When I drove the 2003 Tiburonit totally changed my view of Hyundai. Maybe it is capable of producing a tastefully styled car for the enthusiast after all, and not just good values for the average undemanding driver. Since my personal needs run toward something with at least four doors, I took an Elantra GT for a spin. Another Hyundai suited for picky enthusiasts?

Hyundai Elantra Reliability

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Styling

The Elantra sedan was restyled for the 2001, and then received a GT badged hatchback variant last year. For 2003 the sedan will also be available in GT trim. I drove a 2003 GT hatchback.

The front end of either Elantra is tastefully stylish, bold without being gauche. When the 2001 first appeared I remember doing a few double takes every time I saw this front end. The styling holds up less and less well as your eye travels rearward. The basic theme is okay, with a Mercedes-like shoulder below the beltline. But the upright greenhouse (window area) and flat-sided, squared off rear pillars suggest ‘econobox.’ (The cheaper, smaller Accentsuffers from similar styling features.) The spirit of Hyundais of yore seems to live on in these elements. Especially in the hatchback model I see shades of Pony (an antiquated 1980s model sold in Canada but denied Americans). The rear end of the hatchback has a rounded, bulbous shape that clashes with the chiseled styling of the rest of the car. The optional spoiler disguises this somewhat.

The GT has standard 15" alloy wheels. Even though this isn’t a large car, the bodysides are fairly tall, so 15s look far too small for a car with performance pretensions. Competitors tend to have 16s or even 17s these days. The wheel design is a bit blah. It somehow makes the wheels look even smaller than they are.

Inside the Elantra suffers terribly from comparison with the Tiburon. I came out of the Tiburon feeling that Hyundai could succeed where others failed, putting an interior that exudes quality into an under $20,000 car. It seems they haven’t yet figured out how to do this with a sub-$16,000 car. Yes, the GT has standard leather. But standard leather cannot compensate for lines and surfaces that exude 'subcompact econobox.' While few of the pieces look downright cheap, they seem overly utilitarian. Compare the HVAC controls in the Tiburon and Elantra, and you’ll see what I mean. Little is downright ugly; only the instrument graphics leap to mind here. Supposedly they have a stylish purple glow at night. I didn’t see them at night. During the day the wide grayish bands around each dial are not attractive. Reinforcing the overall impression of economy, the doors have a light feel to them and sound tinny when shut. At over 2600 lbs. the Elantra is a bit heavy for its class, but this heft isn’t in the doors.

I imagine that the Elantra’s interior compares reasonably well with most other cars in its class. The problem was, the Tiburon raised my expectations only have the Elantra bring them back down to earth.

Accommodations

The front seats are the best feature of the Elantra’s interior. In the standard leather they look good, much better than the rest of the interior. They aren’t too bad to sit in, either. As in the Accent, manual height adjustment is standard. The front and rear seat height can be individually adjusted, so the seat’s tilt can be adjusted as well. All cars should have this feature. Sadly, these seats are not as well-bolstered as the outstanding seats in the Tiburon. But do they need to be? That’s for the next section.

The rear seat is compact and too close to the floor to provide thigh support. A couple of moderately sized adults can sit back there for an hour or two, but they won’t be very comfortable. Shoulder room is a bit tight for three, but if they have to they’ll fit.

Much more impressive than the rear seat is the cargo area. Even with the seats up there’s more room back there than in the trunks of all but a few sedans. Fold the rear seats and get another ten cubic feet.

On the Road

Once underway it quickly becomes apparent that the Elantra GT is more Escort GT than, well, I guess there aren’t any premium cars with a GT trim line. I guess that should have told me something. The Elantra GT is little more than a standard compact with a lot of standard content. The four cylinder makes a decent amount of power, but the sounds and sensations it exudes are not from a more expensive class of car. A heavy foot provoked a moderate amount of torque steer. The shifter was not designed for serious drivers. It is light in effort--some people like this in a shifter, but I don’t--and has very long throws. It’s not a bad shifter, it’s just your standard economy car shifter.

At least the last Escort GT handled well. The Elantra GT’s handling continued the economy car theme. ‘Sport suspension’ or not (and I think ‘not’ despite the line on the window sticker), substantial lean was present even in moderately hard turns. I expect a much stiffer suspension with a GT-badged car, especially one that supposedly has a ‘sport suspension.’ The steering recalled that of Civics and Sentras I’ve driven in the distant past. It was fairly light in effort and provided a decent amount of feedback, but lacked those subtle sensations that make some cars feel more substantial than they are. Considering the Elantra’s weight, it actually feels less substantial than it is.

Despite the overly soft suspension, the ride is not great. Again, I was reminded of Japanese subcompacts of decades past. Nothing really bad, but nothing transcendent either. Road imperfections are heard and felt. The ride isn’t harsh, but it is a bit on the busy side. On the highway both wind and road noise are prominent. The seats might be swathed in leather, but this is no luxury car.

Warranty

By now just about everyone knows that Hyundai’s standard warranty is 5/60 on the whole car and 10/100 on the powertrain. Does quite a bit to dispel reliability concerns with Korean products.

Price

For quick, up-to-date new car pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.

With the window sticker the Elantra GT partially redeems itself. Even with an $1,175 package that includes a sunroof, anti-lock brakes, and traction control, the sticker stays under $16,000. $15,819 to be precise. Edmunds suggests that the typical dealer discount brings this to around $15,100.

A 2003 Ford Focus ZX5 loaded with similar content runs $18,560, $17,500 after the typical dealer discount and $500 rebate. The Focus is a better car in many ways, but $2,400 is a serious amount of money. (The only Focus I have reviewed is the highly-tuned SVT.)

A 2003 Mazda Protege5 similarly equipped runs $18,750, $17,700 after dealer discount. See Focus comments--they apply here as well. My sense based on driving the Focus SVT and reviews I've read elsewhere is that both the Focus (non-SVT) and Protege5 handle better than the Elantra, and feel more expensive. (I hope to drive both in the near future to confirm this.) It’s up to the individual buyer to decide what these characteristics are worth. Me, I’d spend the extra money.

Last Words

GT here should not be read ‘performance.’ Rather, in Hyundai-speak it must mean ‘lots of standard stuff.’ Think of the Elantra GT as a practical compact with leather, and you’ll be satisfied. Expect the sophistication and sporty moves GT once implied (long ago now, but once), and you’ll be disappointed. If you’re in the former camp, add a star (maybe even two if low price is especially important) and accept my recommendation. But count me in the latter camp.

Especially after driving the Tiburon, I expect more from a Hyundai with the GT moniker. I told the salesman that if Hyundai made a Sonata-sized four-door with the style and performance of the Tiburon, I'd buy it, even if they had to charge $25,000. Hyundai might not be happy with my rating, but they have only themselves to blame. On the positive side, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the next generation Elantra measured up to my expectations. This company is improving, and quickly.

To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, or to perform thorough up-to-date new car price comparisons, visit www.truedelta.com. A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Amount Paid (US$): 15,819
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: GT 5-door with ABS and sunroof