Ride Report - '12 Hyundai Elantra GLS
Jan 13, 2013, 5:02 pm
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Ride Report - '12 Hyundai Elantra GLS
I decided to take a trip down to St. George for a day to go visit a friend; it's about a four-hour drive from here, and when all costs were considered it was slightly cheaper to drive than to fly... so that's what I did! Knowing I like to try new cars, my station manager saved an Elantra for me to test out.
www.hyundaiusa.com/elantra
Car Description: 12 SIR ELANTRA (2012 Hyundai Elantra GLS w/ Sirius)
Class: C (Intermediate 2 or 4 dr)
This Elantra was in the base GLS trim, but it did come with some options pushing its MSRP to $18,970. I got the car with 11,105 miles on the odometer, and in just under a day I took it to St. George and back, a total of 635 miles on my part.
Powertrain: The 2012 Elantra is powered by the 1.8L inline 4-cylinder "Nu" engine, which produces 148 horsepower and 131 lb-ft of torque. It's a decent amount of power, and respectable for an ICAR. However, the low-ish torque output is noticeable and the Elantra didn't feel much more powerful than other cars in its class. It's paired to a six-speed automatic transmission with overdrive and a manual mode. Gear changes were generally smooth and the manual mode responded pretty quickly.
My one gripe, and it's a huge one (and I'm hoping I hit some button by accident and this isn't actually a Hyundai "feature"), is that if you're cruising in 6th gear in manual mode at, say, 80 mph, when you're going uphill you'll of course slow down unless you downshift. Every other car with a manual mode I've been in would downshift at a certain point. But the Elantra disengaged the cruise control instead
The Elantra has an estimated fuel economy of 28 mpg city and 38 mpg highway. I'm not sure who estimated that, since I averaged 28.8 mpg with >90% highway driving. There is a button that says "active ECO" which I assumed made the engine act more economically so I kept it on; also, having been in 6th gear for much of the trip, I'm not sure what else I could have done
Ride/Handling: I didn't have any big issues with how the Elantra handled. Bumps in the road were absorbed nicely, and it didn't experience any out-of-the-ordinary body lean during turns. I did take issue with vibrations coming from the dashboard panels. Steering is light which suits city-driving well, but I would have preferred it to be a little stiffer, especially at highway speeds. While the engine isn't as quiet as, say, the Chevy Cruze's 1.4T, it's quiet enough, and road noise is pretty well muted.
One interesting thing I noticed was that the gas pedal hinged on the floor, rather than rotating from an above point like conventional ones do. I believe the Honda Civic also features a pedal like this. I found it to feel more natural than a normal gas pedal. It also allows you to "put the pedal to the floor" -- literally
Interior: There are a few things here I found very pleasantly surprising. The seat itself was pretty comfortable, even though it was fully manual and without any lumbar adjustment. The steering wheel tilts and telescopes. There's also a lot of creature comforts inside, such as two DC outlets, as well as USB and aux inputs -- all very accessible. There's also lots of storage; although the center console is small, it's made up for with large door pockets, lots of cupholders, and even slots on the side of the center stack near the floor. The trunk is also larger than I expected.
I really liked the gauge layout too, especially with the information screen in the center; although it doesn't look nearly as good as in other vehicles, it's very functional and convenient. The climate control dials are a little confusing at first but are actually really simple -- the larger dial controlling temperature, with the smaller inset dial controlling fan speed; it looks good too. The buttons on the center stack are quality plastics and work ergonomically and aesthetically. I also thought the infotainment display had a good resolution.
However, not all is perfect. The blue backlight on the center stack screens looks cheap and is distracting at night. The buttons on the center stack look good but aren't the most responsive. Other buttons, such as to the left of the steering wheel look really, really cheap. The Beige color IMHO looks awful; this is something I'd expect to see in a Corolla! (No offense Rut Dog
) The armrest on the door was too low to use while driving, and although the top of the center console extends forward to double as an armrest, it's too short. I also thought the placement of some of the air vents made them less effective. Finally, I wanted to comment on what I thought was sub-par audio quality. A friend of mine called me on my way back from St. George, and while I appreciated the Bluetooth connectivity, I could barely understand what he said (when I pulled over and turned off the Bluetooth I could hear him fine through my phone itself).
Exterior/Design: Unlike the interior, the outside looks great. Its proportions look right and I think the curvy, fluid lines make it one of the coolest-looking midsize cars on the road. The Midnight Black paint job makes it look even slicker. The large side-view mirrors don't look awkward and remain very functional.
Features: Lots of features come standard with the Elantra, such as the tilt-and-telescopic adjustable steering wheel, AM/FM/XM radio with song and station information, and USB and aux inputs. My Elantra also came with the Preferred Package ($600), which includes Bluetooth wireless connectivity with voice recognition; cloth door trim panels; fog lights; illuminated ignition; dual illuminated visor vanity mirrors; steering wheel-mounted audio, Bluetooth, and cruise controls; and alloy wheels.
Value: I got this on a compact (B/CCAR) reservation from my HLE using a Weekender Special rate ($14.99/day); with the USAA discount, and then taxes and fees, it totaled $18.79 for the day.
Summary
PROS:
CONS:
Final Verdict: Not too long ago, I swore against Hyundais and wouldn't have let myself been caught dead in one of these. The 2012 Elantra did change my thinking quite a bit about them. It's one of the better ICARs in the fleet, though not the best (especially for long-distance driving).
Photo info: the photos in this report were taken in December on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City, Utah.
