Hyundai Elantra challenging Honda, Toyota, Nissan

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A decade ago, I wrote several columns urging readers to take seriously Hyundai Motor, Korea’s largest automobile manufacturer.

I was impressed by the willingness of the company to adapt, and by the speed with which it shifted gears to meet the changing realities of the marketplace.

It is a story now turned cliche: The Hyundai that entered the United States with motorized junk in 1985 — the Excel subcompact — is now a bona fide competitor in the global automobile industry.

Even high-end companies, such as Germany’s BMW, are looking in their rear-view mirrors, checking the Korean manufacturer’s rapid progress with models such as the high-quality, high-performance Hyundai Genesis sedan and coupe.

But the Genesis models don’t pose the biggest threat to Hyundai’s rivals. That, instead, comes with models such as the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring.

Hyundai’s strategy in the family car category is as simple as it is complicated: The Korean company wants to beat its top Japanese rivals — Honda, Nissan and Toyota — by offering better products at a lower price.

“Better,” as illustrated by the Elantra Touring, means giving people much more car than they expect for the money.

The subject vehicle, for example, is a five-door compact hatchback wagon. You expect a certain amount of utility in that kind of vehicle. But you don’t expect cargo space — a maximum 65 cubic feet with the rear seats folded — that matches the room found in many mid-sized sport-utility models.

You expect a manual transmission as standard equipment. But you don’t expect a short-throw, five-speed manual gearbox that shifts with the precision of something found in a vehicle set up for weekend track racing. You certainly don’t expect a car that is loads of fun to drive. But that is what you get in the Elantra Touring, a car that offers so much for the money, it makes you suspicious.

You start trying to figure out where Hyundai has cut corners.

I thought I had found it in the suspension work, which did not seem to fare terribly well over potholed and pock-marked city streets. But now I’m not so sure.

I drove two versions of the Elantra Touring — one with manual transmission and 16-inch radial tires and the other with automatic transmission and 17-inch radials. The model with the bigger tires felt more stable over roads bad and good. It was absent the sometimes irritating choppiness I felt in the car with the smaller tires.

Check out standard equipment. Hyundai offers four-wheel disc brakes (ventilated front/solid rear), antilock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution (which automatically increases brake force to the wheels that need it most) and electronic stability and traction control. Also included are side and head air bags — all in a car with a base price well below of $20,000. That’s a bargain!

Interior materials weren’t the best in the world — a bountiful helping of bargain-priced vinyl there. But everything appeared stitched and assembled perfectly, as good if not better than anything found in a Honda, Nissan or Toyota — for several hundred to a couple of thousand of dollars less.

With an in-line four-cylinder, 138-horsepower engine, there’s more than adequate power for most commuter transportation needs. Fuel economy is good at 23 miles per gallon in the city, 31 on the highway.

On top of it all, Hyundai has given car sales a slight boost in a dreadfully dismal market with its Hyundai Assurance Plus program, designed to relieve consumer anxiety by promising to take over car payments within the first year of a vehicle purchase for buyers who lose jobs through no fault of their own.

Could it be that Hyundai, once the laughingstock of the car world, will be the company that leads the automobile industry out of recession?

2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring

Engine/transmission: 2-liter, 16-valve, in-line four-cylinder engine with 138 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 136 foot-pounds of torque at 4,600 rpm.

Transmission: Five-speed manual transmission, four-speed automatic is optional.

Capacities: Seats five. Fold-down rear seats.

Mileage: Averaged 30 miles per gallon, highway driving.

Safety: Standard are four-wheel disc brakes with antilock control, electronic brake-force distribution, also electronic stability and traction control, and side and head air bags.

Price: The base price on the Elantra Touring is $17,800. Dealer’s invoice price is $17,071. Price as tested is $19,995, including $1,500 in options (heated front seats, power glass roof, 17-inch tires) and a $695 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $19,131.

By Warren Brown
Washington Post

2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring Review

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Can an automaker come back from the dead? This is not a rhetorical question, as some of the biggest names in the industry are currently up against the wall. They could learn a lesson or three from Hyundai.

When Hyundais were first imported here from Korea in the mid-1980s, their main attraction was price. Or lack of same. They were cheap, in all senses of the word, especially the most pejorative. Quality was not good. But rather than make excuses, or abandon the American marketplace, Hyundai learned from its errors and improved its product quality. Considerably. Hyundai’s recovery was not an overnight success story. It took nearly twenty years. But now, while a Hyundai may still have an attractive price, it’s also as good as anything else in its class, if not better — and Hyundai competes directly with the Japanese automakers who are the standards for product quality.

It’s all about product.

Product like the Elantra Touring, an interesting alternative to the big names in the compact segment. Like some of its competitors with similar cars, Hyundai is positioning the 5-door hatch Touring as a sporty and slightly upscale alternative to the common compact sedan. Compared to the regular Elantra sedan, the Touring has a more sport-oriented suspension tuning, although it’s by no means race-ready stiff. Like the Elantra sedan, and unlike some big-name competitors, the Touring has four-wheel antilock discs as standard equipment; electronic stability control, a tire-pressure monitoring system, and full complement of airbags are also among its standard safety features. Air conditioning with cabin filtration and an audio system with XM satellite radio and both an auxiliary input jack and USB port are also standard fare. Power is from a 2.0-liter, 138-horsepower engine, matched to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

All of those standard features are very good, but “features” on top of a sub-standard package, as has too often been done, don’t make a good deal at all. No worries about that here. As I discovered during a pleasant week with an automatic Elantra Touring, it’s a solid, well-made, and versatile machine that seems to pack more interior than possible into a small, stylish exterior. Although its suspension is tuned more firmly than that of the sedan, and more “sporty” than “sport”, the Touring is fun to drive — and if driving to activities that involve bulky equipment is a need, the Touring is capable of swallowing bicycles, camping gear, climbing gear, fishing tackle, and similar things easily. Need space, like driving, dislike crossovers, and have a budget? Consider a Hyundai Elantra Touring.

