Preview drive: 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
Thursday October 23, 2008
Today I got a pleasant surprise: An opportunity to drive Hyundai's upcoming 2009 Elantra Touring. Despite sharing its name and its engine with the Elantra sedan, the Elantra Touring is actually based on a car that Hyundai sells in Europe called the i30. The Elantra Touring is due to hit dealerships in December. So what's it like? Find out in my 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring preview drive. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Comments
All I can say is wow. The mileage is a little low for my liking but the rest of the car seems like a good choice.
The key will be the price.
Could be a real winner.
Yay another article gushing over ESC! I realize you love it, you dream about it at night, etc. But honestly thats next to the last thing I look at when I look at new cars.
Aaron:
I read your review of the Hyundai above And as good a short review of this “low cost” box as it was I wonder why the enthusiasm for a car Manufacturer that perennially lives in the TOP 5 of the Worst Valued cars in the US ?
After many years of improvements and millions of dollars spent on (damage control) advertising the car still conjures a response of “my god dear it’s a Hyundai” why are you looking at that!!
Hows the 2009 porsche-ah review coming ?
Not being a Hyundai fan myself, I must defend Aaron on this one. Look around you, Allen. The freeways are full of Hyundais(at least in Califoria). They are as commonplace as any major marque out there. Yes it’s true that their resale is poor compared to Toyota or Honda, but it’s comparable to Chrysler. The sheer volume of units out there gives them credibility for tough, comprehensive scrutiny. Like it or not, they are a BIG player…and getting bigger, as the middle class disappears.
Hawaiian don,
News flash the American middle class is not fading away any time soon. Who else would pay the bills. They are just reorganizing thier buying habits a little and looking for the best VALUE for there dollar. Remember you have to get rid of that box when you look for another one so why not buy one with good trade in value and not put yourself in negative territory from the start??
The buying public does have choices in this market so why get so excited over the worst one???
That is the biggest knock I hear against the Hyundai/Kia cars all the time is resale. Chew on this about resale. My parents both purchased new cars in 1998 and traded them in 2 years ago. My mother purchased a Honda accord EX 4cyl leather auto for a price of around $26,000. My father purchased a Hyundai Sonata 4cyl auto leather for a price $16,500. They ran them for the next 7-8 years and traded them in at roughly the same time with 106,000 and 102,000 mi on each. My mother received $6500 for her trade in my Father received $3400 for his. Based on that alone my mother spent $6100 more for her car even though her car’s resale was almost twice my fathers. Her honda had several electrical issues along the way, insurance was also much more due to theft where as my father just maintained his car and had no issues other than regular wear and tear. Resale only matters if you only keep your car for 2 or 3 years which is foolish if you are worried about money because these are your years of biggest loss. I have recently (past 5 years) purchased used Kia’s 1 year old low miles and got them dirt cheap. I have had no issues and still have alot of warranty. Buy smart look at how long you will keep it and what your outcomes will be. Remember very few cars are investments, they are expenses and I choose to minimize my expense based upon math not emotion or brand name..
Allen:
Re: 911 — patience, my man!
Re: Resale values — From what I understand, the Hyundai Genesis actually has excellent residuals, better than many Japanese and German luxury cars. I think it’s just a matter of time before the market begins to recognize that Hyundais are underrated when it comes to used values. In any case, resale matters most for those who a) plan to keep the car for a short amount of time (the margin between 10-year-old Hondas and Hyundais is much thinner than the difference between 2-year old Hondas and Hyundais) and b) have a sure-fire way to recoup that value when it comes time to sell the car (which usually means selling privately — a cunning dealer can tell you he’s giving you any amount for the trade-in he wants, but can find other ways to recover some of that money elsewhere in the deal).
For buyers who are most concerned about keeping payments low in the short term, initial price is most likely a bigger concern than resale value, and that’s where Hyundais excel. (Pun intended.) Besides that, if the product is good, isn’t that worth something to the buyer? So far, I don’t see a Honda that can do what the Elantra Touring does. — Aaron
You are very right Brad;
If you are a value shopper and plan to keep the car till it drops by all means go for the best very lightly used car with the best warranty and be happy.
I just bought a new 2009 Mitishibi Lancer GTS for my daughters wedding present because she needed a new car with good warranty (10yr) and something with style and power.
I did my research and and we settled on the lancer GTS, something she would live with at least 5 years. I was not worried about resale in this case because of the lower price and how long she will keep it.
As for me I tend to look at all things with and eye for resale value as I have never kept a new car over 2 yrs or one with more than 20K miles on it. Yes I know I spend a lot of extra $$ on cars this way but cars, fast cars have always been my hobby and passion.
