My Accord's catalytic converter clogged up and I ended up in a rental car for a few days in order to get to work. I'd rather not be bored to tears at my house and use up my vacation/pto days.
When I approached the Enterprise lot, I saw a red Sonic sedan and figured I'd get that. However, when I was asked what kind of car I was looking for, I stressed "a small one" and ended up with this little number:
It's a 2014 Hyundai Elantra SE. For 2014, the base GLS trim is replaced by the SE nomenclature. This isn't a "Sport" model like the SE name would suggest - there's a Elantra Sport trim with more kit and firmer suspension tuning.
Exterior: I've always found the front of this generation Elantra to be quite attractive- better than the outgoing Sonata IMO, and the refreshed model confirms that opinion. I especially like the white highlights in the headlamps. What I didn't like initially was the sweeping line coming down the side of the car...this grew on me as I looked over the car though and by the end of the rental, I liked it. The fact that this base trim car has alloys standard was another nice touch that makes it look expensive.
Another thing I liked was the paint. I was like "oh it's white" when i picked it up, but I discovered that it's a white that glitters in sunlight. It's quite fetching and goes well with the overall exterior design. Surprisingly, for not being a "refrigerator" white, there's no extra charge for this color - it's the only white one can get on the Elantra.
Overall: it's a good looking car that's aged surprisingly well, it'll be interesting to see the styling direction Hyundai takes with the next gen model.
Interior: This car had the gray/black interior. While not my first choice personally (I find them to be too dark oftentimes) it wears it well.
The metallic trim brightens up the interior and I like the gauges - the white backlighting makes them easy to read day or night. I've always liked Hyundai/Kia's switchgear and display typeface selection until their most recent products - this is no exception - it's "friendly with it's rounded edges" and easy to quickly glance at. Outside temp at a glance is a nice touch.
The refresh brings a revised center stack - vents have been moved upward to address complaints and they've worked well to quickly heat the interior during these below freezing days and evenings. The climate controls have been changed to be easier to understand, with fan and temperature knobs no longer stacked "within" one another.
Many switchgear and materials felt high quality: the turn signal/wiper stalks, soft touch upper dashboard (the black portion of the dash), the thunk of the closing doors, and the way the shifter moves through it's PRND +/- detents are a few examples. Disappointingly, though, the fan speed knob felt a bit cheap in the hand-there was a bit of left-right wiggle in the knob.
Other bits of the interior reduced the upscale ambiance upon closer inspection: The headliner is supposed to resemble a upscale woven one...but just felt like cardboard. I used the sun visor to shield some glare, and the flashing from the heat sealing of the sun visor covering (not sure if it's supposed to be cloth or not...) scraped my hand. There was a slight creak and give when the secondary door pull behind the window switches was used on the driver's door. The power port for my phone charger didn't work. Finally, the passenger's door card was noticeably misaligned with the passenger side dashboard vent.
Another cheap interior feature was the lack of a cloth covering on the door cards:
On other vehicles, you'll find cloth or leather/leatherette on the middle gray portion of the doors, but on the Elantra SE without the Popular Equipment Package...these are hard plastic. It's tolerable but I was already noticing some wear on these surfaces. It wouldn't surprise me if people were using their ring covered hands to push on this area to open the door...or if a ring or something was getting caught/rubbed on the hard plastic surface in the mere act of just resting an arm on the door while driving.
It should really be standard - it would up the ambiance of the interior considerably.
The seat was fairly comfortable and adjustable 6 ways. It had a tilt and telescope steering wheel so it was easy for me to get comfy. Visibiltiy was a mixed bag.. great in front and initially out the side..but as I needed to look further back, the C pillar blocked a lot of my view - there's a blind spot mirror but since I properly adjusted the mirrors, having that fixed BS mirror eat up the outer upper corner of the mirror space hurt rather than helped. Hyundai says they've lowered noise levels with more insulation for 2014...the car seemed just ok in this regard...nothing stunning, a Cruze is likely quieter on the open road.
Infotainment was pretty good, the XM radio had strong signal. The radio unexpectedly had issues: twice the radio didn't make any sound. Turning off the radio and turning it back on solved it but it was still unexpected given that this was a basic, non touchscreen, non color screen, radio. There was USB/Aux and iPod integration but I didn't use it. Disappointingly, Bluetooth is reserved for models with the Popular Equipment Package. Again....this should be standard. Honda, Toyota and Chevy, among others in the class, have standard Bluetooth.
Overall, I like the Interior - the lack of BT and cloth of the door cards would really make me consider bumping up to the Popular Equipment Package. I'm sure higher trims have nicer feeling stuff like the headliner too, I just wish some of that was given to lower trim cars.
Driving: This Elantra had the standard 148 hp 1.8 engine mated to a 6 speed autobox. Overall, while I found it to be a little sluggish, I'll blame the use of the Active Eco feature for that...and I was rewarded with 40 mpg on the highway according to the computer near the end of my time with the car. Before that, it was around 35 mpg or so. The automatic is pretty responsive like on the 2011 Sonata I've driven extensively: it's always willing to drop a gear or two to maintain forward progress. I never had trouble passing or felt a lack of power merging..it just seemed to come on a little slow.
The steering is pretty light and easy but it's pretty lifeless. Hyundai has added selectable steering modes for 2014: I found it to be comical in Comfort mode..i was able to park with a pinky haha. Sport didn't really do much but make it heavy...feedback remained pretty non existent compared to the Accord's hydraulic system. Braking performance was great, however the pedal seemed touchy..like..."ok..slowing down..WHOA". Not terribly smooth although I got used to it.
The ride...oh the ride. This generation Elantra took a downgrade with the rear suspension, ditching the previous gen's IRS for a torsion beam. At low speeds with bumps that are parallel and extend to both rear wheels, the ride is pretty decent. It's a tad firm but better than floating around. However, if a bump manages to hit only one rear wheel or hits them both at slightly different times, you can feel the torsion beam rear end twitch and jiggle laterally. It's unnerving, particularly when crossing bumps and highway expansion joints at highway speeds and/or hitting them going around bends.
To be fair, there could be external factors to this lack of refinement: My rental's rear tire pressure, for example, could have been too high...but if it wasn't then I am shocked that other Elantra drivers don't notice this. This would actually be a deal-breaker for me, particularly if I was considering a higher trim Elantra....I couldn't let myself spend over 23k for a loaded Elantra Limited with a rear suspension like this. I'd feel like a sucker every time I hit a bump that made it quiver. The Sport trim with it's even firmer suspension tune...would be a non starter for me IF the suspension really is like this across the base Elantra lineup and not something isolated to my rental.
In Closing: I like this car, I really do. The mileage was phenomenal, the car looks amazing, and the powertrain works well. But I can't get over the cheap decisions that work like "death of a 1000 papercuts" to reduce the Elantra's appeal. If they tightened up the interior quality/content, upped the fun factor, and refined the suspension, this could be a real winner in base trim. In fact, if you don't really care about driving, the base trim is a decent value even if other brands give you more content - the 10 year warranty certainly would add peace of mind. But I wouldn't go any higher than GLS with PEP - By the time you reach other trims...you may be able to snag yourself something a bit more fun and refined.
I think they even started their US expansion in Florida.
