Car Review: 2011 Hyundai Elantra GLS
It occurs to me that I need to provide
my readers with some content other than humming the theme from Jeopardy
while tapping my feet waiting impatiently for word from Texas Wesleyan
regarding my law school application. No. There has been no change since
my last post. It’s only been 5 days two of which were weekend days. What
were you expecting? Seriously, y’all will hear about it as soon as
there is anything to tell.
At any rate, it just so happens
that I have an excuse to write another car review. It’s also my first
opportunity ever to write a review for a new model year of a car that
I’ve previously reviewed. As you all will recall, I drove the 2010
Hyundai Elantra to Beaumont about 2 months ago. Business took me out of
town again last week to the hippie capitol of Texas: Austin. As with my
previous out of town business trips, I rented a car. This time, the nice
folks at Avis set me up with a 2011 Hyundai GLS.
Did the 2011 perform better than
the 2010? Does it look better? Is it more comfortable? Is it a better
value? These questions and more will have to be answered by people
better qualified than me. That’s not to say that I won’t try to take a
stab at giving you the benefit of my unqualified opinions.
First off, let’s set the stage
for a moment. Avis gave me the keys to a white exterior with mostly
beige interior GLS model. It was a fairly basic car as far as options
are concerned. At least, it was basic by present day standards. Back in
the 70s, you would have considered this puppy fully loaded. Today, it
almost qualifies as bare bones, stripped down beater car to “only” have
power steering, power windows, power locks, AM/FM/CD/XM Satellite radio,
AC and cruise control. Honestly, I can’t remember when the last time I
heard of a new car being offered with window cranks and without AC.
According to Hyundai’s website, this particular model with the 1.8 liter
4 cylinder engine and 6 speed automatic transmission will set you back
$17,800 including freight. Not a bad price for the package all things
considered. You could spring for the “Limited” package, get a few more
bells and whistles and pay another $2000 to $4000 in the process for
such modern conveniences as a rearview camera, navigation system,
pushbutton start, premium sound system, and leather seats heated front
and rear.
Most of those “premium” options I
can live without. Especially the heated seats. It doesn’t get cold
enough, long enough here to worry about it. Besides, The Queen says I’m a
walking space heater. So, why bother. I’d probably get into a wreck
watching the rearview camera trying to catch someone picking their nose
in traffic. I don’t have much use for nav systems since I know my way
around the DFW area pretty well from living here almost my entire life
and having the wetware equivalent of a moving map display already
installed from the factory and programmed with an uncanny ability to
find my way back to any location I’ve been to at least once. The Queen
did mention the desire for a GPS unit the other day after winning
another Magellan Award for “creative navigation in an urban setting.”
Leather seats are nice, but…why? This is an economy car. Optioning the
stuffing out of an economy car is counter intuitive. If you want a
luxury car with all the luxury car bells and whistles, go buy something
from Cadillac, Lexus or one of the other brands. If you can’t afford
new, buy used.
Anyway, I’d better move on from the soapbox and actually talk more about the car again.
Let’s talk about looks for a
bit. Aesthetics are a very personal thing for most of us as we’ve
discussed before. You’ll either love this car or hate it. This is not my
mother’s Hyundai I assure you. It’s not even the 2010 Hyundai I drove
barely 2 months ago. According to Hyundai’s website:
The 2011 Elantra bucks convention with a style that breaks free of the traditional compact car ‘blah’ factor.
No
argument there. “Blah” is definitely not a word I would use to describe
the styling of this car. Unlike the 2010, it is most definitely not
“non-descript”. To my eyes, this car is actually attractive. It’s a
whole heck of a lot better looking than the 2010 Ford “I’m A Frickin’
Brick” Focus. Your opinions may vary about the styling, and that’s okay.
If we all had the same taste, there would only be one car company. To
each their own.
Let’s move on shall we?
The interior styling takes its
cues from the exterior. More swooping and flowing lines. The interior
looks nicer than the interior from the 2010. The beige fabric was
accented with black and simulated brushed stainless steel in the dash
and door panels. Something about the beige with black and silver didn’t
look right to me, but at least it wasn’t stodgy looking. A few minor
gripes with the interior before moving on. One: the driver’s side window
sill was too high just like in the Ford Focus. Two: the driver’s side
door arm rest was too low just like in the Ford Focus. Three: the
driver’s side middle air vent was mounted in a location dictated by the
flowing lines of dash that placed the cold airflow of the AC directly in
line with the 3 o’clock position of the steering wheel resulting in my
right wrist being constantly frozen.
How about those seats? I do want
to track down the Hyundai engineer who designed those seats and buy him
a drink. He has seriously earned some kudos in my book. Of the small
cars I’ve driven so far, the seats in the 2011 Elantra were the best.
They weren’t perfect mind you, but they were real close. There are only a
couple of minor things keeping them from achieving greatness in my
opinion. First, the side bolsters are a little high making vehicle exits
a challenge by resisting the efforts of a persons’ thighs to swing out
of the car in advance of putting said persons’ feet on terra firma.
Second, there was no lumbar adjustment. The curve of the seat was almost
perfect for my back, but there was just a smidge of space in the small
of the back unsupported that would get uncomfortable after a while.
Third, there was maybe a little bit too much springiness in the seat on
really bouncy stretches of road. The seat cushioning was adequate if not
even good. However, when you would hit a good bump, you almost had the
feeling of bouncing on a small trampoline. I’m not sure this is even
really a negative. Personal preference issue perhaps.
The Ronco sliding vanity mirror
design has made a reappearance for the 2011 model year minus the goofy
ceiling mounted vanity light. I suppose the ceiling mounted light could
possibly be an option on the “Limited” model, but I wouldn’t know for
sure. We also see an updated, dare I say improved, map pocket cup holder
graphic. It seems that the good people at Hyundai realized that their
2010 design made no sense whatsoever, and they have gone back to the
drawing board in search of greater clarity. Now, it seems, capped
bottles are kosher for this receptacle; however, other unlidded beverage
containers are not. That, or they are trying to tell you not to slosh
your coffee on your water bottle.