APPEARANCE: With the Elantra Touring, Hyundai has opted for a tastefully European-inspired look that should age well. It is unashamedly a two-box hatchback, modified in profile by an aerodynamically-sloping roofline. At the front, bright triangular headlamps flank a decorative chrome-trimmed top grille that is integrated into the hood shape, with a larger trapezoidal opening below the bumper line doing the real air intake work. Chrome-trimmed pieces at the front corners add a bit of upscale flash — and are also easily-replaced protection from minor incidents. Alloy wheels and low-profile tires fill the wheel arches, and a strong upswept shoulder line and flowing sill line help give a toned, athletic look. The rear is dominated by vertical taillights that flank the hatch.

COMFORT: Inside, with the flowing lines of the instrument panel, and close position of the center stack, the Elantra Touring has the look of a more upscale car. A high level of standard equipment reinforces that impression. Materials and fit tolerances are very good. Yes, most everything’s synthetic, but no demerits for that in this class. Front seat comfort is very good, aided on the driver’s side by height-adjustability, unusual in the sub-$20,000 class. While the seats are manual, the windows, mirrors, and door locks are powered, with remote keyless entry standard. Headroom, both front and rear, will not be a problem. The rear seat has plenty of room for two passengers, with less in the center, as in most cars. A 60/40 split and the cargo access of a five-door hatchback make cargo duty a pleasure. There’s even some compartmented space for small items under the load floor, above the compact spare tire. Useful interior storage includes a dash-top covered box, an air-conditioned glove box (!), and a console box with auxiliary audio jack and USB port (and an optional iPod cable priced much more realistically than I’ve seen in some luxury cars). All four doors have bottle holders.

SAFETY: Elantra Touring passengers are surrounded by a strong, rigid unibody structure with an occupant protection cell around the passenger compartment, reinforced roof pillars, front and rear crush zones, dual front, front-seat side, and full-length head curtain airbags. Brakes are four-wheel antilock discs, and, unusually for the car’s modest price class, electronic stability control is standard equipment.

RIDE AND HANDLING: While the Touring’s fully-independent MacPherson strut/multi-link suspension is set up more firmly than that of the standard sedan, it’s still supple enough for everyday use on roads in states with deferred road maintenance budgets. It’s stable and comfortable on the highway, and enjoyable on the scenic route. The steering never feels over-assisted, and a tight turning circle makes parking easy. The brakes work very well.

PERFORMANCE: With 138 horsepower (at 6000 rpm) and 137 lb-ft of torque (at 4600 rpm), the Elantra Touring’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is competitive in its class. A modern dual overhead cam design with continuously-variable cam phasing, its broad torque band means that the four-speed automatic works well enough, although I’m sure the five-speed stick would be the way to for maximum driving enjoyment. Acceleration is good enough to keep up with traffic. Fuel economy, with EPA estimates of 23 mpg city and 30 highway, and 26 overall during my week, is reasonable if not at the head of the class.

CONCLUSIONS: The 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring is a worthwhile option in the versatile sporty-compact hatchback class.

SPECIFICATIONS 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring

Base Price $ 18,600
Price As Tested $ 19,745
Engine Type dual overhead cam 16-valve inline 4-cylinder with continuously-variable cam phasing
Engine Size 2.0 liters / 121 cu. in.
Horsepower 138 @ 6000 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) 137 @ 4600 rpm
Transmission 4-speed automatic
Wheelbase / Length 106.3 in. / 176.2 in.
Curb Weight 2969 lbs.
Pounds Per Horsepower 21.5
Fuel Capacity 14 gal.
Fuel Requirement 87-octane unleaded regular gasoline
Tires P205/55 R16 89H Kumho Solus KH16
Brakes, front/rear vented disc / solid disc, ABS standard
Suspension, front/rear independent MacPherson strut / independent multilink
Drivetrain transverse front engine/front-wheel drive

PERFORMANCE
EPA Fuel Economy – miles per gallon
city / highway / observed 23 / 30 / 26
0 to 60 mph est 9.0 sec

OPTIONS AND CHARGES
Carpeted Floor Mats $ 95
iPod® cable $ 30
Bluetooth® hands-free phone system $ 325
Destination charge $ 695

DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD
WITH CAREY RUSS

Hyundai Genesis — the Korean luxo car

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The interesting thing about Hyundai is that it seems to be the company that loves the word “incremental.” It’s how they operate, how they design cars. They bring out new models incrementally — changes in their model lineup are not dramatic.

For a while now (to be charitable, we’ll forget their early effort, the Excel), Hyundai has been making cars that essentially try to out-do the Japanese, or at least copy the Japanese.

By trying to outdo the Japanese cars, Hyundai is faithfully replicating them, in a way, and it’s doing so in incremental fashion — start off with small, inexpensive models, then start building slightly larger ones.
Hyundai Genesis — BMW, Audi and Mercedes, take warning. Hyundai’s gaining on you.

The problem is that there was no pizazz, no bling. (And there probably won’t ever be any true Hyundai bling — you think they’ll come up with an Audi R8 replica?).

Yet Hyundai started getting noticed in the past few years — look at the model change in the Sonata series (Hyundai’s Accord/Camry). Starting with the 2006 Sonata, they went from stodgy to fairly svelte.

