Prior to the actual review, some background. I'm a university student and was looking to get a new car. My previous cars lease (a 2000 Chevy Cavalier), was coming to an end in July 2003. I started looking at the 2003 model cars as they were introduced in the fall, and by January had narrowed it down to either the Nissan Sentra GXE, or the Mazda Protege5. I wasn't even considering Hyundai or Kia at all, due to their reputations of being unreliable cheap cars.

That all changed when I went to the 2003 Canadian International Auto Show in February. I looked at all the cars in this class, to keep an open mind. Up until that point, I had only read about the cars in magazines, newspapers, or online. This was my first chance to actually sit in them, and see all the features in person. After a few short hours, I realized I had correctly narrowed it down to the Sentra or Protege5. I even remember sitting in the Protege5 and smiling, thinking to myself THIS is going to be my new car!

Of course, at that point I found the Hyundai exhibit and noticed what looked to be a SAAB sitting in it. I wandered over to check it out, perplexed. It was only then that I first laid eyes on the Elantra GT. I played with the car for a good 20 minutes, and walked away thinking I had just added a distant #3 to my list of possible cars.

After doing some research online, I discovered that over the last few model years Hyundai had really improved in quality quite a bit. They no longer seemed to deserve the horrible reputation they had garnered. The Elantra had just moved up my list to a strong #2, behind the Protege5.

As I did more research online I discovered this tiny club devoted to the Elantra GT. The people seemed really nice, and were all enthusiastic owners of the car. I lurked on their message board for a long time while still ever pondering my decision. As I read more and more, and saw how happy these people were, the Elantra slowly grew on me, eventually becoming my first choice.

I FINALLY went for test drives in May. The closest Hyundai dealership was my first stop, and I loved the car. I quickly saw many of the little things that people had talked about at the Club, and just made me realize the benefits to having so many owners to talk to. I was almost ready to sign the papers on the spot when I finished the test drive. That all changed when we got into the showroom, and the salesman did up a quote. He took the MSRP, and added 10% in admin fees. He was doing the stereotypical slimy car salesman routine, and totally disgusted me. I politely thanked him for his time and walked out the door, drove up the street, and parked in front of the Mazda dealer.

Talk about a total opposite! The Mazda salesman was nice as could be, and GAVE me a car to test drive! He didnt want to come with, because he felt it might pressure me. So after showing me all the features, he closed my door, told me to have fun and to come back when I was finished the test drive. I loved the car, but compared to the Elantra I had just driven, it just wasnt as comfortable, came with as many features, or drove as well. The steering seemed mushy, almost like the computer controlling the power portion was lagged.

The Elantra was still #1.

The Nissan dealership was a joke. They were just introducing the 2004's, had very few 2003's, and I think the person helping me was experiencing her first day on the job. She knew nothing, couldn't do anything, and took forever. The car itself just couldn't compare to my other two choices.

With my choice firmly made, it was just a matter of finding the right dealer for me. I eventually did, and took possession of a brand new 2003 Carbon Blue Elantra GT with automatic transmission and Canadian Premium Package.

For my southern neighbours, the Canadian Premium Package includes heated leather seats, abs, traction control, and a moonroof. I'm sure a number of you are thinking, C'mon, get to the review itself!. Well, here you go.

The Review

Since this is simply my own thoughts on the vehicle, I'll organize it based on what I really like, and what I find annoying. These annoyances range from tiny and insignificant things that make me go oh to idiotic things that make me go what the #$*& were they thinking?!.

There are tons of things I like about the car, but these are the ones that really stand out in my mind:

þ     Heated leather seats. I've only used these a few times now, and mostly just for the novelty of it late at night when driving. It's the summer after all, and who wants to use heated seats when its 35 degrees out? (95*F for all you yankee's out there). Why is this the first like I mention if I really haven't had a chance to use it yet then? Easy, anticipation for how the seats will be when its -20*C out in the winter! Click here for a photo!

þ     Sunroof. I've never owned a car with a moonroof/sunroof before. It may just be the novelty of being new, but I love having the sun shining down on me and tons of wind while driving.

þ     Traction control. Again, a feature that I'll love during those cold winter days where theres 2 feet of newly fallen snow, covering up that inch of newly fallen ice.

