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Sedans Hyundai Elantra Article Comments - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring Full Test
45 messages, Last post on Aug 11, 2009 at 2:12 AM
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2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring Full Test - Bottom Line: An undeniable value combined with inspiring dynamics wrapped in a tepidly styled wagon shell. (more)
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Replying to: backy (Jul 24, 2009 10:22 am) Elantra has the Elantra dash: Speedo, tach, fuel, odo, and that's it. Touring has oil temperature and a multi-function display with trip computer as well, which shows average MPG, MPG to empty, and average MPH too. Elantra's center stack is a stereo sitting on top of a 3-dial HVAC. Touring is a stereo sitting on a button-array for HVAC direction, sitting on 2 HVAC dials for fan speed and temperature. I have not seen anyplace that the Forte is based on the next-generation Elantra. If so, that won't be the 2010 Elantra. The current Elantra is only 3 years old--ripe for a refresh, but not a redesign. You have only to look at the cars to see the relation: try it side by side, even with photos. I agree on the refresh versus re-design, by the way, and I think Forte's engine will probably end up being the Beta-3 or whatever we're up to now. It's a good next-step candidate, and it already exists, which tends to help. Also, it's as-is compatible with both Hyundai's 4-speed and 5-speed auto-trannys, so there's flexibility of offering the 4-speed in the GLS and 5 speed in the SE, or sticking the 5-speed in a package, depending on availability. And it should be standard on the Touring of course.  This way I can kick myself for not being able to wait for the 2010s to come out.
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Replying to: stephen987 (Jul 24, 2009 10:46 am)
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Jul 24, 2009 10:48 am)
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Replying to: stephen987 (Jul 24, 2009 10:52 am) These guys are really doing amazing things with interior space on these smaller vehicles. The other guys have a lot of catching up to do...including Toyota and Honda. |
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Does anyone know if the ride in the 09 Elantra Sedan is smoother than the ride in the 09 Elantra Touring
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Replying to: guarg (Jul 24, 2009 11:09 am) I just drove the Touring today and it seemed very smooth and well-planted--actually smoother than the sedan I drove last fall, but smoother doesn't automatically mean softer. I suppose it's a matter of preference, and of the roads you usually drive on.
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Jul 24, 2009 10:47 am)  Elantra Touring's dash:  To me, they look like the same dashboard, with different controls in the middle of the center stack. Elantra SE has a multi-function trip computer, also has a temperature gauge--not oil temperature though. BTW, Forte's engines are not the "Beta 3". They are a totally different design than the Beta series, with an aluminum block etc.
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Replying to: backy (Jul 24, 2009 12:11 pm) The Touring also has an outside air temperature readout in that middle blue display they have. Basically, 4 gauges plus the MFD to Elantra's 3 plus odo. Perhaps I should have said "gauge cluster" but most people consider it the "dash." I'm actually not sold on Touring's center stack: makes sense to get some of the climate controls higher for visibility and safety purposes, but I would have done it to the fan controls and temperature controls too, since those also get dinked with a lot (probably more than airflow direction except when defogging). If they had stuck with the old 3-knob design they could have fit all 3 knobs up there, then built the buttons into the center of the knobs like the SE. And you're right, the Forte engine isn't the Beta-3. I said it would make a good Beta-3, slight difference there.  Hyundai could always decide to make it the "Beta-3" if they wanted to. I'm not sure exactly how different the engine design is, to be honest: it's 2L, block has similar dimensions, though Forte's block is aluminum. Probably has very different heads and cams. I should really check on the mount points, but it would make sense if they're the same, since the chassis are similar. I bet the engines are related to some degree: it makes no financial sense whatsoever for them to not be related. That much effort duplication costs money.
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Jul 24, 2009 1:21 pm) I am sure they have already come up with a new Greek letter for the next-gen I4s.  And they are new, compared to the Beta II. They are part of the "GEMA" engine family Hyundai designed and shared with Mitsubishi and (at the time) DaimlerChrysler. Many differences in how the different companies took the base design and delivered it, however. Since the Beta/Beta II is an old design, it does make financial sense to come out with a new design... every decade or so.  I have trouble understanding why it's taken Hyundai so long to start using the engines they designed in their U.S. cars. They have been using the 2.4L GEMA engine for some time, e.g. in Sonata/Optima.
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