Short test: 2012 Hyundai Elantra

Vehicle: 2012 Hyundai Elantra Limited
Price as tested: CDN$22699

There aren’t many small cars in spotlights as much as the 5th generation Elantra. While the previous Elantra were all very worthy compact family sedans, the new version has taken it to the new height. Thanks to Hyundai’s new fluidty sculpture design language, which transform all of Korean giant’s product range from bland to sleek. The succeed of #5 has begun right here.

Along with stunning looks, new Elantra does come with sophication to back up its good looks. Its refined 1.8 liter DOHC 16-valve provides 148hp and 131 lb/ft of torque. While it certainly won’t win any drag races, its good enough for most of the daily driving. The amount of engine refinement and smoothness are on par with anything else from Japanese counterparts. If there is one drawback, its the manumatic mode always stuck in 5th gear. Hyundai has taken this setting with Toyota’s playbook. Since its a manumatic, it should give all control to the driver instead of pre-setting the gear. Otherwise, its 6-speed manumatic is sweet as a nut with proper gear ratios.

Dynamically speaking, Elantra is a very satisfying if a bit of an austere drive. While you won’t find the same handling sharpness as in the Ford Focus and Mazda3, what Hyundai exceeds in ride comfort and balanced handling. While we would love to see a quicker steering ratio, its steering provides sure-footness feel and feedback with enough responsiveness. The ride quality is sublime and should be judged as class leading. There are minimal body rolls and understeer is well-tempted. The state-of-the-art ESC provides excellent active safety whenever driver rears its ugly heads.

Inside the Elantra, its all about quality. The use of materials and workmanship are world-class. You can even get standard features unparallelled with anything in this price ladder. Heated rear seats, auto climate control, Bluetooth capability and redundant steering control are all standard on our Limited version.

Just two decades ago, no one would believe Hyundai have won North American Car of the Year while BMW produces awful cars. How time and things have changed. BMW is producing cars which are nothing to write home about, while Hyundai is getting homerun after homerun. The latest Elantra is the prime example. While there are those who might argue “beauty is skin deep” before they actually driven a Hyundai. With their solid engineering, Hyundai is definitely “beauty is more than skin deep”. Its not only Elantra has a potent powertrain, handles relatively well while comes with lots of generous equipment. The exceptional value quotient and ever improving residual value would have Japanese worries.

If I am looking for a compact family sedan without care for edgy handling, for my money, Elantra is the class leader.

Coming up next. The new Elantra Coupe and GT.

Likes:
Stunning looks
Feature galore
Value-for-money
Potent powertrain

Dislikes:
Soft steering feel
Instrusive trunk hinges
Slightly sterlie driving experience

Competitions:
Chevy Cruze
Kia Forte
Mazda3
Ford Focus
Honda Civic
Toyota Corolla
VW Jetta