þ     Distance the remote works. This I'm comparing to my old car, the 2000 Cavalier. That car had remote entry as well, with a Car locator button (or so the dealer claimed, in reality it was a panic button). The remote worked from MAXIMUM 7 feet away, with a fresh battery. It's refreshing to find the Elantra remote works from 100 feet away (the max I've tested it).

þ     Versatility of the hatchback design. This was one of the things that drew me to both the Protege5 and the Elantra GT. Cargo capacity of a small SUV, driving style of a sedan. I've found this extremely useful in the short time I've owned the car. I fit a 19 Viewsonic CRT monitor box in the hatch with no problem. I didn't even have to fold down the seats, just had to take off the privacy cover. Transporting a similar monitor in my Cavalier was a challenge unto itself, requiring moving the passenger seat all the way forward, and wedging the box into the back seat.

þ     Ability to fold down the rear seats completely. This is really the same as the last point, but it was a specific plus the elantra had over the Protege5. The rear seats bottoms fold forward, making the seat backs fold fully down. There's a downside to this though, which I talk about later on.

þ     All the little storage nooks. Albeit a small thing, this is one of those features that makes the Elantra stand out from the crowd. After I test drove it for the first time, I kept looking around my Cavalier wondering Why didn't they do that too? There is a ton of wasted space in most cars, and I'm happy to say that Hyundai really went the extra mile to fill many of those spaces with storage bins. Of specific mention is the double arm rest in-between the front seats. Other cars I've had have a storage bin here, but the Elantras double bin (one small one on top of a large one) is really useful. I can keep smaller items in the top, so I don't have to look around a large bin for them.

þ     6 speakers. I'm not sure if its the quality or quantity of speakers here, but CDs sound much better in the Elantra than they did in my Cavalier. It also makes the car seem more valuable than it really is, since most cars in this class only have 4 speakers.

þ     Heated side mirrors. Once again, a feature I'll find most useful in the winter.

þ     Trip Computer. I find that since the computer includes a Distance to Empty reading, I never have to even look at my gas tank gauge. No more guessing can I make it or can I leave filling up until I get back type thing. The average gas mileage is a useful thing, but for me, I could take it or leave it. I guess it will help in later years to serve as an indicator of something being wrong, but for now, I don't use it at all.

Like everything though, there are some imperfections with the Elantra GT. The majority of these are minor things that really dont bother me, but they do annoy me to some extent:

ý     Reputation. Easily the thing that bugs me the least is the reputation Hyundai has. I'm talking about the way some people's look of excitement when you tell them that you just got a new car changes into a look of disgust when you say its a Hyundai. C'mon people! This isn't the Hyundai of 10 years ago. They know that research everything to death and that I'd never buy a POS product, so why just assume that Hyundai still makes crap cars?

ý    Lack of lighting in the rear. This doesn't bother ME that much, as the driver, but many people have complained to me that the back is too dark at night. Since I got the sunroof, the only interior lights are moved from a middle dome light to the very front middle. It's great for the front seats, but the back is totally dark. I can understand that a dome light might be impossible to include because of the sunroof, but why couldn't they put lights on each side? Another family car we have is a 95 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. It has no sunroof, but still doesn't include a dome light. Instead, it has 2 map lights in the front very close to where the Elantras are, and 2 small lights in the rear, above each door. They're part of the handle area, where you can hang clothes from hangers. They work off the main switch for all interior lights, or can be activated independently. This solution would have been IDEAL for the Elantra GT, and why Hyundai didn't include it is a mystery to me.

ý    Lack of rear cup holders. Yet again, a feature that only bothers those in the back seat. In the Elantra sedan the rear cupholders are built into the bench seat, and hide away when not needed. I can understand why Hyundai couldn't include these with the GT, due to the fold-down seats. But why could they not find an alternate location? Some sort of cup holder built into the front center armrest that folds out for those in the back would have been perfect.

ý     No specific change holder ala GM and Chrysler vehicles: This annoyed me greatly at first, since every other car my family has had over the last 10 years has had a change compartment. Independent holders for nickels, dimes, and quarters. It's great for preventing your change from rattling around, and allowing easy access to it when needed (ie: parking meters, grocery carts). The solution for me was to use the ashtray as the change compartment. I don't smoke, and the tray has a little recessed area at the back. I used one of those non-lint clothes used to clean glasses to cover the tray, and just keep my change there. It's not as good as a dedicated compartment, but it works.