Then, incrementally, they brought out the Azera, a more upscale car, with a 3.8-liter V6 as the top engine. It was pretty snazzy. (I was going to say, “for a Hyundai,” but actually it stood on its own as a pretty nice car.)

Now they’ve brought the increment game up to the entry-level luxury field, with the new Genesis. Finally, there’s a Hyundai that stops people on the sidewalk, makes them look around.

The Genesis is Hyundai’s answer to, in no particular order, the Infiniti G35 crowd, Toyota’s Avalon, stripper versions of BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz. At least, that’s the perception.

The car comes with two different power trains: a 3.8-liter V6 with 290 horsepower; and a 4.6-liter V8 pumping out 375 horses (or 368 if you use regular gas instead of premium.) Frankly, with only a very small difference in fuel mileage figures between the two, I’d take the V8. (I drove the V8 briefly last summer, before it was on showroom floors, and there’s a big difference in the power. The question will be whether you want to spend $5,000 more to have the bigger engine.)

This year’s test model was the base V6 car and it was odd to drive something billed as a luxury car, yet without some of the features we’ve come to expect in even the near-luxury field — sunroof and driver seat memory come to mind. You can have these lovelies in an added-on package, but you’d think they wouldn’t cheap it out this way. At any rate, at less than $33,000, this car was a bargain in its field.

Why? First off, it does have most of the built-in requisite luxo touches that set it apart from a more down-scale model — it’s quiet, even at illegal speeds; both engines are extremely smooth; the six-speed automatic trans (with clutchless manual shifting, too) is extremely smooth.

Inside, you have all the esoterica you’d expect (minus the memory seats and, yes, you get spoiled with those things) — fine stereo, unobtrusive HVAC, Hyundai’s blue instrument lighting, a shade of blue that is subtly electric, sort of like the blues director Michael Mann used back in the days of “Miami Vice.”

Then there are also some odd things — the dome lights are harsh, a cold shade of pale white, kind of like an old fluorescent tube. It’s not inviting. And the Genesis‘ suspension is firm to the point of jarring. Hit a pothole and you will remember it. It felt a bit like the suspension of a Sonata I drove last year, and it’s something Hyundai should think of fixing.

Otherwise, you get a pretty good entry luxury car for less than the competition — it’s the old saw of introducing a car priced to undercut its long-established competition (Toyota, Honda and Nissan all did it with, respectively, Lexus, Acura and Infiniti brands).

With Hyundai, of course, which is replicating this system, the only question seems to be — why did they call it a Hyundai? Why didn’t they think up some high-falutin’ name that connotes exclusivity? Well, maybe they realize that car buyers see those dodges (so to speak) and would rather just call a Hyundai a Hyundai.

SPECIFICATIONS

2009 Hyundai Genesis rear-wheel-drive four-door sedan.

Price: test model, $32,250

Powertrain: 3.8-liter, V6 290-horsepower; six-speed automatic transmission.

Curb weight: 3,748 pounds. Seating capacity: five. Fuel consumption: 18 mpg, city; 27 mpg, highway.

Fuel tank capacity:19.3 gallons.

Length: 195.9 inches; width, 74.4 inches; height: 58.1 inches; wheelbase: 115.6 inches.

Warranty: bumper to bumper, 5 years/50,000 miles; power train, 10 years/100,000 miles.

Dependability: Hyundai ranks 14th (above industry average) out of 37 brands on the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study.

Safety: for vehicle safety ratings, visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

SFGate.com

Hyundai Genesis Recognized as a Best New Model for 2009 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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Hyundai’s luxury flagship Genesis sedan recently was named a “Best New Model” in the “Sedans $30,000 – $45,000” category by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. The magazine named the top new models in 11 categories and Genesis sedan topped competitors such as the Acura TL, Audi A4 and Nissan Maxima to earn the distinction.

“Picking this car as a standout was easy,” said Mark Solheim, automotive editor, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. “As the first true luxury car from Hyundai, the Genesis earns its name. The exterior may remind you of other luxemobiles, but its simple lines, sleek interior and Euro driving dynamics will impress all but the most hard-core snobs. Remaining skeptics need only check out its price – at around $33,000, it offers extraordinary value.”

The top models in each category represent the best values based on Kiplinger’s ranking system. Kiplinger’s editors sort the new 2009 models by price and category then pit them against their peers, looking at performance, value, safety, roominess and driving impressions.

“The Hyundai Genesis sedan is the perfect blend of luxury, technology, and advanced safety features with an affordable price,” said Michael Deitz, Genesis product manager, Hyundai Motor America. “Being named a Best New Model by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance is a testament to its combination of exhilarating performance, sophisticated design and tremendous overall value, and we continue to be honored by the awards the vehicle has earned.”

Hyundai’s new Genesis sedan sets a new benchmark in the premium car category. With a starting price of just $33,000, Genesis includes performance and luxury features typically found on vehicles costing thousands of dollars more. In addition to great features, Hyundai’s generous 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty, numerous standard features, good reliability and affordable price made the Genesis a clear winner for Kiplinger’s editors. Other notable features include a quiet and luxurious cabin, V-6 and V-8 engines that are more powerful and efficient than many in competing models, and a smooth, responsive six-speed automatic transmission.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 790 dealerships nationwide. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by The Hyundai Advantage, America’s Best Warranty. In addition, the Hyundai Assurance Program is now offered on all new vehicles leased or purchased from a certified Hyundai dealer. The program is available to any consumer, regardless of age, health, employment record or financed amount of the vehicle. The program is complimentary for the first 12 months.

Check out the bad boy 2010 Genesis Coupe

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Few brands have made a more dramatic turnaround than Hyundai, the South Korean carmaker that, earlier this year, captured the coveted North American Car of the Year trophy with its first-ever luxury model, the Genesis sedan.

