2017 Hyundai Elantra Pros and Cons: Why (Not) This Car?

	Compared to the Sentra
Warranty, maintenance cost	Better Worse

TrueDelta's review format isn't kind to cars that are good in many ways, but great in none. Compare such cars to the best attribute by attribute, and there are no clear reasons to buy them. Perhaps the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? That'll have to wait for the conclusion.

For now, what matters is that you won't find "handling" in the why-to-buy list. The Elantra Sport handles with more poise, precision, and agility than any other previous compact from a Korean car maker, including the Kia Forte SX. It also handles better than the softer, less balanced, and less communicative Nissan Sentra SR Turbo. Quicker steering helps. But it doesn't quite perform as well as or feel as good as a VW GTI or even a 184-horsepower Mazda3. Closer than any other Korean compact to date, but not quite there.

You also won't find performance among the why-to-buys. The Hyundai's engine feels significantly stronger than the Nissan's, and strong enough to have some fun, but it can't deliver thrills the way the larger, more powerful engines in the VW, Ford, and Subaru can. Though less potent on the spec sheet, a Mazda3 with a non-turbocharged 2.5-liter engine is about as quick. Again, good, but not great.

As is the feel of the manual shifter. A seven-speed automated dual-clutch transmission is available, but based on how this transmission behaved in other Hyundais and Kias I've reviewed--not always smooth, rarely responsive--I don't recommend it unless you refuse to operate a clutch.

Keep going like this, and what do we end up with? Well, the long standard warranty that brought Hyundai back from nearly dead in North America. This warranty runs 5/60 on nearly the entire car and 10/100 (for the first owner) on the powertrain. You'll enjoy the same warranty on a Kia Forte. But others, including the Nissan, tend to have three-year basic warranties and five-year powertrain warranties.

A caveat: Hyundai and Kia tend to be especially strict when determining what their warranties do not cover--read the fine print.

Price or payments

Better Worse

Hyundai has been relying on low prices to sell cars for even longer than its 10/100 warranty. But as its cars have gotten better, their prices have crept out of the bargain basement. The Elantra Sport starts at $22,610 (if you want floor mats), and lists for $25,010 if you add the Premium Package (sunroof, navigation system, 315-watt Infinity audio system, automatic climate control, and blind spot warning system). As such, it's 445 to 665 dollars less than the Nissan Sentra SR Turbo. A difference, but not a large enough difference to sway a buying decision unless the cars are close in every other way.

The Elantra Sport also undercuts the Mazda3 2.5 by $570 when both are similarly loaded up. But there are quite a few features offered on the Mazda that aren't offered on the Hyundai, including a automatic emergency braking, steering-linked LED headlights, a head-up display (HUD), a power driver seat, a heated steering wheel, and rain-sensing wipers. Adjust for these, and the Mazda undercuts the Hyundai by about $500. Want no options other than floor mats? Then the Hyundai does start $1,370 lower, but includes about $2,300 less stuff. Unless you personally value the additional content at less than 50 cents on the dollar, the Mazda becomes the better value.

You can't directly compare the Hyundai Elantra Sport to the Kia Forte SX, because the former is only offered as a sedan while the latter is only offered as a four-door "Forte5" hatchback. Also, Kia only offers a manual transmission in its car if you also spring for the $3,600 Premium Tech Package. End result: a starting price over $4,000 higher than the Elantra Sport's. But adjust for the Kia's additional content and in value terms they're a wash--if you personally value the Kia's additional features.

Only against the Volkswagen Jetta GLI does the Elantra Sport have a large price advantage, a nearly $4,000 difference. Even with its much higher price, you cannot get leather seating surfaces on the Jetta GLI. They're standard on the Elantra Sport.

This reminds me of the first sporty Elantra I ever tested, the 2003 Elantra GT. After driving that car I concluded that "GT" must mean leather in Korean, because that car didn't handle significantly better than the regular 2003 Elantra (and thus not well). In 2003 as in 2017, leather was standard on the sporty Elantra.

In general, compact sedans haven't been selling well. Before concluding that the Hyundai Elantra Sport's sticker price isn't compelling, check what dealers are actually willing to sell the car for. Dealers in my area often offer Elantras for well below MSRP.

I'm less familiar with the discounts available on the Sentra. But, judging from how many of this mediocre car Nissan manages to sell, I suspect they're also large.

	Compared to the Sentra
Interior styling	Better Worse

Now for the reasons not to buy a 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport.

