cars.com drives the 2009 Elantra Touring, they like it... but... Options

[elantragt]

They say the wagon is nice overall but (and I knew this would be the problem) other cars for the same money are sexier and more fun. They shoulda brought the i30 hatch over instead but they never listen to me! lol

Two weeks ago I got the chance to drive an early version of the Elantra Touring due out later this year. I was impressed with the little wagon as were others on our staff like Bill Jackson, our resident Weekend Athlete. We’ll be posting a video with his thoughts on this car in the near future, but for my initial impressions and a photo gallery keep reading.



I enjoyed driving this economy car a lot more than I thought I would. Besides a lot of buzzy engine noise — it’s amazing how you rarely hear buzzy engines anymore — the little wagon did everything right. The ride was comfortable, and there wasn’t a lot of road noise. The manual transmission was a joy with light clutch feel and smooth shifter.

As a package, the Touring seemed a bit nicer inside than the Elantra sedan. The backseats folded flat with one button, and there was a lot of cargo room. But I was shocked by the starting price of nearly $18,000 for a manual transmission. Although Hyundai hasn’t announced its official pricing yet, there was a sticker inside our test car, so I assume the price is accurate.

While the Elantra Touring is a nifty economy wagon, the Scion xB offers more utility and style, the Pontiac Vibe is more fun to drive, and a base Subaru Impreza gives you all-wheel drive. And all can be had for a similar price. Economy car indeed.

[Alex2013GT]

What a shame. . . the front end of that car looks really nice, unfortunately the back does nothing for me.

[LDub]

The Elantra Touring isn't going to do much. Like everyone here's said all along, they should have brought over the sportier hatch, instead of the wagon. Hyundai is extremely poor at offering sporty models of their everyday vehicles. The Vibe, Matrix, Impreza, 3, etc. all have sporty models/trim levels that blow away anything available on the Elantra. You'd think that the popularity of the Elantra GT would have given them a clue (not that the GT was amazingly sporty compared to the GLS, but you get the idea).

[cclngthr]

The Elantra Touring isn't going to do much. Like everyone here's said all along, they should have brought over the sportier hatch, instead of the wagon. Hyundai is extremely poor at offering sporty models of their everyday vehicles. The Vibe, Matrix, Impreza, 3, etc. all have sporty models/trim levels that blow away anything available on the Elantra. You'd think that the popularity of the Elantra GT would have given them a clue (not that the GT was amazingly sporty compared to the GLS, but you get the idea).

I can partially understand the choices they make. They want Hyundai to be more luxury and leave the sportiness to Kia. Although that can benefit the car brand, but it also can work in ways that limits the sales to a point for each brand.

[afob3]

I have my name on the list to be called when it comes in to the local dealer. I like it bc I need a 5 door for the utility. I also think the interior is very nice. That said, there are other contenders out there. We already know it is very unlikely that my wife will be picking up another Hyundai when her lease is up on the van.

[Doohickie]

What a shame. . . the front end of that car looks really nice, unfortunately the back does nothing for me.

So... you're an @ss man, huh?

[RHINESEL]

I think the price will be more of an issue than the looks. Hyundai is going for boring conservative daily driver. Most of the population will fall into that category.

The problem is that you need to draw young (and by "young" I'm going up to 40) into the brand and the best way to do this is to offer sportier offerings on your base models. That's why we have the Si, S series, R-Types, Evo's, WRX's, ect.

[cclngthr]

I think the price will be more of an issue than the looks. Hyundai is going for boring conservative daily driver. Most of the population will fall into that category.

The problem is that you need to draw young (and by "young" I'm going up to 40) into the brand and the best way to do this is to offer sportier offerings on your base models. That's why we have the Si, S series, R-Types, Evo's, WRX's, ect.

That is where the Genesis Coup and Tiburon come into play. The Elantra wasn't marketed for a single youngun.

[MEly]

The problem is that you need to draw young (and by "young" I'm going up to 40) into the brand and the best way to do this is to offer sportier offerings on your base models. That's why we have the Si, S series, R-Types, Evo's, WRX's, ect.

Absolutely. Couldn't agree with you more. Having said that - Hyundai's managed to avoid most of the economic concerns of late... maybe this will continue to help them stave it off.... in some sort of strange way.

[cclngthr]

Absolutely. Couldn't agree with you more. Having said that - Hyundai's managed to avoid most of the economic concerns of late... maybe this will continue to help them stave it off.... in some sort of strange way.

I wonder if that might have been preplanned in some way? With GM losing financially (among other companies), it might be that Hyundai somehow saw a financial mess in the making when it started 2 years ago.

[RHINESEL]

That is where the Genesis Coup and Tiburon come into play. The Elantra wasn't marketed for a single youngun.

Yeah, not many entry level youngsters getting into a Genesis Coupe. And isn't the Tib going away in 2009?

Even something like Ford's SVT program or Mazdaspeed type of setup would be a start.

Hell, just give a second engine choice and you'll have people jumping for joy.

[cobas]

Price numbers don't mean so much right now. My parents just got a "$19,520" MSRP '08 Tuscon for $16,500. Sure $2,000 of that was a factory rebate on outgoing '08 models, but the other $1000? They didn't even haggle. They want these cars gone because their sales are down 31% from last year. So if the Elantra SE currently MSRPs at $16,670, and the Touring is basically that and more, I'd believe MSRP $17,995 or something. But they'll tack on rebates and bring that down to $16,995 to start the negociation there.