Former Elantra owner thinking of coming back Options

[festiboi]

Hey there Elantra fans,
I'm Ryan and I've been considering getting a new or newish Elantra GT. I'm pretty familiar with Hyundai and used to own a 2000 Elantra GLS wagon back in college, followed by a 2002 Elantra GT hatchback when I got my first real job. Both cars were reliable in the time I had them, and they were pleasant ownership experiences overall. I got rid of the 2000 wagon because, well, a gray station wagon isn't cool for a single 20 year old guy. I do regret getting rid of it because it was able to haul lots of gear and was surprisingly fun to drive. The GT seemed so much more appealing, but I only kept it about eight months because it was just too expensive. It was a gorgeous car and I got lots of comments on it back then.

My parents also own a 2003 Santa Fe that they bought new (based on my recommendation when I had the GT) and they still drive it to this day with no problems at all. It's the best car they have ever owned. So I have full faith in Hyundai products.

Currently I have a 2015 Honda Fit, my first brand new car, and it has been a reliability nightmare. With Honda's new plant in Mexico and an entire new staff (along with an all new design), there's been so many quality issues. Mine has been to the shop eight times in the lowly 1600 miles that it has. Mighty disappointing. The new Fit has also had six recalls in the last year as well, yikes! Besides that, it's a pretty gutless car and not all that pretty to look at. It replaced a 2005 Focus ZX5 hatch, which was an awesome car that I owned for over six years and doesn't come close to being as good as that car.

The Elantra GT is very similar in size and concept to my former Focus, plus has the piece of mind of Hyundai quality. I'm on the fence about taking a hit with the Honda and just going with the more enjoyable (and trustworthy) Hyundai, but.......

finding a manual in the base model in the gorgeous Germanic red is almost impossible. There just aren't any. And the few that I can find have a beige interior, which shows every mark and blemish. The black hides everything better and seems more durable. However, I don't know if they exist and they seem to be the unicorn of the Hyundai lineup. I contacted the local Hyundai dealer to look for one, especially with the $3k rebate at the moment, and they said there isn't a single red, base manual Elantra GT in all of California available.

I love the car and everything about it; it looks dead sexy, is roomy, versatile, gutsy, value packed and fun; I hope I can find one.

How did any of you with a manual GT go with finding one? Did you have much trouble?

[mlumz]

Now a days manuals are not common it popular unless you are getting a sports car. It's sort of the way the car selection and demand from consumers have gone. My 05 GT had to be driven from across the state of FL got me to get a manual. I would give your dealer a list of several colors you would be ok with and just ask them to look for any manual in the area.

[elantraelite]

My partner has a GD i30 1.6 CRDi with a 6spd manaul. Not a single problem or warranty claim after 6months and 15,000km

Excellent car!

[RPW00Mirage]

welcome back!

if you like the GT have you looked into a Veloster? you can get it in boston red with black leather interior.


also I wonder if bobzilla knows about the mexican honda plant

[festiboi]

Now a days manuals are not common it popular unless you are getting a sports car. It's sort of the way the car selection and demand from consumers have gone. My 05 GT had to be driven from across the state of FL got me to get a manual. I would give your dealer a list of several colors you would be ok with and just ask them to look for any manual in the area.

Good advice, and exactly what I did. Along with personally scouring Edmunds and Autotrader's online inventory, I sent the dealer a short list of possible combinations that would work and asked if they just keep an eye out

if you like the GT have you looked into a Veloster? you can get it in boston red with black leather interior.

I did consider the Velostar, briefly. However, no spare tire is a deal breaker, and the rear visibility is shocking. The GT just seems like an easier car to live with

[RPW00Mirage]

i know for a fact our local dealer doesn't put a spare tire in ANY of their new hyundais. rear visibility has never been an issue to me after removing the rear headrests. and backing up is easy, especially with the standard rear camera.

[festiboi]

i know for a fact our local dealer doesn't put a spare tire in ANY of their new hyundais. rear visibility has never been an issue to me after removing the rear headrests. and backing up is easy, especially with the standard rear camera.

Yeah, Hyundai is pretty adament about not putting spare tires in their cars. The GT is the lone exception having it as standard equipment, a homage to its European roots. I do a lot of driving in remote mountaineous parts of California with minimal phone reception, so a spare tire is a must. Otherwise, I'll be huffing it back to the nearest pay phone!

And I'm pretty old school when it comes to backup cameras. I'm not particularly fond of them, and would rather be able to see around me through the windows than depend on a camera that's ahead of me while reversing.

However, I did like the Velostar's style and uniqueness. It is a good product, just not for me.

[Alex2013GT]

Well, I was a lucky one I guess. I walked into the dealership when my lease on my Sonata was nearing its end and found a fully loaded Elantra GT WITH a manual. Funny the sales guy was ready to steer me away from it saying "ohh that's a manual" and I was like "hell yea it is!"

I've been happy with it thus far. Great looks, good fuel economy, loads of features. I love the pano roof and the black leather interior looks great. I found it funny that a small car had a backup camera, but have come to absolutely love having it. I like the grey and it hides dirt well, but the red is very sexy!

As far as comparisons to your prior Elantras, well my wife had a '99 Elantra GLS and I had an '04 GT. This car is leaps and bounds ahead of them in features and quality. It has served me well and has had no real issues in the 48k miles I've put on it. I'm guessing brakes will need to be replaced sometime soon, but other than that it has just been oil changes and the new wheels/tires I put on about a year ago.

[Red Elantra GT]

Hey-Other than a replaced headlamp, I've had no issues with my '13 GT, with 25k miles. You can now get a '16 GT in red with black interior for about $22k with the style package. The front is similar to the Genesis and Sonata. Check it out!

[festiboi]

Well, I was a lucky one I guess. I walked into the dealership when my lease on my Sonata was nearing its end and found a fully loaded Elantra GT WITH a manual. Funny the sales guy was ready to steer me away from it saying "ohh that's a manual" and I was like "hell yea it is!"

I've been happy with it thus far. Great looks, good fuel economy, loads of features. I love the pano roof and the black leather interior looks great. I found it funny that a small car had a backup camera, but have come to absolutely love having it. I like the grey and it hides dirt well, but the red is very sexy!

As far as comparisons to your prior Elantras, well my wife had a '99 Elantra GLS and I had an '04 GT. This car is leaps and bounds ahead of them in features and quality. It has served me well and has had no real issues in the 48k miles I've put on it. I'm guessing brakes will need to be replaced sometime soon, but other than that it has just been oil changes and the new wheels/tires I put on about a year ago.

You were very lucky to stumble across a manual GT so easily. You'd think that the dealer would be more than happy to offload a manual version of any car to an enthusiastic buyer. From viewing online inventory, the fully loaded GT's seem to be equipped with manual more often than the base version. Logic would be that it was the other way around.

Glad to hear you guys are having good luck with your cars. Almost Hyundai owner seems more than satisfied with the durability of their cars.

Thanks for the comparison between the new GT versus the '96-00 and '01-06 generations. The 2000 Elantra was a huge step up from my Ford Aspire at the time and may as well have been a luxury car. To this day, I still find the '96-00 style very handsome; much more stylish than a comparable Civic, Corolla, or Escort of the time. The current Elantra just seems so much more advanced; it's amazing how much technology has changed in the past ten years. I, like you, find backup cameras kinda funny on a small car. It seems almost redundant on a tiny car like my Fit