Pictures and story by Mitchell Weitzman
Hyundai has transformed their bold new Elantra into a champion prizefighter of the compact sedan world. It really is that good.
Cheap (sorry, I meant affordable) cars aren't meant or supposed to be exciting, but I found myself rather stirred when the newly redesigned model was first unveiled, and even more so when I first saw it in the flesh this past month at Sonoma Raceway when I picked it up. Could Hyundai make a reasonable car that people would genuinely want? Well, they did, and it's the new Elantra.
Step 1, and the easiest way to make any reasonably normal object exciting, is to give an alluring and brave design. Consider that done. Not only is the Elantra's exterior an exercise of boldness, but it's also actually just a good looking machine. The outgoing and extremely popular Honda Civic has claim to being bold, too, but it's not attractive by any means. Bold to them just means a mish-mash casserole of shapes and edges that add only to vulgar excess. Not so with the Elantra. I mean, look at the door, how that crease makes it become three dimensional. The large grille balances elegance and ostentatious in a bizarre fashion that somehow just works, and the front appears low and tapered rather than tall and ungainly. In person, in my eyes at least, I like the aggressive nature of the aesthetic because of how it blends its unique look without going overboard. It's eye-catching for sure, and will cause other drivers' pupils to pan along with you to get a better look at this unique creation that makes some Corollas look dreary on Nyquil.