2005 Hyundai Elantra Review (continued)
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Walkaround

Hyundai Elantra features smooth and unembellished styling with aerodynamics that help boost fuel economy and reduce wind noise. Recent styling revisions refined its looks.

From the front doors forward the sedan and hatchback are identical, featuring prominent twin trapezoid headlamps angled back in a black background. The headlamps were designed to cast a broad pattern of light, and they're complemented by a revised V-shaped grille with thick, horizontal bars. The grille is integrated with the bumper cover and does not lift with the hood. The front bumper has wider slats to improve airflow to the engine bay, and the foglamps are fitted more precisely.

Hyundai says it added the sedan in response to customer requests, but we prefer the more daring styling and increased carrying capacity of the hatchback. With its big hatch opening and split folding rear seat, the five-door is remarkably versatile for a car its size.

The five-door hatchback is distinct from the sedan starting at the rear-door B-pillar and moving rearward. The hatchback boasts a more expansive glass area, and its roof trails back into the rear hatch, fastback style, rather than dropping suddenly toward the trunk. The hatch ends with a small, body-colored spoiler lip above the taillights. The only unfortunate aspect of the rear styling is in the taillights, broken abruptly by the edges of the hatch lid, the lights look as if they've got duct tape over the middle. On the functional side, the taillights on all Elantras are sized for visibility, and the opening for the key is on the right (curb) side of the lid.

The Elantra stretches 102.7 inches in wheelbase, providing good leg room inside in both the front and back seats of both body styles. Headroom is also good both front and rear. Just as significantly, the engine is mounted with hydraulic attachments in a new front subframe, greatly reducing the amount of drivetrain vibration that reaches the cabin.

Interior Features

Often, inexpensive cars try to make up for their economy ambience with strange or garish interior design. In contrast, the Hyundai Elantra interior is subdued, clean and efficient. Our test car was finished in dark gray and basic black, and we found it quite appealing. There's very little hard plastic in the Elantra, and the soft stuff has a richer feel than we've been conditioned to expect in cars of this ilk. Even the center armrest is padded and covered with cloth or leather; most cars in this class have a hard plastic center armrest.

The front seats are terrific, offering precise adjustments. They are large and neither too soft nor too hard, providing adequate support without inflicting pain. The driver's seat adjusts for height both front and rear and both front seats have adjustable lumbar support. The front shoulder belts are height adjustable, a feature shorter people will appreciate.

The rear seats in the Elantra sedans are roomier and more comfortable than those in the Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, and Ford Focus sedans. Hyundai provides a combination lap/shoulder belt in the center position, whereas the class standard remains a lap belt only. With less than five feet of rear hip room, outboard rear passengers will be happier if the center spot is empty, but that's true in all compacts.

The gauge binnacle and control panel sweep in front of the driver and down toward the center console. The speedometer and tach have separate faces. The purplish backlighting in the GT makes them quite legible at night or in full mid-afternoon sunshine, but they're a bit further apart than we'd like.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning are adjusted with rotary controls, which are easier to use than the sliding type. The dials are set below the stereo, which is good because the stereo tends to be accessed more often. The dash vents feature separate controls.

Switches for the headlights, wipers, and cruise control are mounted on stalks, within easy reach. Remote releases for the trunk/hatch and fuel-door are standard. The window, side mirror and central locking controls are located in the driver's door panel. The hazard-light switch is located square in the center of dash, where it's easy to find. The overhead floodlamp is just above the windshield to the center of the car, providing good light distribution. A second power point is provided below the lighter. And a small, slide-out felt-lined storage bin is located below the driver's side vent.

The only gripe involves the stereo. The slick Kenwood system in our test car sounded fine, but the buttons on the faceplate are tiny. Moreover, we found the flashing, multi-color graphics annoying when driving at night.

We think the five-door hatchback is the most desirable body style. With the rear seat in place, the hatchback provides 26.6 cubic feet of cargo volume, more than double the space in the sedan's trunk (12.9 cubic feet). Fold the seat down, and the five-door offers a class-topping 37 cubic feet of stowage. It's remarkable what you can squeeze into the Elantra hatchback's cargo bay. We fit a dozen 10-foot pieces of wood molding and a couple of two-by-fours entirely inside the car, with the hatch closed. Then we did it again with plywood sheets cut to 40x70 inches, including the remnants. With the hatch tied partway open, the possibilities include full sheets of plywood or a 27-inch TV in its carton. That's impossible in a sedan. The security system allows the trunk or hatch to be unlocked with the key without disarming the alarm.