When the Elantra was last fully redesigned, for the 2011 model year, Hyundai was pushing the limits of mass-market car design. Its new cars were swoopier and curvier than anyone else's. They stood out from the crowd, and partly for this reason Americans bought more of them.

But, back home in Korea, the futuristic styling didn't play as well. Also, now that car buyers had become more aware of Hyundai's cars and of how good they had become, there seemed less need to have them stand out aesthetically. (Or so some influential executives argued.) When the time came to redesign the midsize Sonata for the 2015 model year, the Korean HQ opted for much more conservative styling. Perhaps because the new Sonata didn't sell as well in the United States, when the time came to redesign the Elantra they didn't tone down its exterior as much, but they did still tone it down. The new exterior does appear more sophisticated, but it doesn't stand out as much. Few people will be turned off by it, but it's also hard to see anyone buying the Elantra Sport because they love how it looks.

Plenty of people will avoid buying the Sentra because of how it looks. I see what they were trying to do by including lines similar to those on the larger Altima, but the curves don't work with the sedan's tall and narrow proportions. It's trying too hard to appear to be more than what it is. Even if the Sentra could pull this look off it would appear stodgy. The new Elantra appears much more current, and more athletic as well.

Inside the Elantra's new styling has a more negative impact. There's little in the way of artful lines. If not for the red stitching and well-bolstered leather seats added by the Sport treatment, the new car's interior would appear generic, even plain. Worse, many of the surfaces, and especially the door panels, are too obviously hard plastic. A Mazda seems much nicer inside. While the Sentra's interior isn't anything special, at least its designers attempted to include a little style.

This said, the Elantra at least feels solid. In comparison, the Nissan Sentra's interior appears even cheaper and feels flimsy (especially the door pulls). And the Nissan's exterior? Burdened by tall-and-narrow proportions, it's just ugly.

Ride smoothness

Better Worse

The Elantra Sport's B+ handling comes at the expense of a B- ride. While the Elantra Sport never seemed uncomfortable, imperfect road surfaces induce many small vertical motions. Only on smooth roads does the car feel settled. The Nissan Sentra SR, with a more absorbant suspension, manages a small win here.

Fuel economy

Better Worse

Hyundai has been among those manucturers offering turbocharged engines in "eco" variants of its cars. But as tuned for the Elantra Sport, the corporate 1.6T engine doesn't score well in the EPA's tests: 22 mpg city, 30 mpg highway. You'll find similar numbers on the window sticker of a Nissan sedan--if that Nissan sedan happens to be the 300-horsepower Maxima. The Sentra SR Turbo scores considerably better, especially in city driving: 26/32.

I've unfairly implied the 1.6T engine is to blame. Hitch this engine to the seven-speed DCT instead of the six-speed manual, and it rates much better, about the same as a Sentra SR Turbo with its optional CVT, 26/33 vs. 27/33.

Does the Elantra Sport manual's real-world fuel economy differ as much as the EPA ratings suggest? Or does it suffer from test anxiety? I suspect the latter. In my suburban driving with economy-minded acceleration and braking the trip computer reported an average of 37 mpg (with an occasional 40).

	Compared to the Sentra
Driving position & visibility	Better Worse

The moment you sit down in each car, the Hyundai Elantra has already won. You sit oddly high in the Sentra. While many people like to sit high--hence the popularity of crossovers--it just doesn't feel right (and far from sporty) in the compact Nissan sedan. You sit much lower--but not too low--in the Elantra. The Sentra feels like a small, cheap econo-car from the driver seat, while the Elantra seems much like a conventional midsize sedan, just a bit smaller.

Front seat support & comfort

Better Worse

It does not help that you sit on top of rather than in the Nissan Sentra SR's driver seat, which is so flat and firm that I found it downright uncomfortable. The Elantra Sport's front seats are both far more supportive in turns and far more comfortable all of the time. Aside from having only a minimal number of manual adjustments, they're excellent seats.

You can get better seats in the Sentra by stepping up to the NISMO variant, but it's more expensive, cannot be ordered with leather, and good luck finding a dealer with one on the lot. Also, it shares most of the Sentra SR's weaknesses.

Rear seat room & comfort

Better Worse

The downside of the Elantra's more conventional seating height is less rear legroom than in the Sentra, but still a decent amount compared to the average compact. Though the rear seat cushion is too low to provide good thigh support, rear headroom is more limited than rear legroom.