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Posted by: bikedad Jan 31 2010, 10:59 AM

The car is proving to be a good daily driver.
Gas mileage in the city is not quite up to what I expected but oh well. Highway mileage seems fairly good.
Power?! LOL. What power? But it is an automatic. Driven nicely it is very faithful and gets me from point A to point B. Don't expect any G Force, slam in the seat acceleration. You might even help acceleration if you lean forward.
Handling is acceptable but mushy. I've upgraded the springs to H&R which seemed to wake it up tremendously but it made the ride more harsh. Sometimes I want the soft ride back but I am getting old. (I might be putting the old stock springs back in and selling the H&Rs. Any interest out there?)

The fit and finish of the car is actually pretty nice. Yes the metal gauge and paint is not thick. But taken care of it doesn't show.

My 02 has just turned 90K miles and has had very little to no issues other than normal maintenance. Thermostat and hubs seemed to be the most major replacements that I was not expecting but having the ability to replace those parts myself kept that cost way down.
Having purchased my car used I only had the 60K mile warranty. It was still a great warranty. Most of the other items I've had problems with were done under that warranty.
Exhaust manifold with Cadillac converter (never could find the switch to make it convert LOL), Window tape, Headlights? (Wow), ECU reflashes all done under warranty.

The car has proven to be larger than it's size depicts. (I have the hatchback) folding the seats down has practically turned it into a truck bed.
I purchased an engine hoist from a store. The box was very large and very heavy. I pulled up with the Elantra and the guy doing the loading said "There's no way we can get this box in that car!" (I had called ahead and asked for the measurements of the box)
I folded the seats down, had him pull the forklift right up to the hatch and pushed it in. It fit right in perfectly and I closed the hatch. The guy shook his head and said "Damn! It fits!" (I had to assemble the hoist from the back of the car because I couldn't lift the box out but had planned on that anyhow)

I'm very happy with the amenities of my car. Power steering, power windows, power sunroof, indigo dash lights (GT), leather seats (not the greatest in winter though) nice stereo, traction control and a few other options. Great stuff for a cheap car.

So, yes I'm happy with my daily driver. It's been a great, reliable and affordable car.
Would I consider another one? Very possibly. I like the new touring model but I don't see my car going away anytime soon.
I paid cash for my car so I don't have a car payment. I really don't want a car payment so it doesn't look like I'll be in the market for quite awhile.