The powerful, lavishly equipped 4-door is a far cry from the cheap-and-cheerful models Hyundai was long known for – and the arrival of the Genesis Coupe should win a number of new converts to the Korean maker.

This is not simply a 2-door version of the sedan. The Coupe is a foot shorter and 500 pounds lighter – which makes a lot of sense if you’re targeting the sporty performance crowd.

Where the sedan’s styling is conservative, even derivative, there’s a bit of the bad boy in the Genesis Coupe.

With its short overhangs and relatively long hood, the second entry into the Genesis line has the classic, overall dimensions of a sporty, rear-wheel-drive sedan. From the side, Hyundai designers developed a bit of a Coke bottle shape, with an accent line rising from nose to the slightly flared rear fenders. One of the defining features is the reverse kick of the small rear side windows, a detail that generated a lot of excitement when the original concept coupe appeared a few years ago.

Inside, the styling is equally crisp and sporty, with a cockpit-style layout that nicely complements the exterior and generally matches the Genesis Coupe’s sporty aspirations. Visibility is great, particularly for a coupe. Even the base car is well executed, while the trim on the top-line 3.8 Grand Tourer is especially well done — gaining such niceties as heated leather seats and an audiophile-level Infinity 360-watt, 10-speaker sound system.

Hyundai is offering two engine options. The base 2.0-liter I-4, with its intercooled turbo, pumps out a solid 210 horsepower and 223 pound-feet of torque, with only the most moderate amount of turbo lag. The bigger, 3.8-liter V-6 makes a hefty 306 hp and 266 lb-f, 16 horsepower and 2 pound-feet more than the six-banger generates in the Genesis sedan.

We tested both models on-track and off, and we were impressed with not just the power – 0 to 60 times of 5.5 seconds with the V-6 — but also the surprisingly refined handling.

Some nits to pick? Yes: We’d like a telescoping steering wheel, and the 6-speed manual needs a bit of work. But on the whole, the Genesis Coupe is yet another reason skeptics need to take a new look at Hyundai.

2010 HYUNDAI GENESIS COUPE

MPG: 21 city/30 highway for turbo 2.0-liter I-4; 17/26 for 3.8-liter V-6.

Engine options: Turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 210 horsepower/223 pound-feet torque, ornormally-aspirated 3.8-liter V-6, 306 hp, 266 lb-ft.

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (base): $22,000.

Cost fully loaded: $35,000.

By Paul A. Eisenstein
GateHouse News Service
Holland Sentinel

Review: 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring

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Hyundai has been batting a thousand of late, with new vehicles like the Genesis sedan and Genesis coupe shaking up their respective segments and leaving class leaders looking over their shoulders. The equally new Elantra Touring hasn’t created as much buzz as its rear-wheel-drive brethren, but the five-door hatchback competes with a host of vehicles available in the sub-$20,000 range, all of which are screaming for attention from an increasingly picky buyer who demands something practical, affordable and efficient for his dwindling dollars.

In order to be heard above the noise, Hyundai chose to import one of its existing models from abroad rather than developing a new Elantra model from scratch. They chose the i30, designed in Germany and currently on sale in Europe, Australia and South Korea. The Elantra Touring is very much a direct port of the i30 and actually has little in common with the four-door Elantra sedan, save for its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and transmission choices. Rather, its closest mechanical cousin is the Euro-only Kia cee’d.

It would seem, then, that the i30 was not originally developed with U.S. customers in mind. Will the resulting Elantra Touring be a hit here, or has Hyundai finally foul tipped a ball?

One thing the Elantra Touring has over its four-door namesake is style. The two vehicles share no body panels and one wouldn’t guess the Touring model is actually an Elantra based on the four-door’s styling. The Touring is actually shorter than the sedan (176.2 inches vs. 177.4), but its wheelbase is two inches longer. Combined with a roof that terminates into a steeply sloping hatch, the extra space between the axles makes the Touring look longer and larger.

The Touring’s sheet metal is also more attractive thanks to a strong character line running the car’s length with a concave sweep up to the windows. This line emanates up front behind the large headlights (dig the blue angel eyes on the projector lamps) and combines with some pinched metal running up to the A-pillar to create distinct front fenders and a raised hood. The thin grille sports a chromed corporate ‘H’ with pride and small chrome eyebrow accents set off the fog-lights in each corner of the front fascia.

Hyundai has fitted the Elantra Touring with vertical tail-lamps out back, similar to the units you’ll find on vehicles such as Volvo wagons and the Honda CR-V. They contribute to safer stops in traffic since their tops can still be seen above high hoods. The rest of the back is clean and the near non-existent rear bumper contributes to the posterior’s slick surfacing. Some might call this car’s styling mundane, but we see it as safe and sophisticated, the off-brand suit of the sub-$20k set.

Some might expect the Elantra Touring to have a spartan interior made of recycled pop bottles and leatherette seats. Remember, this is actually the i30, a vehicle originally made for Europeans who don’t believe an economy car must feel like a cheap car. The Elantra Touring has things other vehicles in its class don’t, like a soft-touch dash, solid metal shifter knob and an information display between its tach and speedo. Go ahead, poke the dash – it’ll give. Do that in some competitors and you’ll sprain your finger.

The controls are logical and fit the Elantra’s no-nonsense demeanor. The stereo’s on top and the HVAC controls are below (just two knobs and a few larger buttons), with the the four-speed automatic sprouting from the floor. The transmission lacks any manual shifting, but you’ve got only four forward gears anyway and there’s a short-throw five-speed manual available for control freaks.

