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Sedans Hyundai Elantra 2007 Elantra First Impressions
259 messages, Last post on Oct 05, 2008 at 6:19 AM
You are in the Hyundai Elantra Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: eldaino (Apr 30, 2007 7:11 am) |
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| Must not have the hatch. That will easily fit the golf gear with the seats folded. | |
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Replying to: tmport (Apr 27, 2007 11:49 am) I have a 2007 Elantra Limited with a 5 speed. The first comment we made driving away from the dealer's lot was 'smooth'. My wife and I absolutely love this car. It is easy and fun to drive, has plenty of power (I'm not talking about numbers here, but practical use), and it is extremely comfortable. We have driven from CT to VT and back in one day (roughly 500 miles) and we were ready to go out again at night just to drive the car somewhere. Shifting is smooth, controls work very well. I should mention we have had the car for just over 4 months and it now has 8000 miles on the odometer. It runs very well. Noise - those reviewers are being overly picky about this issue. Consider this: they drive all types of cars in the most strenuous conditions for a living. The Elantra is not as quiet as a Cadillac Sedan DeVille, but it doesn't compete with that car, either. The 2007 Elantra is not any louder at highway speeds than my 1996 Corolla, and is MUCH quieter than the 1999 Civic it replaced. It is also more quiet than my mom's CR-V. Seriously, if the reviewers were bothered by road noise, they should have turned up the very nice stock radio system - oh wait, the car does that for you! (speed sensitive volume) The only truly negative aspect of this car is the gas mileage - my car averages 28-30 mpg, a far cry from the 38 claimed by Hyundai. (I've heard many say that mileage improves with engine wear, but it's not going to improve by 10mpg). Just for the record, driving the way I do, I still achieve 40 mpg in my Corolla with 179K miles on it. Anyway, I love the Elantra. Even with the negative features, this car still has the best value for the money. For $16.5K, I got a car with heated leather seats, ABS, 6 airbags, 6 speaker stereo, 16" alloy wheels, steering wheel mounted controls, comfortable smooth ride, large interior volume, large truck with large opening (major drawback of the Mazda 3), long warranty, etc. BTW, that price was during a time when there were no rebates, so I'm sure you could get a much better deal now.
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Replying to: percussionist (Apr 30, 2007 11:29 am) |
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Replying to: tmport (Apr 30, 2007 4:21 pm) Speaking of not making sense, what's with the owner that is disappointed with the trunk space? Which competing car is it that whallops the Elantra's 14+ cuft? Not to mention complaining about this AFTER purchasing the car, as if the trunk shrank after it rolled off the lot... -2Rotor |
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Replying to: 2rotor (May 01, 2007 5:38 am)  At any rate, I was wrong. I did another test drive, and the trunk is plenty big--I think the sun was in my eyes the first time I checked it out. This time I drove an automatic, and it was great, providing plenty of acceleration as I merged onto a highway on an upslope. My problem now is choosing between the Elantra, Sonata, and Spectra5. I was quoted $13,400 for a new 2006 automatic Spectra5 w/sunroof and ABS, and I'm pretty sure I can negotiate the price down to $13,000. At Fitzmall in Maryland, near where I live, I can get an Elantra GLS w/preferred package and automatic for a no-haggle $14,850, and a Sonata GLS w/ automatic and Premium Package for $15,850. All of these prices are before tax and tags. Setting aside the Sonata, I'm having a hard time figuring out why I would pay an extra $1500 for the Elantra, especially considering that the Spectra5 is better equipped and has five doors. It gets worse gas mileage, but it's significantly cheaper to insure than the Elantra. Sigh...choices, choices.
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Replying to: 2rotor (May 01, 2007 5:38 am) I realize I made a mistake - the EPA estimate for highway driving is 36mpg, not 38. Although I will point out that for 2007, Hyundai did claim mpg was a significant improvement over the previous model. The owner that crows about a 40mpg average with their Corolla clearly doesn't "get it"... And comparing a 179,000mi Corolla to a new, larger and heavier (than ANY Corolla) Elantra is making comparisons that don't make much sense Here is what I do "get". The '96 Corolla I used for comparison was EPA estimated at 29mpg city, 34mpg highway. With combined driving, I have and still average 38-40mpg. I use that example to show that for my driving habits, I routinely exceed the EPA estimate. I was merely expressing my disappointment at the lower than (my) expected fuel economy. Since the Elantra outweighs my Corolla by 342 lbs. and has a larger engine, I do not expect its mileage to be better. However, since it is newer (as you pointed out), it stands to reason that technology and aerodynamics have improved significantly over the past 11 years. I was just hoping to average 35-37 mpg in the new car, not 28-30. Mentioning the mileage of the old car is important because cars with that high mileage tend to become less efficient over time. So that's my story - the benefit of forums like these is that we do not have to agree all the time. In this case, apparently we don't. Again - I love my Elantra, and always look forward to driving it! It is absolutely the best car for the money.
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Replying to: percussionist (May 02, 2007 2:04 pm) The outgoing model (2006) achieved an estimated highway fuel economy of 32 mpg from the government. |
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Replying to: tmport (May 01, 2007 6:40 am)
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Replying to: herotakesafall (May 03, 2007 7:57 pm) The Elantra has the best interior, however, and that's a big draw for me. I'm also considering the Ford Focus ZX5, if I can get a price under $13,500 w/ all power options, cruise, fog lights, etc. It's a shame, though, that Ford has seriously degraded with blatant cost-cutting what used to be a great car. It is the most fun small car I've driven (I haven't tried the Mazda3), but oh, that interior. The "overhead storage compartment" is the cheapest piece of junk you've ever seen. Thank goodness it's only available on the top trim level! And of course the Focus' reliability scares me, though my mother has never had problems with her 2003. (Blessedly, it has the "old" interior, which is far superior to the "new" interior.) |
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