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Good luck! :shades:
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I have never in all my years seen a clutch cause hesitation. Chatter, yes. Slip, yes. Hesitation? Nope.
If I bought a new car and the only problem was a door latch, I would be pretty darn happy.
P.S. The GT models include the floor mats, but the GLSes do not. That's pretty common practice in the car industry, to have mats extra. Some automakers include them, many do not.
I saw my first Sonata on the road yesterday, and it is sharp. After another year, perhaps I'll bid Betsy farewell, but it will be hard, the service has been that good. The Sonata is tempting, but I'd like to see the Elantra to 100K miles at least.
Sit in a Sonata with the 2.4L and 5spd. The shifter literally snaps into each gear. As much as I liked the shifter on my '02, the Sonata is a step beyond. And a boat load of room inside, too!
This is a second time that I drive this long round trip ~1300 miles one way. I did it in '02 Elantra GT AT and this time in '05 Elantra GLS 5M. Mechanically car is very sound, but for some reason both times I drove through Louisiana, something hit my windshield. Two years ago the hit resulted in a a small rock chip and was repaired by the local glass repair shop, so the crack never developed. This time at about the same spot I got another rock or similar hit, this time the crack developed immediately
Since the gas prices are rather high I will mention that I was getting ~30 miles per gallon going 80 and ~34 miles per gallon going 70. With full trunk and 2+2 people. Another interesting thing is that with the same speed the RPMs in 5th gear on manual transmission are higher then RPMs in 4th gear on auto :confuse: Looks like it needs 6 speed
I've noticed the RPMs are about 10% higher on the 5-speed than on my '04 GT automatic. That's pretty typical in small cars, though. I've gotten 41 mpg in my 5-speed under near-ideal conditions (60-65 mph, moderate load, mild temps, no A/C) and 38 mpg in the GT in similar conditions. A 6-speed would be nice--maybe for '07??
On the trip from Florida to Texas in my wifes brand new Yukon, we had something come from the oncoming traffic and durn near blow a hole through the windshield. And that is a very thick windshield. Had to have a new windshield installed when the car had 2400 miles on it.
About 90 minutes later, I returned home by the same route. I reset the fuel economy meter. This time, I drove much more aggressively: quick starts, some full-throttle acceleration even when I didn't need it (e.g. on freeway on-ramps when I had plenty of time to merge), went up to 5 mph over posted speeds on the freeway, weaved in and out of traffic to buy some time (although with adequate clearance, not in a dangerous way), and used the brakes a lot more. However, I only hit one stoplight this time, and I had the wind at my back. The result: 23.2 mpg. Oh, and the return trip took me a minute or two less time, mainly because I hit fewer stop lights.
Thus I got 40% better fuel economy by driving more moderately. Also, I probably saved some wear and tear on the powertrain and brakes driving that way. So the next time you calculate fuel economy and ask, "How come I am only getting xx mpg on my Elantra?", stop for a minute and think about how you drive your Elantra.
Hey, at least Hyundai added the panic button to the remote! My '01 GLS doesn't even have that! I've learned to live with it. At least my GT 5-door has a latch in back that lifts with one finger, so I don't miss a trunk button at all on that car. There are many other features the Elantra GT has that the Civic EX does not have. Just think about those when you lament the lack of a trunk button.
still miss that 5spd, though.
The four door sedans do not have an outside trunk latch, as your hatchback does. You need to use your key or the inside latch to open the trunk.
Yes...you are right about the loads of features the Elantra GT has over the Civic EX, for lots less $$...that is why I chose it!
Hyundai GLS ($11,605):
http://www.carsdirect.com/build/options?zipcode=92801&acode=USB50HYC021A0&restore=false $11,605
Hyundai GT ($13,080):
http://www.carsdirect.com/build/options?zipcode=92801&acode=USB50HYC021B0&restore=false $13,080
Corolla LE ($14,672):
http://www.carsdirect.com/build/options?zipcode=92801&acode=USB50TOC041C0&restore=false
the elantra gets 24mpg city and 32mpg hwy.
the corolla gets 30mpg city and 38mpg hwy.
let's do the gas cost calculations for the life of the car at $150,000 miles. if those are all freeway miles, and gas is $2.50/gallon you have spent $9868 with the corolla and $11,718 with the elantra gls. you have saved $1850 in gas money by driving the corolla.
so when comparing the lowest end elantra trim to a highest end corolla trim. you are actually paying only a $1217 premium for a luxurious corolla le. this is only a 11% premium for a much better car and less headaches.
if you compare the higher end elanta gt to the corolla le which is much more fair of a comparison since we are comparing high end to high end, you actually end up spending more for the elantra gt through gas costs by about $303.
so which car do you want after all?
When we looked at it this way, the choice for my wife and I personally was Elantra. We both enjoy driving it very much, we like it's features, and we like it's styling, so we didn't feel like we were giving up much. Is the Mazda better overall . . . yes, I don't argue that. But is it $4k+ better?
* Many people (like me) find the Corolla's driving position uncomfortable. Thus it doesn't matter that the Corolla LE doesn't cost much more than the Elantra GT, when factoring in gas over 150,000 miles.
* The Elantra GLS is a closer comparison to the Corolla LE than the Elantra GT. The major difference between the GLS and LE is that the LE has fake wood trim. If you need that, it is available on the Elantra for a few bucks more.
* There isn't much difference in quality between the Elantra and Corolla (cf. Consumer Reports, or just do a careful inspection of cars on dealer lots).
Setting aside money soon for the big 60K maintenance. Betsy: '01 GLS 5-speed. Happy motoring!
Simple fix, either DIY or at the dealer. Pull the wheels, pull the drums, use a can of brake cleaner liberally (with a catch pan, of course) then tighten up the adjuster to where the shoes only lightly touch the drum. You should be able to easily spin the wheel when reassembled. Takes about 10 minutes per side and the problem generally does not come back. It is caused by the initial dust generation of the rear shoes and can occur anywhere between 5K miles and above depending on your driving conditions and habits.
Jim
* '01 GLS 5-speed, 300-mile round trip fully loaded (4-5 passengers and gear), A/C on most of the time, 10% city/90% highway (speeds 60-70 mph): 35.0 mpg (EPA 33 highway)
* '04 GT automatic, about 200 miles of around-town driving by my wife, A/C on, mostly short trips of less than 5 miles: 21.2 mpg (EPA 24 city)
* Same GT automatic, 12 mile across-town round trip, A/C on, 30-35 mph on suburban streets with a few hills and a few stop signs/lights, using fuel-saving techniques such as coasting (in D) whenever possible and light foot on the gas: 31.6 mpg
On the windshield, you might want to have the chips repaired rather than waiting for cracks to develop. Some insurance companies will waive deductibles if you have repairs made vs. replacement. But then if you have 0 deductible on glass replacement like I do, you don't care if cracks develop, right?
http://tinyurl.com/9br9q
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I'm in the same boat myself, but have decided the Mazda3 is a little too rich for my blood.
Hi all, I'm new to this forum so sorry if I'm posting this to a wrong one.. I'd like to buy a new Elantra 2.0 automatic and, since the dealer does not have such model to let me test drive (I'm from Czech Republic and here mostly 1.6 engines are sold, definitely all manual), I'd like to enquire about your experience with engine noise level inside the car, particularly with manual - this is what I did not like when a friend gave me a ride in his 03 Elantra. I understand this is a question of high revs - I will drive mostly on freeways, some 80-100 MPH, will the engine be in high revs at such speed?
Otherwise I think the car for the price is just fantastic.
Big thanks in advance for your comments.