We particularly like the Elantra Touring’s large, legible gauges that frame the aforementioned VW-like information display, as well as the best Hyundai steering wheel we’ve yet to grip. The meaty rim filled our hands nicely and the redundant controls for the stereo and cruise control are all flush and contained within the wheel itself. We’re also fans of Hyundai’s new center stack display for the radio. The big blue screen is as easy to read as a children’s book and displays the time and outside temperature when the radio is off. There’s also a full complement of connectivity ports in the center armrest for your iPod or MP3 player, as well as a gutter for your cables so the lid can be closed without trapping the device inside. Up front, amenities are rounded out by two accommodating cup holders between the seats and one in each door, as well as a large storage compartment atop the dash to hide personal items from public view.

Of course, the Elantra Touring’s biggest selling point can be found behind the front seats. The second row offers 36.4 inches of leg room and further back you’ll find a class-leading 24.3 cubic feet of storage space with the rear seats in their locked and upright position. The rear floor is flat and wide with additional storage hidden underneath, and by pushing the 60/40 split rear seats down, you’re able to access a full 65.3 cubic feet of cargo-carrying capacity. The rear seats don’t fold completely flat, but that shouldn’t stop you from using the Elantra Touring like a tackle box.

Buyers interested in an Elantra Touring who visit Hyundai’s website, however, are greeted with the question “What sort of driver are you?” Click the box that says “I love driving” and you’re allowed to learn more about the vehicle. Click the box that says “For me, driving is just transportation,” and you’re refused entry. Before you begin excluding buyers just looking for decent transportation, you should be absolutely certain your vehicle can hang with the likes of the Mazda3 five-door, this segment’s standard bearer for the fun-to-drive quotient. Despite the “Touring” in its name, this Hyundai doesn’t compare with the Mazda in terms of driving enjoyment.

To begin with, the Elantra Touring’s 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine brings only 138 horsepower and 136 lb-ft of torque to the party. Not only is that far below what’s required to make this a credible sport-compact, it’s barely enough to get around when the Elantra is loaded with passengers and cargo. Couple that with our tester’s four-speed automatic and you’ll need a set of spurs and a good whip to get the Elantra Touring going. Hyundai also can’t claim exceptional gas mileage in the absence of stirring performance, as the EPA rates this hatchback at 23 mpg city/30 mpg highway. The new 2010 Mazda3 five-door, equipped with its 167-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, is right there with 22 mpg city/29 mpg highway.

A lack of power can be overcome by a rigid chassis, willing suspension and focused steering when going for entertainment honors. Again, we found the Elantra Touring lacking in these aspects, despite Hyundai telling us that the suspension and steering are tuned more sportingly for the U.S. The independently sprung MacPherson strut front suspension and multilink rear felt soft. The ride was floaty and susceptible to cross winds, while the handling feels tippy, with noticeable body roll despite the presence of stabilizer bars front and rear. Couple this with steering that’s numb and disconnected regardless of speed — fine while perusing for a parking spot but less so when trying to follow a line through a corner — and the Elantra leaves us wanting for the Mazda3’s direct connection to the road.

We’ve read other reviews of the Elantra Touring that fall right in line with Hyundai’s marketing message and conclude the car is a surprising performer, but just wasn’t our experience. Perhaps that’s because most of those reviews were based on models with the manual transmission that features a B&M short-throw shifter and 17-inch alloy wheels versus the 16 inchers on our tester. We can’t comment on how those differences might contribute to an impression of sportiness, but we give our tester high marks for including standard disc brakes at all four corners.

The final aspect of the Elantra Touring is its price, an area in which Hyundai traditionally trounces its competition. Not so much for this car, which starts at $17,800 with a five-speed manual transmission and $18,600 with the four-speed automatic. Add to that our tester’s optional floor mats for $95 and a $695 charge for delivery, and suddenly owning an Elantra Touring will require over $19,000. Sure, you get the best warranty in the biz and the added security of the Hyundai Assurance program, but that price point won’t get buyers into the showroom like the $14,120 base price of the Elantra sedan.

If we were Hyundai, we’d focus all of our marketing efforts on the Elantra Touring’s practicality, the fact that it can swallow as much as a CUV while still averaging 30 mpg on the highway. It’s a tool — in the literal sense of the word — free of flash and there to assist at the grocery, hardware store or getting to Grandma’s house. In this respect, the Elantra Touring is an attractive candidate in the sub-$20k class. However, Hyundai is advertising the Elantra Touring as a driver’s car, which is like asking a member of the grounds crew to bat clean up. If you appreciate the unsung skill of the guy that keeps a well-manicured diamond, you’ll likely appreciate all of the basic things that the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring does so well. Just don’t expect that guy – or this car – to send one sailing over the fence.

John Neff / Weblogs, Inc.
AutoBlog.com

Genesis Coupe Makes 2009 List of ‘Top 10 Tax Refund Cars’ BY Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com

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KBB.com’s list recognizes the hottest new coupes and convertibles consumers could spend their tax refund dollars on

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., 04/28/2009 If you’re expecting a nice chunk of change from your tax refund check this year and are thinking about using it to buy a new car, the editors of Kelley Blue Book’s www.kbb.com recently released a list of sleek and sporty cars to consider putting a down payment on. Kelley Blue Book’s www.kbb.com named the 2010 Genesis Coupe to its “Top 10 Tax Refund Cars” list, which recognizes the hottest new coupes and convertibles. The Genesis Coupe was named alongside the 2010 Audi S5 Cabrio, 2009 BMW Z4, 2010 Ford Shelby GT500, 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible, 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, 2010 Lexus IS Convertible and 2009 Porsche Cayman.

