I finally got a chance to drive an Elantra N! I have been wanting to drive one of these since they came out about 2 years ago, but they have all been sold. Bang for the buck it is a tremendous sport compact value. However, it is not perfect.

Exterior Styling 4/10: I know styling is subjective, but to me the exterior is the one area where this car really struggles. It is almost like Hyundai had a box full of straight lines that they threw at the Elantra just to see where they would stick. There is just not a good looking angle on this car. I also think the red trim along the bottom cheapens the design while the shape of the spoiler is odd. I know Hyundai redesigned the 2024 front end and I think it is an improvement. However, I don't believe this style will age well and I think it needs more help. The wheel style is also improving for 2024. These new wheels look and actually are lighter (not pictured).





Interior styling & fit/finish 6/10: The interior of this car is not amazing, but it is a step up from the Veloster N. The seats are much nicer with the suede inserts and light up "N" logo. They hold you in place well and are easy enough to get in and out of. Oddly, they are extremely snug in the lat area of the upper back. I actually had to tilt the seat back an extra notch to make it more comfortable. The suede inserts in the doors and the bigger display screens are a noticeable improvement over the Veloster N. There is still a fair amount of hard plastic in the cabin and the plastic grab handle near the shifter looks very cheap and feels like it will wobble around a lot. The shift **** is not terribly high quality either, but at least that is easy to replace.





Driver involvement/fun to drive 8/10: This really is a fun car to drive. The steering wheel feels good in your hands and the steering itself is responsive. The brakes feel great and the handling is very lively for a front drive car. On a number of occasions I was able to get the rear end to rotate a bit. This was all with the suspension in the "comfort" setting because the other settings are uncomfortably firm on most roads. The shift throw is extremely short, but does not feel as positive to shift into gear as a WRX with an oem shift kit or a Honda. I honestly don't know if you could shorten the shifter much at all. It is very easy to change drive modes, climate, and audio controls. When you change drive modes the dashboard changes completely and is very easy to read at a glance. Great for fast driving. The acceleration is really good for this price point as well. The only real problem is that the pedals are spaced pretty far apart for heel & toe down shifting (see above pic). Strangely, I don't recall this issue with the Veloster N.





Sound 8/10: For a 4 cylinder, this car sounds great with its adaptive exhaust. The settings appear to give you the option to make it sound like a sports car, high performance car, TCR race car, or rally car, but that made very little difference as I think that was the sound piped into the cabin. It really has more to do with the N mode settings where you can choose normal, sport, or sport plus which opens the flap in the exhaust. It gets pretty rowdy in sport and you get even more pops and bangs in sport plus. Good fun and you can still make it very quiet for longer trips. I was a little surprised how good the Bose stereo sounded. I thought I remembered it sounding not so great the first time I tried out the stereo a couple years ago on a sold Elantra N. I was wrong. It sounds about as good as the Harman Kardon stereo in a new VW GTI or Subaru WRX. Which is pretty good. It does not sound as good as the Acura ELS system.




Practicality/usability 7/10: As much as the car feels like a legit sports car to drive it is still pretty practical. There is plenty of room inside, a huge back seat, and a pretty spacious trunk. Unfortunately, the fold down rear seat is one piece that requires you to unlatch both sides (weird) and once it is down, there is a huge structural support blocking the opening. I feel like they could have designed this better or maybe incorporated a quick release for the brace. This probably could be a good daily driver, but the ride is definitely firm. A little too firm for me, even in comfort mode. It will be acceptable to most enthusiasts.




Overall 7/10: This is a really fun car to drive and would probably make a good daily driver for a lot of performance minded people. It's not a perfect car, but the fun/dollar ratio is high on this one. If you can live with the exterior styling, hard plastics inside, and the ride is acceptable to you then I think you have a winner.

 

The 2024 Elantra N would be on my list of replacement cars for my wife's 2016.5 Cruze (only 21k miles), if we ever decided to upgrade to something newer. Really there's nothing wrong with it at all though, it gets great MPG (40+ on highway), it's comfy, has a nice infotainment and all the packages, so it's got the heated seats, bigger LCD screen, remote start, RS exterior package, Bose speakers, etc. It has decent power after I purchased a tune and added a performance air filter (215hp/250tq). Handling isn't good but that's not why we own the car lol. I will probably upgrade it's wheels to 17's when it needs tires and get it as a combo package. Maybe eventually swap out the springs for a minor drop to reduce wheel gap and stiffen it up a bit.