-J.
www.hyundaiusa.com/elantra
Car Description: 12 SIR ELANTRA (2012 Hyundai Elantra GLS w/ Sirius)
Class: C (Intermediate 2 or 4 dr)
This Elantra was in the base GLS trim, but it did come with some options pushing its MSRP to $18,970. I got the car with 11,105 miles on the odometer, and in just under a day I took it to St. George and back, a total of 635 miles on my part.
Powertrain: The 2012 Elantra is powered by the 1.8L inline 4-cylinder "Nu" engine, which produces 148 horsepower and 131 lb-ft of torque. It's a decent amount of power, and respectable for an ICAR. However, the low-ish torque output is noticeable and the Elantra didn't feel much more powerful than other cars in its class. It's paired to a six-speed automatic transmission with overdrive and a manual mode. Gear changes were generally smooth and the manual mode responded pretty quickly.
My one gripe, and it's a huge one (and I'm hoping I hit some button by accident and this isn't actually a Hyundai "feature"), is that if you're cruising in 6th gear in manual mode at, say, 80 mph, when you're going uphill you'll of course slow down unless you downshift. Every other car with a manual mode I've been in would downshift at a certain point. But the Elantra disengaged the cruise control instead
The Elantra has an estimated fuel economy of 28 mpg city and 38 mpg highway. I'm not sure who estimated that, since I averaged 28.8 mpg with >90% highway driving. There is a button that says "active ECO" which I assumed made the engine act more economically so I kept it on; also, having been in 6th gear for much of the trip, I'm not sure what else I could have done
Ride/Handling: I didn't have any big issues with how the Elantra handled. Bumps in the road were absorbed nicely, and it didn't experience any out-of-the-ordinary body lean during turns. I did take issue with vibrations coming from the dashboard panels. Steering is light which suits city-driving well, but I would have preferred it to be a little stiffer, especially at highway speeds. While the engine isn't as quiet as, say, the Chevy Cruze's 1.4T, it's quiet enough, and road noise is pretty well muted.
One interesting thing I noticed was that the gas pedal hinged on the floor, rather than rotating from an above point like conventional ones do. I believe the Honda Civic also features a pedal like this. I found it to feel more natural than a normal gas pedal. It also allows you to "put the pedal to the floor" -- literally
Interior: There are a few things here I found very pleasantly surprising. The seat itself was pretty comfortable, even though it was fully manual and without any lumbar adjustment. The steering wheel tilts and telescopes. There's also a lot of creature comforts inside, such as two DC outlets, as well as USB and aux inputs -- all very accessible. There's also lots of storage; although the center console is small, it's made up for with large door pockets, lots of cupholders, and even slots on the side of the center stack near the floor. The trunk is also larger than I expected.
I really liked the gauge layout too, especially with the information screen in the center; although it doesn't look nearly as good as in other vehicles, it's very functional and convenient. The climate control dials are a little confusing at first but are actually really simple -- the larger dial controlling temperature, with the smaller inset dial controlling fan speed; it looks good too. The buttons on the center stack are quality plastics and work ergonomically and aesthetically. I also thought the infotainment display had a good resolution.
However, not all is perfect. The blue backlight on the center stack screens looks cheap and is distracting at night. The buttons on the center stack look good but aren't the most responsive. Other buttons, such as to the left of the steering wheel look really, really cheap. The Beige color IMHO looks awful; this is something I'd expect to see in a Corolla! (No offense Rut Dog
) The armrest on the door was too low to use while driving, and although the top of the center console extends forward to double as an armrest, it's too short. I also thought the placement of some of the air vents made them less effective. Finally, I wanted to comment on what I thought was sub-par audio quality. A friend of mine called me on my way back from St. George, and while I appreciated the Bluetooth connectivity, I could barely understand what he said (when I pulled over and turned off the Bluetooth I could hear him fine through my phone itself).Exterior/Design: Unlike the interior, the outside looks great. Its proportions look right and I think the curvy, fluid lines make it one of the coolest-looking midsize cars on the road. The Midnight Black paint job makes it look even slicker. The large side-view mirrors don't look awkward and remain very functional.
Features: Lots of features come standard with the Elantra, such as the tilt-and-telescopic adjustable steering wheel, AM/FM/XM radio with song and station information, and USB and aux inputs. My Elantra also came with the Preferred Package ($600), which includes Bluetooth wireless connectivity with voice recognition; cloth door trim panels; fog lights; illuminated ignition; dual illuminated visor vanity mirrors; steering wheel-mounted audio, Bluetooth, and cruise controls; and alloy wheels.
Value: I got this on a compact (B/CCAR) reservation from my HLE using a Weekender Special rate ($14.99/day); with the USAA discount, and then taxes and fees, it totaled $18.79 for the day.
Summary
- 1.8L I-4 engine (148 hp, 131 lb-ft torque)
- 6-speed automatic transmission w/ manual mode
- 28/38 mpg (regular fuel, 12.8-gal. tank)
- GLS (base) trim
PROS:
- Nicely equipped
- Slick exterior design
- Larger-than-expected trunk
- Lots of storage opportunities
CONS:
- Real-world fuel economy
- Cheap-looking interior plastics and blue screen
- Awkward armrest placement on doors, center console armrest not long enough
- Center stack button responsiveness
- Couldn't figure out how to reset trip info
- Audio quality below others in its class
Final Verdict: Not too long ago, I swore against Hyundais and wouldn't have let myself been caught dead in one of these. The 2012 Elantra did change my thinking quite a bit about them. It's one of the better ICARs in the fleet, though not the best (especially for long-distance driving).
Photo info: the photos in this report were taken in December on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City, Utah.
-J.
Last edited by GW McLintock; Jan 13, 2013 at 11:50 pm
