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Comments
Put it this way, if someone dropped a 200 hp engine into a Toyota Echo, would it become a nice car?
'Nuff said.
Have also started to notice more and more GTs on the roads. These cars must be gaining popularity. Have also noticed increasing numbers of GLS models, too. Go Hyundai!
I like the new Matrix/Vibe, in fact the wife and I considered buying one but they weren't available last summer. I think that they will be a big hit (even for Pontiac - you can trust anything built at the Fremont plant). One thing bothers me, though: in all the reviews I've read for the Matrix/Vibe the same list of "hot" "crossover" vehicles keeps popping up - Pro5, Vibe, PT Cruiser and ZX5. What then, may I ask, is the Elantra GT considered to be? An ordinary sedan with a curiously shaped trunk? And what about our pal the Kia Spectra? That car was around before all but the PT cruiser.
i have see a few on the road . the funny thing is i have only seen 1 other gt on the road . and have seen a half a dozen matrix's . wierd the matrix hasn't been out half as long and i have seen more of them . and i drive a truck for a living so i am on the road all night , i work nights.
i am glad i got the gt it has been a very nice car . i am up to 30.5 on mpg with about a 60/40 freeway/city driving . i have had no real problems sofar other than the fuel door that was fixed when i had a scratch repaired on the door the day after i bought it . bought the car at night and didn't see the scratch till the day time . about to take it in for 3750 check and one thing i will have looked at is the am reception seems to really suck on mine and the cruise seems to interfer with the am . but other than that it has been a good car so far .
The Car Board always has a central theme to tie the four featured vehicles together and this time it was hybrids. There was the gas / electric Toyota Prius, the pickup truck / luxury car Lincoln Blackwood, the supercar / luxury car Audi S8 and lastly, our hero, the small car / utility vehicle Hyundai GT.
They talked about the re-emergence of hatchbacks, and how they think they come closer to the concept of a "do-everything" vehicle than sport utilities.
"We especially like the ultra-affordable, super-handy Hyundai Elantra GT. This little sub-$15,000 car more easily swallowed a stack of 10-foot boards - hatch shut - than most of the SUV's. And it was fun to drive. How many SUV's can claim that, 'zoom zoom' notwithstanding?"
That's more like it.
Is there some other way to see it? Their articles only go up to Feb.2?, 2002 ...
The article was accompanied by a rear 3/4 view of a pewter GT cruising down the road.
It usually takes Autoweek a few days to post things from the dead-tree version onto the website. (Keeps us subscribers subscribing!)
P5). The GT has a longer area behind the seats, but the P5 has a taller area back there.
Some off-the-cuff thoughts: a P5 equipped similarly to the GT is more
expensive, the GT has a much longer warranty, the GT is more conservatively styled (a plus
in my eyes).
Erik
The P5's base price is almost $2k more than the GT's. For your extra cash, you also have to give up the GT's leather seats, side-impact airbags, trip computer, great warranty and more powerful engine.
The P5 does have sharper handling and 16" wheels instead of the GT's 15"ers, but it pays for that with a stiffer, noisier ride. And when it comes time to replace the P5's low-profile tires, you'll pay a lot more.
Just my $.02 worth.
Erik, my Mom's been thinking about a replacement for her '91 Tracer sedan and needs something that can handle her bass. She's been loading her late 1700's vintage instrument in through the passenger door. (Amazing to watch!) How tough is it lifting your bass in through the hatch. Do you need to lower both rear seats, or just one?
...oops. I just checked your profile. Well, next time I'm up north, I'll have her try the bass in mine. I'll let you know how it goes.
I use my Mazda 323 sedan - you're right about the acrobatics required to fit a bass in thru
the passenger door.
When I went trying out the new hatchbacks (GT, P5, ZX5, Impreza TS),
the bass fit in all of them with only one side of the back seats down (yup, I took my bass along
for the test drives :-)). The bass fit in the GT the best.
Erik
In case you're wondering why I'm monitoring this board, I'm thinking of either a 5-door hatch or a small suv/crossover that has a sun roof as an option. I've been very satisfied with Hyundai and would not hesitate to recommend it. I also like the traction control (for Midwest winters and also works on rain slick roads) and will insist on it unless I purchase an AWD vehicle.
For the GT's, I like both the silver and the bright red color. The black also looks sharp if I could keep it clean--a bold red pinstriping would look so cool on that car!
Has anyone on this board tried out a Vibe/Matrix? I know it's more expensive. I'd probably look at an AWD in those since there's no traction control in the FWD's--I can't drive a stick anyway. Too uncoordinated.
It's a common theme when you go from one discussion to another...."Yeah, I looked at the **** and I'm so glad and so much happier with the vehicle I bought". Human nature I guess.
It is a very nice size and in proportion to the size of the roof.
I alos drive at 65 - 70 mph and my average mileage is 28.8 mpg according to the trip computer. This is based on mostly 30 mile round trips to work on freeways and feeder roads.
Thanks.
Rich
"I know that the Elantra GT has a trip computer, but what info does it show?"
In addition to the stuff you mentioned, it does show avergae fuel consumption. So yes, you can gloat in favour of the GT over Passat, but I would not suggest doing so on the Passat / Volkswagen forum. :-)
Am I missing something that others have?
The trip computer measures mpg, trip mileage, and miles to empty.
Any tips for this new owner would be helpful. Looking forward to posting on this board in near future.
Text and photos on my Elantra GT website, Garage page:
http://www.gwebworks.com/elantra_gt/
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
BTW-- I chose the car that had corrected hail damage because there were lots of posts last summer about unfixable (slight) wheel vibration problems. This car had almost none, a couple more on the lot were worse. I bought the $7.99 Wal-Mart rotation and balance package and they got all the wheel skip out the first time. Don't know if I was lucky or not. This particular Wallyworld tends to have a knowledgable tire guy.
