It's just a really good car!
When the time came to purchase my next car, I did an internet search for "cars sold in the US in 2024 with a manual transmission". This was one of the 10 or 12 available, and a good majority of the ones I could buy were either above the price I'm willing to pay for a car, or not something I wanted to daily-drive in a state where there's snow and salted roads. When it was said and done, I drove 4 hours to find a Black Elantra N with a manual transmission.
Everything about this car fits my lifestyle. It's got enough power to keep things fun, and get around obstacles when I need, it handles like a dream, it has a manual transmission (please make more cars with manuals!), the clutch is very nice and offers good feedback, the brakes are phenomenal, the drive modes are actually useful (it's not always appropriate to have the exhaust valve opened up and the suspension set to "sport"), and it's comfortable. The safety features are actually really nice, and I can turn off the ones I don't want, which I really value. The styling of the interior is one of the best looking, and while I don't NEED a touch screen, the way it's integrated into the dash is thoughtful and done with purpose, instead of looking like a tablet was screwed onto an existing dashboard. I'm employed in technology, so being able to tinker with all of the settings is fun for me, and I appreciate the steps that were taken to keep the cost reasonable, while maybe foregoing some things that just aren't necessary in a "driver's car". I don't need adaptive cruise control, I bought the car to drive it. I also appreciate the steps that were taken to keep the weight down.
Prior to this, I have had 4 Kia's, and I loved each and every one of them, including my 1999 Sephia. I still own a 2014 Sorento 2.4L that just refuses to give up. So buying a Hyundai with it's 10 year warranty was a no-brainer. Putting some winter tires on and driving it through the snow is amazing, it's pretty much unstoppable, and the e-diff is a thing of beauty. I've thrown the car into some turns while going more than a little too fast for the turn, and the e-diff just pulled it through. Seriously a great handling car.
If I had any niggles about the car, it would be as follows:
The trunk opening is a little small. I understand the reasons for not making it a full hatch (cost and weight), but the humongous trunk (another feature I love) is somewhat limited by the small opening.
There was an update to the Infotainment pushed sometime in 2025 that causes the custom N buttons on the steering wheel to lose their mapping every so often. There have been a number of updates since then, but the problem seems to persist. I has happened as often as every other time I start the car, but that's not consistent. I've also had a few instances where the dash display reset itself to the default "cube" theme where I set it to change with the drive mode. That's only happened in the winter though.
I understand the desire to be more eco-friendly, but the soy-based wire-coating on the electronics has already fallen victim to my local wildlife, as some rodent ate through the wires for the front sensors, which I had to get fixed to the tune of $600. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Sorento has been been sitting in the same driveway for over a decade without no issues.
The stereo is middling. Yes, it's a Bose, yes it's serviceable, but it's only okay. I'm sure it falls back to "weight and cost" argument, and it's really a minor thing.
A center arm rest in the back would be a nice feature, but again, weight and cost, so I'm not complaining!
The best part, even my wife likes this car. I think she enjoys the heated seats, the comfort, and the just ridiculous amounts of leg room. I'm 6'2" and even with the driver's seat set where I am the most comfortable, there's more than enough leg room behind me for a full adult to sit and have generous amounts of space. Also, I don't need, or want, a sunroof. So thank you for not poking holes in the roof of my car, in my experience they just end up leaking over time, and I tend to keep my cars a long time. Also, weight and cost!
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