I have a 2004 Elantra. I’m really bad about taking care of my cars. Embarrassingly so. The major problem I’ve has was replacing the radiator about 5 months ago. Would definitely get another.
Mine is surprisingly good. But that was 2004.
I called my 2005 Elantra a Flinstone car because you could practically hear the road underneath the flimsy floorboards. While I still don’t love the way the 2007 Sonata drives, it’s a world apart in terms of quality, fit, finish, handling, road noise, etc. I can only imagine that the newest iterations are very nice and the quality even better. But since most people on this board advocate buying “new-used” cars, I wanted to make people aware that a 2005 Elantra is not in the same ballpark as a 2005 Corolla.
In the last year I bought a 2011 Sonata and my brother and his wife bought two 2010 Elantras. We seem to be sold on them.
I test drove the Elantra Touring and the Sonata - both were fine cars. I’d consider strongly the Elantra Touring as an option - it handled great and the hatch cargo area was huge.
Husband just got a “new” 2008 Accent - great sporty car, no troubles, fantastic warranty.
He used to have a 1999 Elantra, which ended up at about 160K miles - we spent maybe $1000 in repairs over that time.
We also once rented a Santa Fe for a vacation - great car, rode well, and had lots of character.
Highly recommend.
I had a 2004 Elantra. Loved that car. It got totaled when an idiot ran a red light in front of me.
It handled great, never had any problems with it. The fit an finish were fine. It was a quite ride and it basically an awesome car for the money. At the time I bought it, it was ~1/3’rd cheaper than an equivalent Toyota.
I had planned on trading it in on another Hyundai. The accident changed that plan.
Slee
No direct experience, but one of my friends has an older Elantra which he quite likes. From what I’ve read, the new Elantra is very good, on a par with the new Sonata, just smaller.
I can’t recommend the Tuscon enough, except that it’s a lot harder on the gas pump than our Elantra was. Coming from a Ranger though you might not notice. We got a 2011 with every single available option and it was less than $25k out the door which is nuts for a crossover. Plus it was designed by Audi, so it’s sharper than a new suit too. The cargo area in the back is huge especially with the rear seats down.
On my second Elantra, a 2009.
I tested almost every car in its class when I bought the 2009 and for my needs it won the competition very easily. It is also a substantially better than than my previous Elantra, so they might be better than they used to be.
On the con side, to get that out of the way, it’s an economy car. The ride’s smooth enough but it’s not a luxury ride by any means.
On the pro, everythng else. For money-for-features ratio was the best in the class, it has the most interior room (great for a guy like me - I’m over six feet tall) and I’ve had few problems with it, and the warranty’s sensational anyway.
It does, however, depends on what you want and how much money you wanna spend. If you wanted a nicer ride and were willing to spend more money but stay in the compact class, you might prefer a Mazda 3; for me that wasn’t the right choice because it’s pricier and just wasn’t as roomy, aspecially in the back seat (I have a little girl.)
Test 'em all, I says. But in terms of quality it’s a good car.
My ex wife bought a used Hyundai in the early '90s.
On that experience I personally wish pestillence on all things related to Hyundai.
That said I recognize they are much improved and my thoughts should be disregarded.
But I hate them anyway.
So my logical side says go for it. Good luck.
I drive a 2006 Accent. Sure, it’s small, but if you’re only driving yourself from work to home and back, space isn’t an issue. I’ve gone on 350-mile trips with it. It’s pretty smooth driving–provided that you aren’t going through a couple inches of snow.
If you keep up with the maintenance, it should be fine.
I had a '99 Elantra that ran great. It was a little noisy, but otherwise I have no complaints. Peppy enough for a car of its size, comfortable . . . I took it on some road trips to Toronto and back with no concerns. If I hadn’t totaled it I might still be driving it!
The Tucson was designed in-house, though the designer previously worked for BMW.
I have a 2008 Elantra that I’m very happy with. It’s got almost 46,000 miles on it and I get 32 mpg in warmer weather. The paint still looks good, even though I’ve never had it polished, and it still drives well. I did replace the crappy tires it came with with Michelin Primacy MXV4s, which helped out immensely with handling in the snow. It’s not quite as sporty as the Mazda 3 we used to have, but it’s close. I hear the new 2011 Elantra is even better.
Older Hyundais I have heard are cheap and crappy, but in the last 10 years they’ve been really really good. I bought my Lola, 2004 Accent, in 2006 and she has been a very good girl. Tires, oil changes, a little problem with a transmission sensor, and one other goofy little problem, all together has prolly cost me less than $1k. Would totally buy another Hyundai when the time comes.
Incidentally, I quite agree with the sentiment that the difference between an Accent and an Elantra is huge in terms of quality, and yet if they have the same options you don’t actually save a whole lot of dough with the Accent. I think the Elantra is by far the better buy.
I just wanted to update this.
The stereo display does dim when the headlights are turned on, just not enough for my liking. Hey, I know it’s not a huge deal, just a minor annoyance for me when driving in rural areas in complete darkness, like this time of year. I’m thinking of putting a piece of translucent tape or something over it: problem solved.
I have 98k on my 05 Tiburon and have had no problems of note. It’s Hyundai’s “sports” car, and for it’s price it’s fairly nimble and quick. Don’t feel as secure as I did in my 99 Subaru Impreza Outback though. FWD is no match for AWD. The fit and finish could be better too, just minor cosmetic stuff, but annoying. Still, no repair bills other than scheduled maintenance and wear items.
I have a 2008 Elantra. I test-drove pretty much every economy car on the market, and liked it best. It’s a good ride, responsive to both gas and brake, comfortable (I’m tall for a woman and seriously obese), has numerous well-designed storage compartments for drinks, sunglasses, etc. It’s mostly been a joy.
The one problem I’ve had is probably specific to me. I walk to work and mostly use the car for longer trips, i.e. 1-4 hour drives, so the car can be sitting for weeks at a time. The last time I took it in for an oil change, they said that I had water in the brake fluid and it needed to be changed out, but apparently that’s a problem that occurs with any car that sits unused for long periods (when you use it, the brake fluid heats up and dries out).