The Elantra Touring has all the makings of a hit for Hyundai.
With the best parts of a sedan, wagon and hatchback combined into a great-riding, roomy and attractive vehicle, IÕve found the next car I want to buy.
Courtesy photo: Hyundai |
|
| More "Test Drives"
Full list |
Remember those books when you were a kid Š you could mix and match body parts, (head, torso and feet) to make funny concoctions like a police officer with horse legs and a cowboy hat on?
ThatÕs what the Touring Elantra is like.
Up front it looks like a sporty, small hatchback; inside in the rear seats, it looks and feels like a mid-size sedan; and the cavernous rear cargo area is like what youÕd find in a wagon.
The best of three worlds.
The 2009 Elantra Touring is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that produces 138 horsepower and 137 pound-feet of torque. These 138 horses work hard to give the Elantra Touring a get-up-and-go take-off. IÕm not known for gentle accelerations and I never felt like I was pushing the Elantra Touring too hard. IÕll admit, some competitors offer more power, but the Touring lacks little in terms of being a fun car to drive.
A five-speed manual transmission is standard, and a four-speed automatic is optional.
Gas mileage is great in the Touring. I got a whopping 25 miles per gallon in the week I drove the Touring, on the highway and in city traffic.
As good as the drive is in the Touring, the real selling point is inside the cabin.
The interior of the Touring reminded me of a more expensive and premium Volkswagen. Very sleek black, with upscale textiles and lots of accent lighting.
Not only does the interior look good, it feels good for drivers and passengers.
There is a lot of space inside, what looks like a typical hatchback.
Rear-seat passengers will find a surprising amount of head-, shoulder-, hip- and legroom available in back, while the front seat is very roomy for taller drivers. In real numbers, the Touring blows away the competition with more inches for drivers and passengers to move around in.
More than one adult passenger in the back seat commented on all the room in what appeared to be a small hatchback car.
As a hatchback, the Elantra Touring provides a surprising amount of space. According to Hyundai, it can hold a maximum of 65 cubic feet of space, which is twice that of a Mazda 3 and a few more cubic inches than many compact SUVs.
The Elantra Touring comes with enough standard features to make even the most picky buyer take note.
Some standard features include air conditioning, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, power windows and door locks, heated mirrors, remote keyless entry, eight-way adjustable driverÕs seat with lumbar support, a 172-watt AM/FM/XM audio system with six speakers, and fog lights. USB/iPod auxiliary inputs will also be standard. When an iPod or flash drive is plugged into the USB port, it will charge the iPod, provide access to tracks through the steering wheel audio controls or radio, and display song/artist/title information on the audio head unit.
The Elantra Touring will also offer a Premium-Sport package that adds a power sunroof, heated front seats, and P215/45VR17 tires on alloy wheels.
The 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring comes fully stocked with antilock disc brakes with brake assist, traction and stability control, front-seat side airbags, side curtain airbags and front seat active head restraints. In government crash testing, the Elantra Touring received a perfect five stars for its performance in a frontal collision and four stars in a side collision.
The price tag for the Elantra Touring is a reasonable $18,500, less than most of its competitors.
Jenny White writes for the Rocky Mount Telegram in Rocky Mount, N.C.
