2007 Hyundai Elantra Review

Specifications

Good, Reliable, Accommodating Transportation

If youve been following the Asian automotive scene lately, youll know that Hyundai has been undergoing a huge overhaul for the last couple of years. Seven new and redesigned models in just twenty-four months has been the goal, culminating in the latest redesign of the popular Elantra compact sedan. One glance is all thats needed to see that Hyundai is aiming its sights at Toyota, with Honda and Nissan in the general trajectory, as the South Korean automaker reworks this basic A to B model as well as the entire brands image, which has long been a little sketchy with regards to reliability and build quality.

During Hyundais first phase to change perceptions about its brand identity, the last half of the 90s, it made headway, improving its product measurably, however, since the turn of the millennia and especially in the last year or so, Hyundai has shown a marked improvement in everything from fit and finish to styling, now positioning itself to directly take on its Japanese rivals. Still, the Koreans seem to be unwilling to stray away from conforming completely.

Oddly, multiple personality disorder seems to be a common and confessed theme when Hyundai evolves its product line. While competitors try to keep all their cars similarly styled by employing brand imaging, the black sheep in Seoul like to keep things different, always changing. Hyundai has taken everything it had with last years Elantra, and simply thrown it into the garbage. Then, on a clean sheet of paper, went about creating a completely different car. The 06 Elantra was a very sharp, edgy, albeit squarish car, with straight lines and resultant boxy profile. The 07 Elantra, on the other hand, shows no resemblance to its younger brother, as it has soft flowing curves and now looks as though its been conceived from Toyota, rather than Hyundai.

Hyundai has never been the industry leader in the style and design department, always having a hollow, unfinished feeling to them. Ive liked the direction the automaker went with the Tiburon, and is now going with the Sonata and Santa Fe, however, the Elantras body shape and visual resemblance to Toyotas Corolla, another car void of inspiring design, is quite pronounced except for a distinctly Tiburon-esque shaped curve that runs the length of the cars beltline. Unfortunately, it wasnt enough to draw me into the car, and Hyundai will likely have to continue to rely on price and bang-for-the-buck to lure in customers rather than sheer charisma. The exterior has a more pronounced cab forward design than the Toyota, but other than the Tiburon design cue the overall package still has a rather typical economy look to it, with little to make it stand out from the pack.

Hyundai executive vice president of design Young-ill Kim explains, “We have used Korean culture as inspiration for the Elantras new design. Korean landscapes, architecture and culture have all affected the design. The lights are modeled after Asian eyes, body seams are curved similar to ethnic Korean roof tops and the silhouette represents the mountainous landscapes.”

Upon closer look at the Elantra, body seams are straight and all moldings a securely fitted. The doors close nice and cleanly as well, with a quality sound.  The body has been stretched wider and taller than the old Elantra, but keeps the same length. This, with a longer wheelbase, allows the interior to benefits from a class leading 97.9 cubic feet of total interior volume giving excellent shoulder and head room. It has so much space, in fact, that it has actually been moved up a class to midsize rather than the compact designation that the previous model was consigned to, such as is the case with the Elantras closest competition, the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra and Chevy Cobalt. The Corolla seems to be target number one on Hyundais list, as nearly all features of the car are geared at competition with the Corolla. Engine, performance, space, reliability and safety are all huge hitting points that Hyundai has zeroed in on.

While the interior may not be as stylish as others in the class, namely Hondas new Civic, the 07 Elantra is a major step above the last years model, like everything else about the car. The new dash has been smoothed out and uses much nicer materials and colors. Nice trim accents give the Elantra a more inviting feel, the flowing characteristic of the exterior continuing on inside. Steering wheel controls for the stereo and cruise control bring the Elantras interior spec to that of the competition, while the front seats have been heightened by 1.4 inches and now allow very good visibility out the front of the car while not giving the feeling of lumbering around in a minivan, like many others do. A nice under-dash treatment down by the drivers shins is also a refreshing characteristic that makes sure those who like to sit close to the steering wheel wont find their knees pinned uncomfortably - the opposite trait was something I disliked in both the Honda and Toyota. The Elantras seats could use a little more padding for lateral stability, but other than this my back and rump were quite happy for hours on end.

