Mark Glover’s AutoGlo
car reviews also can be seen on the business page of The Sacramento
Arms spread wide, I gushed: “But dude, it’s a Hyundai
Elantra with only two doors!”
Apparent apathy stared back at me. It’s a mystery to me, because yes, this new two-door
Elantra is big news in my book. You take
a model that has been an impressive sedan for Hyundai, and with some saucy styling
dash, you turn it into a sleek two-door cruiser with a give-‘em-hell sculpted front
end.
Cool car? Absolutely.
Even my top-end coupe started at a very reasonable fraction
above the $20,000 threshold, and the generously equipped interior made that
price look like a song. Power comes from
a sufficiently peppy 1.8-liter in-line 4 with variable valve timing and 148
horses. On the fly, the power plant felt
stronger than advertised.
Fuel mileage was attractive at 27 miles per gallon in the
city and 37 mpg on the highway.
Getting three adults to climb into the back of this Elantra
is a challenge, I grant you. But once
seated, all have fairly comfortable room to spread out and enjoy the ride.
My volunteer passengers complimented the smooth ride and
lack to backseat bumping around even when I sawed off a sharp corner.
Climate- and audio-control buttons are neatly bunched and easy
to use. Interior quiet was not
Mercedes-like but impressive from a car in this segment. Likewise, all-around vision from the cockpit
was good.
I don’t know if it was the two doors or something else, but
folks kept running up to the stopped car and asking me what it was … and where
could they get one. I’m no marketing
expert, but I take this trend as a positive sign if I’m laboring for Hyundai.
Most automakers tout what they’ve added to a model. Hyundai is making waves by taking away two
doors.
Hey, it works for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment