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I drove my buddy's dad's Elantra GT today, and my oh my... what a sweet car. The biggest asset of the car is definitely the handling. It's way above the level of a Civic Coupe and a knotch above the Civic Si (or SiR in Canada). Since the Elantra GT uses their Euro-Spec suspension system, it's no surprise how responsive and nimble this car is. On a side note, it does ride a *tad* stiffer than the Civic Coupe, but better than the Civic Si.

Another surpise was the sheer quality of the car and the attention to the details. Exterior gap between the body panels were identical to the Civics (which is almost industry benchmark now), and the interior was totally rattle and squeek free. Even the headlamps could be the brightest in its class. Ergononimcs were excellent, with typical layout, but required more eye-movement compared to the Civic's virtical HVAC layout (again, industry standard, in my opinion). Plenty of interior space, but definitely less than the Civic. The cargo area (being a "5 door") was pretty good for its class.

Acceleration was good. It felt torquier than the Civic and responded better at lower RPMs. Credit the extra 300cc for that. Top end and highway performance was more or less the same. Brakes were good as well. The pedals felt a bit mushier and lacked feedback. The transmission was very lazy, which is probably the biggest letdown of this car. Same can be said of the Civics, but even worse here... when you mash the throttle, it takes a whole second before it actually downshifts.

Overall, I'd say it's an excellent value. The wagon body style isn't the most appeal style for me, but if I need a car with more cargo space, I'll know where to start looking. It's definitely a major condender for the Mazda Protege5 and even the Civic Si, if you don't mind the 20HP deficite. But then again, 140HP isn't bad for its class.

 
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[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-puke.gif[/IMG]hyundai

 
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yea hyundai's quality has gone up alot, i think its 46% from last from the jd power and associate and it beat mitsubitshi, chrysler, subaru and volkswagon, the hyundai name brand used to suck but now i think the name brand should be respected

 
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Im with 2k2civicballer on this one................ [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-puke.gif[/IMG] on Hyundai. I would go for the Mazda Protege5 in this case.
Sorry O1Coupe.

 
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Hyundai better than Honda...Buddy step away from the crack pipe

 
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hyundai . . . elantra GT . . . quality: "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just DOESN'T belong . . ." [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]

 
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ya i agree that hyundai's quality is getting a lot better.. but i still dont think they are in comparison with the other great car company's such as honda

 
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The JD Power ranking was for initial quality/satisfaction, not long-term. Anyone can probably make a car that works, looks and feels good for the first 12,000 miles or so, but how long will it last? Over at hondabeat.com there are dozens of Hondas that have gone over 300K miles, and some that have passed 500K miles. Is there even one Hyundai that has lasted that long? There's no doubt that their quality has improved, but then they had nowhere else to go but up. I know half a dozen people who bought Hyundais as recently as last year who have had to replace major components. One has gone through three automatic transmissions in her Sonata before it hit 30,000 miles. Improved quality doesn't mean as good as the best that's out there.

Vor

 
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There is no denying that Hyundai is improving by leaps and bounds now. But I think no matter how good they get, they will always have an image problem with their name, since they were so crappy before. But they are slowly working on that image too, with good offerings like the new Tiburon.

And personally speaking, I would need to see how they do over the next 5 years or so, before I even start considering it on my shopping list.

 
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roflmao

 
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i think the pronounciation of last 3 letters in Hyundai sum it all up...it's what I'd do if I was forced to buy one...haha

 
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yea hyundai gotten much better now people also likes thme.
Also people drives SANTAFE (suv) looks nice and good interior .
i was thinking about gettin elantra GT instead of civic but i decided to get civic hehe
i love it! peace out

 
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Except for maybe the new Tiburon, and only because it's a complete rip on the Supra, Hyundai's are butt ugly. I often wonder if their designers are on crack (no pun intended) or something. It sad because people in my neighborhood drive their hedious Hyundai Accents like their 5.0's. It makes me laugh because in the end, they're all just Hyunda's... that should be punishment enough. Me, I'll just stick with my Civic.

 
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Hyundai has gotten better over recent time but has a long way to go still. I have been in a few new Hyundais, and I have to admit not bad powerwise, but you buy one, hehe not gonna be me

 
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i saw this new tiburon fixed up using fast n furious eclipse body kit..

omg... this car looked so sick. i wish i can post a pic for yall to see but the website doesn't contain it yet.. it's called MAX.. anyone read that before?

 
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hey dawg u guys seem like ur saying hyundai is a new car company that hastn seen 5 years down the roa and over 100 k but the facct is hyundai has been around for mor then 40 years and they have hella cars that have surpassed the 300k, hyundai has dozens of cars that have not been sent to the US yet, also in canada, england and australia hyundais are always top sellers and have high remarks,

oh about the body kit of the tiburon its on sharkracing.com

 
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Yeah Hyundai's quality rating is even higher than most american cars now........but I'll stil take my slow *** civic.

 
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i love hyundai coz theyre always the underdog...i always cheer for them in WRC or SCCA rally...they should start making wrc spec production cars..that start turnin heads..i remember the elantra wrc 300hp awd

 
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IMO Hyundai are almost up there with the top Japanese automaker. They might lack a bit of refinement but they are very well assembled cars. Give them another 3-5 years and I won't be surprise they'll be head-to-head with the big guys. And with Honda slacking on QC that'll only make it happen quicker.

All of you that say Hyundai makes crappy cars compare to Honda must be not around for long enough. You remember what Honda made in the seventies? Their bumper cover will curl up after you park them under the sun on a hot day. I know Hyundai has the legendary Pony & Excel but that's 10-15 years ago. Everyone has got to start somewhere and climb the learning curve.

 
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I can tell the inform car enthusiast apart from the usual honda import crowd EASILY... heh.

yeah, they're going up there. which is good. more competition is always better.

the resale value and actual quality is sketchy, but only time will tell...

otherwise, a better handling, faster car for almost 3 grand less? and it doesn't look half bad too...

of coures there's more to it then that.

 
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Damn 01Civc, you are starting to sound like some kind of troll. I guess it's cool to open some people's eyes to some different vehicles, but we are car enthusiests, we know what other cars are out there. Some people do have a little bit too much Civc-centrism, but a Hyundai isn't really in the position to bring them out of it. As I stated before, you vote with you wallet. I voted with mine, you obviously voted with yours. Give it a rest.

 
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The new Tiburon is a big step in the right direction for Hyundai. It looks like they hired some new designers for this one.