“Hyundai’s roll continues,” Kbb.com editors said. “Only a few months after the Hyundai Genesis Sedan took home the 2009 North American Car of the Year trophy, Hyundai has rolled out the similarly impressive – and really fun – Genesis Coupe.”

Genesis Coupe follows in the footsteps of its sibling Genesis sedan, sharing its rear-wheel drive architecture and independent rear suspension sure to appeal to true driving enthusiasts. The Genesis Coupe offers a 30-mpg, 2.0-liter model with a low-pressure intercooled four-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 210 horsepower, and a 3.8-liter V6 Track model with 306 horsepower and massive Brembo brakes.

“It’s an honor to be recognized alongside luxury brands such as Porsche, Audi, Lexus and Infiniti by a trusted automotive resource like kbb.com,” said Derek Joyce, manager, Product Planning, Hyundai Motor America. “Hyundai’s all-new Genesis Coupe has proved itself as a true player in the rear-wheel drive sport coupe segment and offers more value to the tuner enthusiast audience than its competitors.”

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

KELLEY BLUE BOOK (www.kbb.com)

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource® has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company’s top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® (Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. – 2008 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro V-6 vs 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track

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Six Shooters: We Find the King of the Affordable V-6 Coupes

From virtually every angle, the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro is a gorgeous car. Its C-pillar, in coke-bottle profile, looks even more rakish than that of the 1969 Camaro, which served as its designers’ inspiration. Its deep grille is like a fierce smile and the rear-view accents huge rear quarter-panels and extreme tumblehome — the way those quarter panels flare out from the greenhouse. It’s more than a retro reference to the original Camaro. It’s an homage to the Bill Mitchell era of exuberant styling, when General Motors divisions needn’t be bothered with outside competition. They competed with each other to dominate the North American market.

Subjectively, the 2010 Camaro is the best-looking new model of this old breed of pony/musclecar. And in V-8 form, it beat the updated Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger in our June cover story comparison.

Taking the more economical V-6 is no penalty. The 3.6-liter gas direct-injection DOHC engine makes just 11 fewer ponies than the Mustang GT’s aging 24-valve, 4.6-liter V-8, though the Camaro carries the burden of a couple hundred extra pounds. Considering the ill timing of launching a new, large coupe as its maker is on the ropes for more government loan guarantees, and as consumers pay more attention to emissions, fuel-price swings and their pocketbooks, the Camaro V-6 stands a better chance of becoming a sales success than does its more powerful and more expensive SS V-8 sibling. Ford traditionally sells a lot of V-6 Mustangs based on style and image rather than on performance. The six-cylinder Camaro, available well equipped for under $30K (higher, with the RS package) should rival the V-6 Mustang in popularity.

Enter the spoiler. In the 1970s, the four-cylinder, rear-drive Toyota Celica forced its way into the Mustang/Camaro/Firebird/Challenger/Cuda sandbox just as insurance companies, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries choked our V-8s below 200 horsepower.

Today’s spoiler comes from South Korea, not Japan. The 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, with rear drive and turbo-four or V-6 power, is about eight inches shorter than the Camaro, or half a foot shorter than the Mustang. Although it shares components with the Genesis sedan, it’s been designed specifically to be too small to take the sedan’s optional 4.6-liter Tau V-8 in its engine bay. Like the Celica of a generation back, the Genesis Coupe is meant to dazzle musclecar fans with fancy footwork its bigger, heavier competitors can’t match.

Nevertheless, Camaro and Genesis Coupe appeal to similar buyers, those who value style and the ability to drive stylishly fast over a useful back seat or trunk space, with gas mileage that won’t embarrass those owners. The Genesis V-6 with six-speed manual gets a manufacturer’s estimated 17/26 mpg, while the Camaro V-6/six-speed manual combo manages 17/29 mpg.

Asking for V-6/manuals landed us a Track Package version of the Genesis Coupe and a preproduction, non-RS Camaro with the 2LT package, shod with 19-inch all-season performance tires. The Camaro came with the Inferno Orange interior package, handsome polished five-spoke wheels, and a sticker a couple of grand off the Hyundai’s.

Even on metro Detroit’s war-zonelike roads, the Hyundai’s track package suspension wasn’t overly stiff. It’s busy on expansion-strip pavement, but doesn’t crash over bumps and potholes like some extreme sports cars. The two cars scored similar numbers for our track testing, but achieved them in very different ways.

“The Camaro feels way heavier,” tester Markus writes. “It reached a higher top speed on the figure-eight, but clocked a slower overall time, thanks to the Genesis’s slightly better transition cornering and the Camaro’s stronger acceleration. Its 7000-rpm redline and taller gearing means no 2-3 upshift, or 3-2 downshift was necessary.”

On the highway, the Genesis Coupe’s way shorter top gear ratio translated into higher revs at cruising speeds, helping explain lower highway fuel mileage.

Reality bit the Camaro in acceleration testing at Chrysler’s Chelsea Proving Grounds. It kept up with the Genesis to 50 mph, then needed an extra tenth of a second to make 60 mph. By the quarter mile, the heavy Chevy was 0.2 second off at a trap speed of 98.3 mph, versus 99.8 mph for the Hyundai. The Camaro’s mushy-feeling, single-piston caliper disc brakes surprised us, too. In the 60-to-0-mph test, its 107-foot stop beat the Genesis by seven feet. Markus remarked that, on Chelsea’s road handling course, “both cars are fun to drive, easy to slide around in the tightest twisty turns. But the Hyundai bites harder on initial turn in and rotates a bit more eagerly.”

The dynamic subtleties amplify in real-world driving, where runoffs consist of curbs, ditches, trees, and hills. The gearbox in our bright-yellow Genesis coupe feels fairly slick and positive, although every near-redline upshift in the acceleration testing was attended by a big belt squeak, the type an air conditioning compressor often triggers, even with the A/C off.