Packing the trunk just became easier as it has been enlarged, while the opening has been designed lower and wider to accommodate larger packages. The lower lift level allows easier stowage of heavy objects, while the trunk floor has also been flattened out on all sides to better fit square shaped luggage. Suitcases, travel luggage and coolers will now slid in smoother and use most of the trunks 14.2 cubic-foot capacity.

With regards to safety, the Elantra comes equipped with no less than six airbags. Two side-impact bags positioned within the two front seats, plus the obvious ones in the steering wheel hub and under passenger-side dash, as well as side curtains for all outside occupants will turn the interior of the Elantra into a large fluffy pillow in the event of an accident. Higher level models are also equipped with four-wheel disc brakes enhanced with an anti-lock system. Moving up to ABS is a good idea, being that the lower priced models tended to squirm under emergency braking.

Despite the extra power and displacement of the Elantra, acceleration is not as good as with the Corolla, which seems to be a lot more energetic while in motion. The main reason for this is the Elantras tall gearing. The car will cruise well at high speed but the resulting sacrifice in acceleration leaves it feeling a little less frisky. When power is needed, the automatic gearbox downshifts smoothly and sends the engine screaming into the higher rev range, becoming quite loud in the cabin. The manual gearbox better compensates for this problem, and also makes the drive much more spirited.

Road manners are as you would expect with this class of car. While the Corolla and Civic display remarkably good handling for economy cars, the Elantra is very close behind. My biggest disappointment with the car, however, was the motor-driven power steering. The steering wheel has a numb center feel with a little too much side-to-side slack, which then gets heavy after say, four degrees of steering input. This was also the case while mid-corner, when the wheel was stationary; feel was slack until movement. This gave nearly no feel for the road and numbed the sensation of how the car was behaving. The motor-driven power steering system was used to increase the engines efficiency and keep the drivetrain power loss to a minimum, therefore letting a couple of extra horsepower get down to the front wheels, but I would gladly give up the fancy electromechanical setup for a more conventional system. Still, the Elantras cornering circle was an impressive 32 feet, making parking and urban driving a much easier affair.

On that note its important to say that while I dont find the Elantra a drivers car per se, it certainly is up to the task of regular city and highway duties, fully capable of transporting a medium-sized family through town or on vacation in greater comfort than most of its competitors. That, and fulfilling life as a carpool capable commuter, is its mission, rather than dominating the undulating curves of Americas backcountry roads; leave that to the brands sporty Tiburon.

In the end I must admit to never having been too keen on Hyundais in general, but Im quite impressed with the new Elantra. While the styling may still be Asian bland, Hyundais are starting to give us better refinement, and by so doing are catching up to the Japanese. The cars general quality improvement is the big story here, and thats exactly what the higher ups in Seoul are shooting for. Theyre steering Hyundai into the “quality product available for a competitive price” segment, with hopes that in time it will be perceived at the same level as Honda and Toyota. A quick glance to J.D. Power and Associates most recent Initial Quality Study (IQS) will show that quality is far more than just surface deep, with Hyundai now in the lead with fewer problems per vehicle than any entry-level brand, Honda and Toyota included. Reliability, and what is expected to be a 5-star crash test rating will adhere the Elantra to Hyundais loyal customers while attracting new ones by the bucket load, at least once word gets out.

In my opinion Hyundai is off to a good start in these areas, but with regards to the Elantra, it still needs to improve driving dynamics while making the styling more unique, something it has done better with the Sonata and Santa Fe. The Elantra appeals to those whod rather not be noticed, those who decide to purchase reliability over flashy design. Of course, this philosophy worked well for Toyotas Corolla, so who am I to knock Hyundai for following suit. Only time will tell if it was the right decision.