I’m curious to see how the Elantra Touring compares to the Kia Rondo. The Spectra and the Elantra are supposed to be the same car, basically, aren’t they?
Allen, if you look at the other topics on this current blog site, you’ll find that my current blog rips the Kia Rondo for one big reason:RESALE VALUE! Aaron can probably pull up at least a half dozen recent blogs of mine that constantly harp on resale values. I appreciate that issue more clearly than most, seeing as I’ve been in Internet and direct auto sales for years. If you want to dump on a company for this reason, I recommend that you pick on Kia, Suzuki, Hummer, Daewoo, Land Rover and a few other resale stinkers. I suggest you get an Edmund’s Used Car Prices book and compare the % depreciation of a new vs. 3 year old car of every make. You’ll find Porsche is at or near the top and Hyundai is in the middle. You can also go on line and do the same with KBB.com, though it’s pretty tedious.
As to the Middle Class disappearing, that depends on who wins the election. In 3 debates the old guy didn’t even acknowledge them once…I guess by his reconing, the Middle Class is already gone!!!!
Well, well Don Hoe I think you need to reign that tone in a bit. This is not your personal site, unless your suito name is Aaron Gold !!
We are all entitled to our opinion buddy and by the way this is not a political site so keep your election ideas to your self…
As far as my dumping on Hyundai, that was the company being reviewed ? So if you want me to dump on other junk boxes thats no problem for me to do either. KIA Rondo is a disposable car at best.
My dislike for “cheap” box cars is universal not based on manufactor or country but
I like “Quality”, well made fast cars with style and price does not enter into the equation till the end. If a car is in that class then the resale value in the short term is in the acceptable range for me.
I have a 335BMW coupe and a G37-S Infiniti coupe both have all the above qualities.
Jimmy: Elantra Touring and Kia Rondo are two very different vehicles. The Elantra significantly smaller than the Rondo; it’s based on a compact platform (a distant relative of the Elantra) while the Rondo is, I believe, based on a mid-size platform (presumably Sonata/Optima) and is closer in size to a small minivan or an SUV. The Elantra Touring is similar in size to a Mazda3, and from the side looks a bit like an elongated Honda Fit.
Allen, Don: Play nice, boys!
And to those waiting: 09 911 review will be up on Monday. — Aaron
I think that the Elantra Touring is more of a station wagon than a hatchback. The only real alternatives are the Suzuki Forenza (a really mediocre and disappointing car) and the Volkswagen Jetta (a good car but horribly over-priced).
I really don’t think conventional automobiles really need ESC (pickup trucks, vans and SUVs do), but since there really aren’t any good alternatives out there, I would certainly consider buying an Elantra Touring.
Oh my. Such passion! Both Maui Don and Allen both make relevant points in some respects. However, stepping back from it all you have to remember that ANY brand automobile is basically a terrible purchase with a poor return versus the use and time you actually get out of it when compared it to other investments. It all boils down to what a specific consumer can afford to spend (AND lose). Many may not be able to afford to buy premium marques such as a Bimmer or Lexus, nor would they fit their individual needs. And, regardless of their tastes, many consumers don’t have the luxury of being able to scorn specific brands because it’s not a ‘quality, well made fast car with style’. They need inexpensive transportation to get to work, the grocery store, and Little Jimmy to school. Though a premium marque may ‘retain more of it’s value’ because the percentage of depreciation is less, that amount of depreciation is still usually much larger due to the significantly higher initial cost of the vehicle. The dollar amount the premium car buyer may percieve as an acceptable loss at trade because it’s only XX percent of purchase price may be almost as much as the average Joe was going to spend initially on their vehicle purchase to start with… Did you say something about rope, Don? Did I willingly put the noose around my neck already? I’m just offering a different perspective on things, not trying to be inflammatory.
Good stuff Sean. I wish the wall street clan had your business acumen. I also love how a lot of salesmen toss around the word “investment” when it comes to a car purchase. 99% of car “investments”, as you so adroitly pointed out are put into a “depreciating asset”. I don’t think any “investor” plans on doing that. As to the rope…you get a gold star for Fiscal Policy!
25 years ago, Hyundai was in the personal computer business. No kidding. I bought one. I quickly learned that this was a grotesque mistake due to its poor quality and unreliability. One of the happiest days of my life was when I gleefully heaved the POS into the solid waste transfer station. (This was before we learned about proper PC disposal.) I swore right then and there that I would never buy another anything with a Hyundai name on it. I meant it then and I still mean it.
I know that connecting my experience with the computer to their current cars may be neither rational nor fair. So I’m not rational or fair on this one. Tough.
“So I’m not rational or fair on this one.”
You’ll miss plenty of opportunities that way. Then again, it’s irrational people who cause others so many problems.