The Camaro’s shifter feels clunkier, with too vague a detent for reverse. Both tackle the “oops, that’s reverse, not first” problem, with the Camaro’s digital message center registering a big “R” and the Genesis letting out a beep. Chevy equips the Camaro with a proper handbrake, a rare thing in a GM car these days, but the handle is long and you have to pull it up, hard, to engage the parking brake. It may seem picky, but a shorter, better-feeling handbrake is one of the refinements Ford boasts about with its 2010 Mustang. And the Camaro’s dead pedal is poorly positioned in relation to the working pedals. The Genesis’s dead pedal has a good spatial relationship to the clutch pedal, and the pedals are easier to heel-and-toe than in the Camaro’s.

Finally, the Camaro’s bucket seats are too wide between bolsters. Anyone under 250 pounds will find his back sliding across the seatback in esses. (Does Chevy know its customers too well?) The Camaro offers a much more entertaining view from the driver’s seat, though. The Hyundai is all function over form, with a bland, but well-built black interior featuring decent midlevel materials and good fit and finish. Unlike in the Camaro, you won’t slide around in the seat while cornering fast. And you can easily see the road ahead from its sloping hoodline, whereas the Camaro has acres of long, flat bi-level hood in the view ahead.

On our road test loop in Ohio’s Hocking Hills, both the Camaro and Genesis were fun to drive. “Surprisingly confident for such a big car on all-season tires,” Markus says of the Camaro. Drive the Genesis second and it’s like discovering smaller, foreign-car handling in the ’70s after driving late-’60s musclecars.

“Feels much more geared to the road,” Markus says of the Hyundai. “Lighter steering feel, crisper turn-in, great power.”

The Genesis has poor on-center steering feel, which drains confidence a bit in left-right-left transitions. You’ll forgive that if you drive the Camaro afterward. Steering is far too numb lock to lock, as if engineers chose the 1969 Camaro as its model for that component, too — the last thing you want when you’re trying to hustle a 3800-pound coupe this large around a two-lane with trees in the “runoff.”

While the Camaro doesn’t have excessive understeer, it’s the kind of car that seems to be waiting for a break in the curves so it can be run up through the gears on a long straight. The Genesis wants to play. Even with electronic stability control on, you can feel the rear tires on the Hyundai give up some lateral grip to the throttle. It’s rewarding when you reach past its limits, where the Camaro can feel a bit scary.

The Coupe’s big half brother, the Genesis sedan, came to North America last year with compromised chassis tuning to try and overcome its home market’s predilection for soft, cushy sedans. This made us wonder whether Hyundai had it in itself to make a real, enthusiast’s car. Wonder no longer: The Genesis Coupe — at least with the Track Package — while not perfect, proves Hyundai can do it.

Your humble Detroit bureau’s predilection was to give the new Chevy Camaro the benefit of the doubt. It has far more visual appeal than the Hyundai Genesis, and that’s why people buy sport coupes. Meanwhile, GM has downsized itself into underdog status. The Camaro’s sibling, the Pontiac G8, ends production this year. That makes the Camaro GM’s only North American-market Zeta-platform car. It’s a pre-reorganization present to baby-boomers who’ve been waiting seven years since the demise of the F-Body. After a five- or six-year run, GM’s rear-drive business likely will revert to Cadillac and Corvette.

The Hyundai Genesis, sedan and coupe, look ready to thrive, if only in low volume in light of fuel economy and emissions regulations. While the Camaro scored slightly higher real-world fuel economy than the Genesis, Hyundai’s numbers will get better when it adds such technology as gas direct-injection. The 2010 Chevy Camaro is a beautiful tribute to our automotive past. If there is a future for rear-drive sport coupes, it’s in a car like the Hyundai Genesis.

FIRST PLACE: Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Best viewed from behind the wheel, where it handles entertaining roads more like a sports car than a pony- or musclecar.

SECOND PLACE: Chevrolet Camaro
Powerful, refined V-6 and enough style to lend some to Hyundai, its weight and size make it less entertaining on second- and third-gear roads.

By Todd Lassa
MotorTrend.com

From Hyundai, an Unexpected Turn in the Road

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A decade ago, I wrote several columns urging readers to take seriously Hyundai Motor, Korea’s largest automobile manufacturer.

I was impressed by the willingness of the company to adapt, and by the speed with which it shifted gears to meet the changing realities of the marketplace.

It is a story now turned cliche: The Hyundai that entered the United States with motorized junk in 1985 — the Excel subcompact — is now a bona fide competitor in the global automobile industry.

But the Genesis models don’t pose the biggest threat to Hyundai’s rivals. That, instead, comes in the bread-and-butter segment, the market for compact and midsize sedans and wagons. It comes with models such as this week’s subject vehicle, the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring.

Hyundai’s strategy in the family car category is as simple as it is complicated: The Korean company wants to beat all of its top Japanese rivals — Honda, Nissan and Toyota — by offering better products at a lower price.

“Better,” as illustrated by the Elantra Touring, means giving people much more car than they expect for the money.

You start trying to figure out where Hyundai has cut corners, what cheapskate magic has been worked to give you so much for so little.

I thought I had found it in the suspension work, which did not seem to fare terribly well over potholed and pock-marked city streets. But now I’m not so sure.

Check out standard equipment. Hyundai offers four-wheel disc brakes (ventilated front/solid rear), antilock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution (which automatically increases brake force to the wheels that need it most), and electronic stability and traction control. Also included are side and head air bags — all in a car with a base price well south of $20,000. That’s a real bargain!

