How much do I like this car? My wife and I are very seriously considering buying an Elantra Touring. Since I first drove one in May 2009, I’ve held up this model as a car I would actually and could conceivably buy. A long Fourth of July weekend living with this test car only reinforced that opinion. Given our circumstances, the Elantra Touring pretty much fits our needs perfectly.
In its relatively small footprint, this Hyundai wagon offers lots of cargo space, tons of back-seat space and comfortable front quarters. Not only is it spacious and versatile, though, it also offers impressive driving characteristics, with nice chassis balance, surprising grip, responsive steering, and a manual gearbox that’s fun to operate. I love the fact that you get heated leather seats and a sunroof for a shade over $20,000. I would add only Bluetooth and cargo-management stuff to my own Elantra Touring, and it would still sticker for less than $21,000.
I averaged an indicated 28 mpg over 300 or so far-from-easy holiday-weekend miles. The trunk held our kids’ tandem double stroller and, on a separate occasion, an ExerSaucer with room to spare for diaper bags and other items shoved in along one side.
On the downside, the door armrests could use more padding, the interior is outdated, and the ride can be harsh at times, but those were the only things that occasionally reminded me that I was driving a $20K car. What I most dislike about the Elantra Touring is its styling, which looks a little frumpy in my opinion, but my wife likes it and I don’t hate it, so we might be headed to a Hyundai dealer fairly soon. I will, however, make sure that we look into a few other options as well, namely the Mazda 5 (although the Mazda 5 isn’t available with kid-friendly leather upholstery and a stick). Perhaps I’ll see if a Jeep Patriot, a Suzuki Kizashi, or a Ford Focus hatchback will hold that big stroller. I’m pretty confident that we’ve already found a winner in the Elantra Touring, though.