elantra beats out ford focus and VW passatt

steven39

the hyundai elantra has won out over the ford focus and vw passat to become the 2012 north american car of the year.i was actually considering the focus and passat before i decided on the elantra and iam glad i did.

g2iowa

Is amazing how much car you get for so little money in the Elantra. It is beautifully styled, inside and out. Roomy interior and trunk. Good fuel economy. Great warranty. Well equipped. Relatively inexpensive. I have only a few minor gripes: wish ignition key was on dash rather than steering column, wish trunk hinges were the non-intrusive multi-link hinges, wish we could get heated seats in GLS model, and wish we could get power driver seat.

fushigi

Moving up to a Limited would take care of a couple of your gripes. Both front & rear seats are heated. If you get the Technology Package the ignition key is replaced by push-button start on the dash.

Still no power seat, though, which we found a little odd but don't have a big problem with.

I admit it drives the price higher but then again you still get a lot of car for the dollar and it remains less expensive than similarly equipped competitors (Focus, Cruze).

My wife has had her '12 Elantra Limited w/Tech since September and it's been flawless so far. She still doesn't get the EPA fuel economy but her commute is too short for the engine to fully warm up (and Illinois uses Ethanol and we're on winter blend gas). As it is she's filling up about once every 4 weeks.