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2007 Elantra First Impressions
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Comments
do you have with your SE? I decided to go with the safe color
or silver, hides dust and light scratches nicely, I think.
Im very impressed with how the SE handles. It truely does
feel like a mid size sedan ride. Its just a very comfortable
feeling ride.
When I first pulled out of the dealer with the car last Friday, I noticed the ride was a bit soft. I checked the
tire pressure and they were all at around 28PSI. I than
inflated them all to 33PSI and the ride is perfect! Now I
will order my ungraded berber car mats from Quality Car
Mats.
In my opinion, the only thing the 07 and 01 have in common (other than the engine and trans) is the name. I test drove the Corolla (did not like the seating position) and the Civic (was not happy with the dash). After the test drives I came back to the Elantra.
I have owned a lot of cars over the years and the Hyundai’s have been the most trouble free that I have ever had.
life goes on.
Any ideas how I (the owner) can program the auto door locking?
You need to take your car to the dealer to have the auto door locks programed.
Didn't realize that so many people who bad mouthed the civic for its lack of a trip computer where sportin a ride that couldn't tell them how hot or cold it is.
I have never seen the need for an outside temperature gauge on a car. If I must know the outside air temperature, I know a radio station that gives me detailed weather and traffic info six times an hour, at regular intervals. Or I look at the weather online before I go out.
Personally, I don't usually need to have things that exact, a rough idea of the mileage I'm getting is good enough for me. A mileage computer would be fine with me and I doubt I'd ever worry about how it compared to manual calculations, at least not more than once!
Regarding an outside temperature gauge, I agree it's unnecessary. I also like it a lot and wouldn't want to not have one.
Thanks for your input.
A trip computer would sill lead me to calculating my own mileage, even if its just one off, so its like an unneccessary step; most people wouldn't look at their temp guage on their car and then tune into a station to hear it again, but A LOT of people will look at their trip computer and then re-figure it out all over again anyway. It seems like to much of a hassle for something that can range from slightly off, to very inaccurate.
Since we are on the subject, I haven't found car thermometers to be very accurate.
Same goes for trip computers. I hear more complaints about that than about thermometers.
I drive mostly freeway anyway; what i'm getting driving JUST on the freeway seems a little nit picky and imo nerdy, even for somone who is into fuel economy.
Maybe you think it's "nerdy", but I see questions all the time on Town Hall re "what mpg does Car X get when cruising on the highway?"
You probably see more complaints about trip computers because people care more about trip computers than about thermometers. I don't need some device to tell me how cold or hot it is--I can feel it. But I don't have a built-in mpg meter, so I find those useful. And kind of fun. Maybe that's "nerdy" too. I don't care.
We are still entitled to opinions right? Even if someone else dislikes them?
After looking at practically every other small car, and test driving several, we choose the Elantra. It was not because it is the best car in any one area, but the sheer balance of performance, economy, safety, comfort and features. I have not driven a small car that is as quiet, including the Civic or Corolla. It seems like Hyundai has done their homework.
Logged miles: 0 to test drive; still sitting on dealer lot awaiting our pickup from dealer trade.
Initial impressions:
- great looking exterior, except for the fixed AM/FM radio antennae (built into window on XM equipped models).
- colors wanted like seattle blue are very hard to find. settled for the second choice, only laguna sand color in LA and Orange County, CA. dealer traded.
- like all the interior ammenities from lighted mirrirs to heated seats to sunglass/dash holders.
- no XM standard as advertised. but available on *later models. boo.
- did notice the ripple effect on the new leather on a car with 32 miles on it.
- smooth, a little sluggish as expected acceleration compared to my 2003 Sonata LX V6 (161hp), yet quiet for a i4 compared to my sis' 2003 Corolla Sport.
- inquired with two local Hyundai service managers about speedometer/odometer issue (see Elantra threads) and they have heard no such reports. will personally observe and see.
- thought this was a new engine, but it seems now it's just the same engine from earlier 2006 model.
I see rippled leather on a lot of high-end luxury cars. The leather in my '04 Elantra is very tight and smooth-fitting, but Hyundai got knocked on that sometimes ("it's leather, but it looks like vinyl") so maybe that's why they went with the looser leather for '07.
Keep us updated on how it goes. Seattle Blue is my favorite also, with the beige (cloth) interior. I'll bet it looks really sharp with beige leather.
Good point about the leather. My 03 Sonata's leather is all vinly...
Looks like I'll be sticking with the Laguna Sand color.
The MPG calculation actually comes up about 1 MPG short of my calc (based on trip odo). I reset the computer after each refill and use the same gas station. My typical driving is about 40/60 hwy/city, accounting for rush hour traffic and I tend to get 27-29 mpg per tank. I've had a couple 90/10 hwy/city tanks which got me up around 32-33. The mpg has increased about 1-2mpg since it was originally purchased, so I think there is a little something to post-break in improvement.
However, I will have to test my speedometer to see if it has the problem others have reported.
As for the original topic, I couldn't be happier with it. I'm 5'8", yet the Civic still felt cramped to me. I was even considering just living with that and making the plunge. However, after test driving the Elantra, just to "cover the bases", I was wowed. The biggest difference is the interior room. No cramping A-pillar like the Spectra, much better handling than the washy Corolla, and a lot less $$$ than the Civic (the SE's features fall somewhere between the Civic LX and EX). The Mazda3 and Sentra didn't do enough for me in the bang for the buck department, which was actually my biggest buying factor.
I won't list the final price, but I completely recommend the Costco auto buying program. The Elantra's price was under invoice where the Civic would have been even more over invoice (Costco prices are an adjustment to invoice price and the dealer is required to show you their invoice). That was before the $500 factory rebate (the dealer is currently displaying a $2000 rebate on this car). I had enough room left in my budget that I decided to add Lo jack with early warning because I would be up a major creek without a car.
I'll have to check about the alarm and the double button-pressing. The alarm that's installed has a control module near the steering column with 1 button. That button is supposed to be the difference between arming and not arming; while the only difference in pressing the FOB button 1 or 2 times is the horn. The alarm is by Karr.
The road noise level is more than acceptable. Under hard acceleration (which I tend to NOT do), the engine is a bit rough and the shifts are quite jarring. But what engine in this type of car isn't? The last car I spent any time in was a van, so anything would be better as far as handling. However, I would definitely put this car on par with the Civic, with the Civic having a stiffer ride, but not as stiff as the Scion tC. The Elantra's brakes are wonderful. They're a bit grabby when cold, but there is no noticeable fade. If you're not used to a sensitive brake pedal this would be a big adjustment.
I wouldn't try to put more than 4 adults in there (5 may even put you over the car's weight capacity), but those 4 are quite comfy. All of the controls are well-positioned and smooth. There are a couple switches that I wish were back lit on the doors, but otherwise, the console and gauges look great (as long as you don't still wish for the days of dashes without idiot lights).
The front door interiors (near the bottle holder) are a little prone to scuffing, but I'm still trying various methods of taking care of that. I haven't had any problems with a basic mini-to-mini aux audio cable, but Hyundai did send me the one with the huuuge (whatever it is) inline with the cable right out of the blue. I haven't had any seat cloth issues like the other poster, and no wrinkling beyond what you would expect after 3 months of commuter use.
This car is definitely NOT all things to all people. However, if you're looking for a good car in this price/size range, definitely consider the Elantra.
MrCellus
the r18 in the civic.