ý    Clock. Or should I say, the CLOCK. Why, oh why did you include such a monstrosity Hyundai?!! Sitting in the middle of the dash is an ugly boring green digital clock. It looks totally out of place, doesnt dim, and doesn't even match the rest of the colour scheme of the car.

ý     Colour Scheme of the Dash Lights: The BLUE (they claim purple, but I'm convinced its a shade of blue) gauges are awesome. Really unique, and looks great! Too bad the rest of the interior doesnt match it. The heating and radio controls are different shades of green, and the clock is yet a totally different shade of ugly green. They should have standardized the interior colours, preferably all to match the awesome blue/purple of the gauges.

ý     Controls for the Sunroof. First off, the controls for the sunroof dont light up at night, making them hard to see. Unless you happen to have experience with them and know what each switch does, you just guess which button to hit. A bit of a glow would have been helpful, similar to the window controls. Also, an automatic feature would be great, where you can just press the button once and the roof opens on its own, or closes on its own.

ý     Auto Dim. While great to have, the auto-dim feature could be longer. For those of you who don't know, this feature keeps the lights on for a few seconds after you enter the vehicle, I guess to give you time to start the engine. My Cavalier had an auto dim of about 2 minutes, or until you turned on the ignition. The Elantras just isn't long enough for me, and the first night I had it I ended up scratching area around the ignition. Hyundai Canada doesnt offer the glow area around the ignition, so its just a black space at night.

ý     Remote can't make the car beep. I just had to throw this one in with the list. I used to annoy the hell out of friends by pressing the panic button just as they thought the car was open. Not a real complaint though. On the serious side however, I do miss the fact that my Cavalier beeped when you pressed the door lock twice on the remote, to indicate that the car was indeed locked. I know the Elantra flashes the lights, but an audible beep would be nice.

ý     Shifting of the automatic gear shift. The automatic gear shift goes down to 3^rd without the button pressed, instead of D like every other car I've ever driven. I'm used to just pressing the button only as I exit park, and then going down all the way since it usually automatically stops in D. This is just something I just had to become accustomed to thought, and after a week, was already second nature.

ý    Front sun visors. The mirror on the front visors is off to a side, so if you use a CD holder on the visors the Velcro prevents the mirror from opening. The same CD holder also prevents the visor from folding fully up against the front windshield, since it is attached a little bit further in than in some other cars. This hasn't been a problem in any other car I've used the cd holder in. This is a temporary problem though, since I plan to upgrade to an MP3 cd player in the future. I won't have a need to keep the cd holder in the car any longer once I get this. Click here for photo.

ý     Ability to fold down the rear seats completely. As I said earlier, this is a great feature. HOWEVER, Hyundai created a design flaw in it. When the seat bottoms are folded out, the metal frame that holds them in place is exposed. When the seat backs are then folded down, creating the totally flat cargo area, the leather on the top of the seat backs rests on the metal frames. After reading the forum attached to this club, many people found that the leather was getting scratched or cut. The first thing I did after bringing the car home was take an old foam anti-snoring pillow from 17 years ago and cut wedges to cover the frame (see photos here). Now if I need to fold the seats flat, I just put the foam in between the metal frame and the leather seat. The work-around is easy, but I shouldnt have to do this. Hyundai should have realized there was a problem and corrected it before the car ever left design.

ý     Hatch Light. This is my one HUGE complaint about the car. The light in the hatch is a joke, and provides next to no assistance at all. It's a tiny little thing over on the right side,  that becomes totally blocked when the hatch has any cargo in it. They should have included a light on the hatch door itself that shines down into the cargo area. I'm considering what to do about this that won't be a major modification, since it's a leased car. For now, I've resorted to a trusty flashlight.

Final Thoughts

So after looking at this huge list of red complaints, and a smaller list of likes, you might be thinking Im sorry about my decision. That's the furthest thing from the truth. Im EXTREMELY happy about getting the Elantra GT. I love the car, and would make the decision over again in a heartbeat.  

I should also point out that many people on this forum and others have complained about very thin paint that is easily scratched. My car is Carbon Blue, and in the 1 month I've owned it there's not a single scratch. (Nuts, I'm asking for trouble..it will get dinged tomorrow with my luck.) This was even after going to the cottage and traveling on unpaved roads.

I hope this review (or maybe rambling of thoughts is a better term) helps some of you considering the Elantra GT in making your decision. If you get one, you really won't regret it!