Interior materials weren’t the best in the world — a bountiful helping of bargain-priced vinyl there. But everything appeared stitched and assembled perfectly, as good if not better than anything found in a Honda, Nissan or Toyota — in this case, for several hundred to a couple of thousand of dollars less.

With an in-line four-cylinder, 138-horsepower engine, there’s more than adequate power for most commuter transportation needs. Fuel economy — using recommended regular unleaded gasoline — is good at 23 miles per gallon in the city and 31 miles per gallon on the highway.

On top of it all, Hyundai has managed to give car sales a slight boost in a dreadfully dismal market with its Hyundai Assurance Plus program, designed to relieve consumer anxiety by promising to take over car payments within the first year of a vehicle purchase for buyers who lose jobs through no fault of their own.

That program has been successful enough to be copied in various forms by Ford and General Motors. Could it be that Hyundai, once the laughingstock of the car world, will be the company that leads the automobile industry out of recession?

By Warren Brown
Washington Post

Hyundai moves from one Genesis to the next

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Forget for a moment that the Hyundai Genesis is an affordable luxury sedan that won the North American Car of the Year Award in January.

The 2010 Hyundai Genesis that’s already in dealerships is a different animal — a fun, four-person, sporty coupe that starts at just $22,750.

Don’t worry. The first and impressive Genesis — the leather-trimmed sedan that debuted for the 2009 model year with a $33,000 starting price and won numerous awards — hasn’t disappeared. It’s being sold alongside the new, two-door Genesis.

It turns out the Genesis name is simply how Hyundai officials label both of their rear-wheel drive cars. Never mind that the Genesis Coupe is definitely not a two-door version of the Genesis sedan.

Indeed, the Coupe even looks different from the sedan — some might say its exterior is similar to that of the 2009 Infiniti G37 Coupe. The Genesis Coupe also uses only certain parts — rear suspension, rear subframe and automatic transmission — from the Genesis sedan.

Best of all, the Genesis Coupe’s starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, makes it the second lowest-priced, rear-drive coupe on the U.S. market. Only the Ford Mustang Coupe has a lower starting price — $21,845 for a 2010 model.

Other rear-drive coupes, such as the 2009 Infiniti G37 Coupe that starts at $36,765 and the 2009 Mazda RX-8 that starts at $27,105 are higher priced. Even Chevrolet’s upcoming 2010 Camaro starts higher, at $23,040.

The new Genesis Coupe looks best from the side, where a sporty, tight body looks ready to spring into motion. Only the rear styling of the Genesis Coupe cheapens the initial impression. There’s something in the rear that’s reminiscent of Hyundai’s previous coupe, the front-wheel drive Tiburon. But the Tiburon similarity ends there, thank goodness.

The new car comes with either a turbocharged, 2-liter, inline four cylinder that produces a commendable 210 horsepower and 223 foot-pounds of torque at a low 2,000 rpm or a 3.8-liter V-6 producing 306 horses and 266 foot-pounds of torque at 4,700 rpm.

The test car moved quickly but not abruptly or in a scary way in its acceleration into traffic. The power was well-managed overall.

Both engines require only regular fuel. Hyundai officials say the turbo, which comes from Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, provides up to 15 pounds per square inch of boost and is set for the lower octane level or regular gasoline, so there’s no need for pricey premium.

And both engines are available with six-speed manual transmission as well as smooth-shifting automatics. The test car, a Premium trim model with automatic and turbo four cylinder and regular tires, not the summer performance rubber, rode so comfortably and with minimal noise that a passenger took a short snooze. Even wind noise was at a minimum.

The Genesis Coupe held its line confidently in twists and turns, only plowing around corners when I pushed too hard. The car felt well-balanced and easy to maneuver. The steering gave a bit too much feedback from the road but was certainly responsive. And engine sounds were fine.

Inside the silver-painted Genesis Coupe, the black-and-gray cloth upholstery and black curved dashboard with nice plastic textures provided a pleasant environment.

There was a good amount of height adjustment for the driver’s seat, so I could position myself comfortably for optimal views. But I still sat lower than people in sport utility vehicles and trucks. A 6-foot-plus front passenger also found the power sunroof cut into his head space but he was still able to adjust seat height for comfort. The tilt/slide sunroof is standard equipment on the Genesis Coupe in Premium trim.

Other standard amenities include leather-trimmed steering wheel and shifter lever, Infinity 10-speaker audio system with XM satellite radio, no-hands entry and push-button engine start as well as automatic headlights and Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity.

As in all Hyundais, all Genesis Coupe models come with all safety features standard, including electronic stability control, antilock brakes and curtain air bags.

The car’s back seat is for two people only, and the rear parcel shelf in the test car was covered by an old-style furry material.

Other money-saving touches: No pulldown spot for fingers inside the liftback, a less-than-ritzy-looking cargo cover and two front-console cupholders that didn’t have any sliding door or cover.

Note that early 2010 Genesis Coupes don’t offer a built-in navigation system, but one will be available this summer.

There is a sizable rear-seat hump in the floor and back-seat passengers had best be short in stature because the seat cushion back there is higher than that for front-seat passengers, resulting in headroom of 34.6 inches. This is about the same amount of headroom as in the back seat of the G37 Coupe. The Genesis Coupe’s 30.3 inches of rear-seat legroom also is near the 29.8 inches in the back seat of the G37.

At 15.2 feet long, bumper to bumper, the Genesis Coupe is about the same length as the Infiniti G37. The Genesis is just a tad shorter in height at 54.5 inches.

Cargo space is limited to flatter items, not ones that need some height to stand up. In total, cargo volume is 10 cubic feet.

By ANN M. JOB