Get the $11.99 SuperTech oil change, insisting on SuperTech oil filter instead of Fram. Four thousand mile change interval. Still haven't been back to dealer for any service, so can't vouch for them other than the buying experience which was pretty good, although their staff isn't as knowledgable as, say, a Saturn dealer.
All in all, I love my car but wish I could have waited until they had some 5 speed GT's on the lot. They were in short supply last summer.
See the MotorWeek review on the PBS website or link to it from my Elantra GT website under reviews.
http://www.gwebworks.com/elantra_gt/
I posted one of my photos on the Elantra Photo Gallery. Actually, I don't think that the photos of my car in the driveway of my house are nice enough. I will take some more photos in a more picturesque setting one of these days and replace the ones on the website.
I don't have a real good eye when it comes to complementary colors. Anyone have any suggestions on what caliper color would look best on a carbon blue GT?
Regarding 0-60 times, Motorweek's 8.0 was the best I've seen published among all of the testing sources. I'm thinking they must be the real experts in wringing the best performance out of a vehicle.
In their most recent show on the Speed Channel, Motorweek used the same methodology to get a 7.6 second 0-60 time out of the new Honda Civic SI. The SI has often been regarded as the standard against which all high-performance compact cars are measured. For the GT to come so close to the SI's time under the same conditions says volumes about the effort that Hyundai put into this car.
Hope you have success convincing your wife that it is a good thing. Besides, it actually shows off the wheel a bit more, if you can believe that. By painting the calipers, the whole area inside the wheel arch is dressed.
Is there a tasteful aftermarket wood or metal or whatever interior trim panel for the dash? Something to break up all the gray? And...
I would replace the stock CD player with an aftermarket one with a blue and red display to match the instrument lighting. Any suggestions as to installation (what fits?) and also model of CD player?
The dealers have a wood trim option package for the interior of the GT. It runs $199 to $299 depending where.
Here's a site I found for aftermarket trim. They've got real or simulated wood and a decent selection of colors in the carbon fiber look. I've been thinking about doing this myself.
www.wooddash.com/item/HYUNDAI_Dash_Kits_ELANTRA_2001_UP
Thanks
-- seating surfaces (seat cushion tops, seatback fronts)
-- shift knob
-- steering wheel
-- door panel inserts
In other words, any surfact that the body touches. Any other leather-looking material is man-made (vinyl?).
You are right, jofficer -- many other manufacturers have adopted this approach in an effort to keep costs down. I believe that one of the first might have been the Mercedes Benz C-class.
I am surprised that they see little difference between the rides of the GLS and the GT. Also, even though I do not have ABS brakes it is difficult to lock the brakes on my car. And there is almost no perceptible dive during hard stops.
http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/new/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/20843.htm#ratings
As for the rest of the review -- heheheh ... Consumer XXXXX have never been a lover of any Hyundai and it shows in the review. They had to strain themselves to give it 6, 7 for fuel economy, but in areas like acceleration the GT manual only got a 5. As you mentioned, they managed to not notice any difference in suspension between GLS and GT and also to lock up ABS and to give the seats 4's for comfort. I could go on and on. They are ridiculous, is all I can say.
Final point to note. The Elantra review lists Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Mazda Protege, and Nissan Sentra as alternatives ("Also Consider"). When you check the review of these cars, there is no similar mention of Hyundai. IOW, if looking at the Elantra, consider the alternatives. If looking at any of the alternatives, don't consider Hyundai. Biased you think?
I read the consumers guide review and also disagree with their findings on the brakes. I havent locked my brakes yet either (non-abs car) . I did see the Motorweek test of the GT (have it on tape) and at the end of their 60mph stop the fronts did lock for a second. That also was a non-abs car. Motorweek did say "this is the best stopping Hyundai weve tested".
" However, cars from this South Korean automaker haven't earned a reputation for long-term reliability, and their resale values are low."
Thats a Consumers Guide quote. It seems the media is determined to keep Hyundai in that low reliability category. I do agree with the resale value, but thats not why I buy cars.
3.5 quarts (just slightly more). Although not scientific, it
seems to be the only way to see what's what.
I don't put much stock in what the dealer service says.
If anyone has further input, please post...this is probably more important
than colors, 0-60 and Consumer's Report (no offense).
Keep the info flowing..
Regarding the Consumer Guide review, IMHO they've got some very thick Honda-colored glasses on. The numbers all indicate that the Elantra is a bigger, more powerful car with more features for less money. If all of the cars logos were covered up so that they didn't know which car they were driving, I'd bet the Elantra would suddenly be one of their favorites.
I especially like the Competitors section in the Sentra review where they do list a Hyundai as an option - the Accent! It's like they managed to forget that the Elantra even exists.
I remember seeing an ad or review a while back where Hyundai got a bunch of people to drive the Elantra back-to-back with either the Corolla or Civic (can't remember which). All brands and logos were masked. The Elantra wiped the floor with the competion, something like 3 to 1. I'd sure like to see that test again. Anyone know where I could find it?
Everything I've read says 4.2-4.5 qts (even on hyundai's site). I would have to believe the people who built the engine would know even if the dipstick reads incorrect. One piece of strap metal could have been cut/marked wrong, but I doubt the oil pan was made to small. If after adding 4.2 qts there are no strange sounds or drops in performance I'd stay with the 4.2 and make a new mark on the stick. Running low on oil is much worse then having a little more!
What is more important to an engine's health than the correct amount of oil? We should not have to be guessing or checking with another cars dipstick etc. If the correct amount is 3.5 qts. then a letter should have been sent out to owners stating so.
Just my humble opinion.