I have the super ultra low emission PZEV model. You'll probably experience slightly better power with ULEV automatic and the 5-speed

Once cruising at highway speed the engine is very quiet. Trying to add speed on an uphill grade when you area already in 4th gear can result in the engine groaning and not doing much until it shoots back to 3rd. I think that is typical of 4-speed compact sedans. Tire noise and cabin noise is adequately non-intrusive. The less wide 15" tires of the GLS might be a little quieter than the SE, but 16" ones should offer better grip.

Car and Driver said the suspension gives the car the characteristic of a compact Buick-- comfy and floaty. I drive over poorly maintained undulating asphalt and rail road tracks everyday. It does bounce a little instead of isolating you from the movement of the road. Potholes will disturb your peace. But none of this should bother the average driver.

Fuel Economy:
This is one aspect that still bothers me. On pure city driving, I've never gotten even close to 28mpg. You have to be driving those roads in Irvine which let you go 50mph to get that. The Elantra has a 2.0 liter CVVT engine. Bigger than the Civic or Corolla and definitely not as sophisticated as the Civic, so you can't expect it to be as good on gas as those cars. But I really feel the EPA or Hyundai unfairly inflated their figures. On trips where 80% of the time I am on city steets, I get about 24.5 to 26mpg.

Warranty, Safety, Reliability:
Though the warranty looks great on paper.
The safety feature list is impressive and class-leading.
Reliability is expected to be very good according to Consumer Reports.
I can't really comment on these in any detail, since I haven't put any of these to the test yet.

Conclusion:
Hyundai's done a fantastic job at coming up with a Corolla competitor. Except with fuel economy, it is as good or better in all respects that matter. If you want a practical, reliable family-friendly compact, but don't want to be the 3rd Corolla or Civic owner on your block, the Elantra is a worthy alternative.


Other entries you may be interested in:
How I figured out I wanted an Elantra