The 2024 front end redesign does help the Elantra N a bit, but you're right about the overall styling - it just doesn't flow very well. The overall package that you're getting for the price point is great though, and hard to ignore.

Here's a cute picture of the Cruzey:

 

I like the Cruz. I even like the Malibu. Not so much as to want either in my life, but they're fine cars for their class.

 

Looks like a sleeper to me. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But if you want next level performance on a budget, the Elantra N is not a bad way to go.

 

Apparently at work I got the last of the Ford Escapes (mine is a 2013) and the newer company cars are Malibus. I'm not in love in any way with GM products, but... not my monkey not my circus.

 

I finally got to drive a 1st gen. M2. This is a car that was high on my list because I knew it would have great power, brakes, handling, and decent luxury. My only question was the ride quality as a daily driver.

Styling 8/10: This car looks pretty good inside and out from just about every angle. It has understated muscularity with nice clean lines, but a bulging hood and fenders to pump up the design for those in the know. I think it looks really good compared to the front and rear end of the new M2. The only angle that looks a little jangy is the side profile with its short wheelbase and overhangs. Not bad, it just looks a little stubby. The large brakes and 19" wheels from the M3 look great.






Interior design, finish, and usability 9/10: The interior has a nice mix of leather, suede, and carbon trim. It has a nice polished look to it and everything is right where you would expect it to be. I especially like the heated steering wheel. There are surprisingly large bins in the front doors with multiple storage sections. The seats are comfortable and easy to get in and out with lots of adjustment (even the side bolsters) and memory on the driver's side. I just wish they had suede inserts instead of leather. I read a few reviews saying the driver's seat was angled slightly to fit, but I never noticed it. The gauges are easy to read and digital. I thought they did not become digital until the '19 Competition, but I guess not. I also read complaints about no oil temperature gauge, but there was a gauge for the coolant temperature. Moving to the back seat you notice there is more legroom than you would expect, but headroom is a touch tight if you are taller. The rear seats split fold into a trunk that is a lot more spacious than the exterior dimensions would lead you to believe.









Driving 7/10: This car is an absolute hoot to drive. The power delivery is good with a nice linear response (even with the A/T). The brakes are amazing on the street as you would expect with such large cross drilled rotors and fixed calipers with 4 pistons up front and 2 in the rear. As good as the engine and brakes are, the steering and handling are even better. They are extremely precise. This car is definitely tail happy, but when it breaks loose it is completely predictable and controllable. I am pretty sure you could start drifting it while pulling out of your driveway if you really wanted to. This makes for a very entertaining drive. So why the low score? The ride is extremely firm. It does have adaptive suspension (which I thought only came on later M2's), but even in "comfort" mode it is definitely firm on any surface other than a perfectly smooth road. On bumpy roads it is pretty brutal. That is enough for me to take it off of my list, but it will be ok for most enthusiasts who are used to coilovers or other firm riding cars and are ok sacrificing ride quality for driving nirvana.





Sounds 7/10: The Harman Kardon stereo sounds decent, but it is by no means exemplary. It does sound better than the Harman Kardon in an E46 M3 and maybe almost as good as a well adjusted VW GTI Harman Kardon stereo. It doesn't do anything wrong, but it also does not shine quite as bright as it probably should. The Harman Kardon unit in my wife's Volvo XC60 sounds better. I was really looking forward to hearing the exhaust on this car because it is consistently rated higher in sound quality than the next generation M2. However, the one I drove had a Dinan exhaust which I am sure was louder, but I cannot be certain sounded any better. It did drone quite a bit at higher rpms. As a result I did not hear much intake noise at all from this car.




Overall 8/10: I think this would be a perfect car for a lot of enthusiasts, especially with the manual transmission. It looks good, drives and stops really well, accelerates confidently, is easy to tune, has more room than you would expect for people and cargo, and is a pretty good value to boot. The only issue I see is the ride quality, especially if you live in an area with bad roads. Here in WI, the plows tear up our roads in the winter so it is an issue. If you don't live in the snow belt or have a higher tolerance for bumpy rides, this is one car you need to drive if you have not already.

 

I just got word that our first and only Civic Type R for the year arrives next week! If it is as good as everyone says it is and rides ok for my back it could be my next car.

 

I feel like I've heard this before

I thought you were locked into a lease for the next year or so?

 

Ask him next week and it'll change again

 

Nah, next week we debate the merits and value of the CTR vs GTI

 

He changes cars like I change... socks? Failing on a simile there.

First nice 3-day weekend coming, and I'm no longer working on the G, now I'm installing a kitchen pantry cabinet. Whee...

 

Wow, really feeling the love guys. ​​Has anyone here actually driven a '23 or '24 Type R? I feel like I have a pretty unique opportunity here even if the timing is awful for me.

@lego maniac I'm sure you have heard me talk about the Type R before because I have never been able to drive one. My lease is up in October and this will probably be the only Type R my store gets this year. Terrible timing for me, especially since we are getting 9-15 inches of snow today and next week we are supposed to have sub-zero temps most of the week. But having the very rare opportunity to try the car out is way too good to pass up. GTI vs. Type R? Please, I have been comparing those cars for over a year already. The last part of that comparison is actually getting to drive the Type R. I feel like the Type R is the car I want if the ride is ok, but the GTI is the car I need, or the better daily driver.

@backman_66 @rotarymike Don't worry guys, I will always be trying out and considering fun cars to drive. Good luck keeping up with me. But I am narrowing it down. Just recently the BMW M2, Elantra N, Subaru BRZ, Camaro SS 1LE, and Mustang Dark Horse dropped off my list. On these snowy days I keep revisiting a certain loaded new WR blue '23 WRX premium that keeps dropping in price at one of my stores. (My top pick for the last 6-12 months has been the GTI so bear with me here.) The WRX definitely drives better than the GTI with better pedal placement, a better shifter, better sound, AWD, and actual buttons for most things. It's just ugly. The GTI's fit/finish, styling, features, and tech is better, but those features do not always work properly. I honestly think I would be happy with either car and they would be priced about the same.

I think the Civic Type R would take the best things (except AWD) from both the WRX and GTI and combine them with better performance. If it is as fun to drive as everyone says and the ride is ok, then I think I could justify the extra expense. Then the question becomes, "how much performance do I want and am I willing to give up RWD/AWD and a good sounding engine?" A used CT4-V Blackwing is $10-$15k more and in a completely different world of performance and tuning. If I want similar performance to a Blackwing on a budget, the father of that car, the ATS-V is a used car bargain if you can find one the way you want. If I stick with the motto of it being more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow I should look for a clean Volvo C30 R design stick shift in the $10-$15k range or Sentra Spec-V from the early 2000's for $5-$10k. Snowy days have also made me consider a Wrangler stick shift with the power moonroof and Alpine stereo. These are just my thoughts today. So yeah, good luck keeping up with my random car thoughts. As always, productive comments and ideas are welcome, but saying I change my mind a lot is not going to surprise anyone.

 

I'll admit to being annoyed that you never make a decision, except when you do all at once on some random Tuesday. But honestly, that's my problem, not yours.

So keep up with the excellent reviews please. You're in a unique position, with the means and access to cars that seem like the sweet spot of shared automotive values.

Don't mind Lego, or anyone else saying out loud what they're thinking if they were you. Because we aren't you, and most of us hang on to cars forever, relative to your experiences.

 

What kid in a candy store- or toy store for that matter- ever made up their mind 1-2-3?

Keep up the good reviews 4DRZ!

 

I've mentioned once or twice my friend with the Audi eTron GT RS. It's been a while since I've been in his car, and had opportunity again a few nights ago. The car is so upscale, and comfortable, and insanely fast. I mean, a full-sized sport sedan with AWD and 4WS and performance stats most ICE sedans can only dream of... what's not to like?

Well, getting in and out of this car, maybe. You have to kind of fall into it, and then pull yourself out with core muscle strength I must be lacking, LOL. Another in-my-face moment that I'm getting old now that I'm over 60.

Not that I'm ever going to buy a $140,000 car. However, if you have the means, I highly recommend it.